About Derek John
Derek John Soltis built a professional identity at the intersection of law and technology. He earned a J.D. from Rutgers School of Law–Newark in 2012 after completing graduate work at Fordham University, where he took both an M.B.A. and an M.S. in 2006. His undergraduate degree, a B.B.A. in computer systems, came from the University of Houston–Downtown in 2003. The combination of legal training and technical study runs through his work.
He moved into private practice and, in 2014, became a partner at the Law Offices of Patel and Soltis. He is admitted to practice in New York and holds current membership in the State Bar of New York. Colleagues describe him as precise and pragmatic; clients see someone comfortable explaining complex technical matters in plain terms.
Soltis also carries a technical credential that many litigators do not: he is a Relativity Certified Administrator. That certification covers administration of one of the leading platforms used for electronic discovery. It gives him hands-on experience with document review environments, search and analytics tools, and the operational demands of litigation technology.
Those technical skills inform his practice. He handles tasks that require both legal judgment and an understanding of data systems — organizing discovery, managing review workflows, and handling vendor relationships for e-discovery projects. His Fordham degrees in management systems and information and communication systems and his undergraduate work in computer systems give him a language to speak with IT teams and vendors, and a framework for translating technical constraints into legal strategy.
His daily work is based in New York City. Office information lists a location described as across from the courthouse, and his practice regularly involves matters in New York courts and administrative forums. He has worked on cases that require coordinating teams and managing large volumes of electronically stored information, acting as a bridge between legal teams and technical resources.
Colleagues say Soltis prefers practical solutions over theoretical ones. He aims to reduce complexity in litigation tasks and to keep processes clear for clients and teams. He is a partner at the Law Offices of Patel and Soltis and currently practices in New York, handling matters that involve electronic discovery, data management, and related civil litigation work.
