New London - QDiscovery, a technology firm founded by Mystic resident Matt McCormack, has taken the top spot in the small- to medium-size-company category in the Hartford Business Journal's 2015 Best Places to Work competition.

QDiscovery, which helps legal firms identify key documents in complicated lawsuits involving thousands of pages of information, "stresses employees' value," according to the journal.

"After purchasing and renovating an old doctor's office in New London, QDiscovery outfitted its headquarters to accommodate its technology needs and built a family room for employees' children to use if they had to accompany their parents to work," according to an online version of the publication.

McCormack cut his teeth in the document storage business with Daticon, then became an equity partner in the West Coast-based Daegis. Four years ago, he reached out to former Daticon colleagues Deb Tristan and Don Elliott to form the company first known as Quantum Discovery.

The idea was to launch a business that combined top-notch client service with good pay and an atmosphere promoting work-life balance. Starting from those humble beginnings, the company later renamed QDiscovery built up to 16 employees in Connecticut as well as two other offices in Indiana and Illinois with another dozen total workers.

The company offers merit-based profit sharing, golf outings, regular warm-weather barbecues, paid training, birthday celebrations, speaking engagements at national conferences and charitable give-backs - both in terms of financial and time commitments.

"Whether it is participating in the Warrior Dash, serving at a local soup kitchen, collecting non-perishables for a food bank, or fielding a team in a golf outing, the company is dedicated to promoting team-building and keeping its employees motivated and fresh," The Hartford Business Journal said.

Companies were ranked in several different areas, with 75 percent of the score based on an employee survey and 25 percent from a questionnaire on company policies and benefits.

Other top companies cited by the publication were Hinckley Allen and Edward Jones in the large-company category and SMC Partners of Hartford and Cooperative Systems of Windsor in the small-to-medium arena.

l.howard@theday.com

Twitter: @KingstonLeeHow