Over the past month we collected three perspectives, including my own, from different backgrounds within legal to provide their feedback on LegalTech NYC.
LegalTech Highlights and Takeaways
An event like LegalTech is a whirlwind of activity only partially centered around the educational content offered by the show. I came out of this year’s event feeling both invigorated and like I had been hit by a truck. One of the advantages of LegalWeek in NYC is the opportunity to meet with many of your law firm, service provider, and corporate colleagues in one place. Rather than bore you with a generic recap, I thought I might bore you instead with an indulgent “day in the life” style running diary.
Monday 1/29 5PM: Arrive at my hotel in New York and start to stress about all of the work that has piled up while I was traveling. Make the decision to forego Speaker Dinner to do work in the hotel. Go for a short run to clear my head and grab a sandwich from the deli downstairs. Crank out 5 hours of uninterrupted work and feel like I’m in a much better position for the days to come. Perhaps I should work out of a hotel more often, even in Pittsburgh. Lights out bymidnight.
Tues 1/30 6AM: The alarm goes off and I can hear the wind whipping outside my window (also a jackhammer and yelling). I decide to wimp out and hit the treadmill. As I’m stretching, two people enter the 100 square foot “gym” and take the available treadmills. I momentarily contemplate bagging it altogether before heading back upstairs, adding a layer, and heading for Central Park. Five smooth miles to start the day.
8:30-9:30AM: Skype Meeting for one of my panels (Win – Win Client/Law Firm relationships) to discuss logistics.
10-11AM: Vendor meeting to discuss e-discovery technology.
11-12:00PM: Met with Protecting Data panel group for final prep.
12-1PM: Panel : Strategies and Best Practices for Protecting Sensitive Data in Litigation and Regulatory Matters.
1:15-2:00PM: Quick Lunch.
2:00-2:30PM: Conference call for day job.
2:30-3:00PM: Panel – pre meeting.
3:00-4:00PM: Panel: Win-Win Law Firm and Client Relationships.
4:00-4:30PM: Conference call for day job.
5:00-6:00PM: Vendor meeting to discuss e-discovery technology.
6:00-7:00PM: Dinner.
7:00-9:00PM: Vendor event/networking/relationship discussion.
Lights out by 11. Up by 7AM for 8 miles in Central Park and then a similar day Wednesday!
As you can see, for a typical corporate attendee, there are many responsibilities to manage when attending an event such as LegalTech. We’re tasked with adding our perspective to the educational content, attempting to get a little education ourselves, checking out all of the new technology, meeting with existing law firm and legal service provider partners, networking with potential new partners and our colleagues, and somehow maintaining all of our existing projects and responsibilities back at the office so that we’ll be allowed to attend again in the future. If we don’t get to meet with you at a particular event, don’t take it personally!
- Don Knight, VP, Legal Technology Program Manager, Legal Department with PNC Bank
In past years, I have attended LegalTech as an academic conference, dutifully marking up my program with the sessions that were of most interest, making notes, and following up with questions for the speakers. In between sessions, I swung through the exhibit floor and collected information and swag. I attended a couple of the social events, but wondered what was happening in that other world of off-program sessions and invitation-only parties. I always learned a bit about my trade and made some good connections.
This year, as a part of a law firm that actually is considering purchasing new technologies, I attended LegalTech in the exact opposite manner: I caught a couple of keynote sessions, but mostly I trudged from private demo to private demo in hotel suites, fielded conflicting invitations to private parties, and wondered what was happening in the formal sessions. I learned a ton.
The depth of what you can find out about products as a prospective buyer – serious enough to line up a private demo - is much greater than what you will get from sessions and cold pitches in the exhibit hall. In the demo suites, vendors make their product development people available, so the conversations can go much deeper, and your technical questions will be answered promptly. (I am still waiting on the answers to technical questions that I posed at three booths on the exhibit floor.) The conversation shifts from “you should be interested in our product” to “how can we make sure this product works for you.” I’m sorry that I didn’t get to more of the general program this year, but now I understand the value of this other, parallel LegalTech. I recommend both.
- Jenny Anne, Process Improvement Manager at Hogan Lovells US LLP
The 2018 Legaltech/Legalweek Conference had a distinct flavor of maturity this year. The Exhibit Hall was a bit thinner and less wacky than past years, and the pulse was more more focused and business-like. Vendors offered functional and credible announcements, and the cloud drizzled into almost every corner. The keynotes from Sec. Jeh Johnson on cybersecurity were targeted and grounded.
On the “future is coming soon so you better be ready” side, there were multiple warnings about GDPR and AI, with some blockchain sprinkled throughout. On the more practical side were continuing discussions on how to collect and monitor social media and IoT sources. Of particular buzz was the announcement that managed-services provider UnitedLex supplied the 200+ member in-house legal department for DXC Technology. NetDocuments gave a little more info on their plans for recently acquired ThreadKM and iManage announce their new AI-powered data extraction tool.
There were several announcements referencing tighter integration with Office 365 and Microsoft’s backend, which I find completely justified given that so many corporate environments are moving to Office 365. Examples include LawToolBox365 Office for Legal with Deadlines and Archive2Azure from Archive360 for managing data in native format while preserving metadata.
Lastly, it was encouraging to hear how some corporate legal departments are fine-tuning their e-discovery and IG initiatives. I was invited to participate on a panel with several in-house legal directors entitled “The Metrics Don’t Lie” where we discussed how to measure the performance and value of e-discovery providers. We supplied some outstanding recommendations including using Excel with pivot tables, vetting vendors on their reporting capabilities, and creative methods for keeping some individuals (usually executives) on perpetual hold.
Overall, a solid conference for Legaltech/Legalweek with some subtle and stimulating announcements from the community.
- Brett Burney, Independent eDiscovery Consultant with Burney Consultants LLC