Last week members discussed data retention policies and more. I attended AALL and have an interesting update for you on training trends in law schools. Jump to the “Something Extra” section for tips for to keep lawyers informed from Aderant. Explore curated sources on these topics including some from ILTA’s treasure chest.
Data Retention
Data retention has long been a concern related to storage space. With more organizations in the cloud or considering a move to the cloud, space is no longer the primary issue. It’s security. ILTA has resources to help you develop data retention plans in your organization. A recent Peer to Peer best practices article, “Skills You Need to Climb the Mountain of Data Challenges,” provides a guide to some hurdles you may encounter from security to managing change and everything between. A session at the recent LegalSEC Summit, “Information Governance: Identifying Risks and Compliance Related to Security,” discusses storing data and the inevitable risk of having data.
Then there’s the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) going into effect in May 2018 in the European Union. New data protection requirements in the EU will have a global impact. Begin by reading “Preparing for the General Data Protection Regulation” for short primer on the background of the regulation and four steps you can take to prepare. Then read the white paper, “A Worldwide Law: The EU, GDPR and You.” This piece provides further detail, provides examples of types of personal data under GDPR and more. Don’t miss the road map to prepare for the GDPR on page 32.
Training in Law Schools
Last week I attended the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) annual conference in Austin, TX. Firm librarians and knowledge officers stopped by the ILTA booth to say hello and find out what’s new at ILTA. We also had many law school librarian visitors telling us about developing new classes for the 2017-18 school year on emerging technologies in law.
During the conference, I attended an interview-styled session with two ILTAns, Debbie Ginsberg of IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law and Michelle Spencer of the Legal Learning Development Network. Debbie asked Michelle to take the audience through some of the training tactics and processes she uses in law firms. She shared how to apply these same methods in law schools to prepare students to enter law firms as technologically capable lawyers. Michelle stressed the importance of future lawyers learning the basics like Adobe Acrobat and the Windows environment. She noted this is especially important for those who grew up on an Apple operating system. Debbie shared that she trains on these basics but slips in mentions and discussions on emerging technologies like AI for legal and blockchain. Debbie wants them to have heard something about emerging technologies before entering a law firm or corporate legal department. Thanks to Michelle and Debbie, future lawyers may know how to do more on day one at a firm or legal department.
SOMETHING EXTRA – Getting Your Lawyers to be “In the Know”
With the constant flow of information on technology and the law, we understand the challenge of keeping up, but what about the person who never started? Aderant recently posted an article and list of resources a lawyer should follow to remain informed, “Five Actionable Ideas for Lawyers to Advance Their Market Knowledge.” Consider becoming the favorite in your office and share this list with your attorney colleagues.
As ILTA’s content curator, I’m always monitoring the discussion forums to discover what topics are top-of-mind among the members. Each week, I focus on a few areas that spark your interest, and I provide some curated resources to assist your own information-gathering on the topics. If there are specific topics you would like assistance exploring, please contact me at joanne@iltanet.org