Legalweek is two weeks away and there’s plenty of things to do for people interested in legal technology.
For the unenlightened, Legalweek is American Lawyer Media’s annual conference devoted to everything related to legal technology. It used to be called simply Legaltech, but now it has morphed into three conferences in one week: Legaltech, LegalCIO and Legal Business Strategy.
Legalweek brings together legal professionals, law firm and corporate leaders and technologists from around the world to explore the use of technology in the business of law. According to their website, Legalweek has 8,000 registered attendees and more than 300 speakers from 36 countries. It is by far the largest legal technology conference of the year. So, if you’re in town the week of February 3, make your way to the Hilton Hotel on 6th Avenue and 54th Street. Explore registration options here.
Pre-Conference Workshops
Things get off to a roaring start on Monday, February 3, with several pre-conference workshops, including an AI Bootcamp, a workshop on Cloud Systems, and a workshop on Legal Project Management (full disclosure: I am closing out the LPM workshop at 3:00 pm on Monday).
Legaltech
The Legaltech agenda includes something for everyone. There are 42 sessions starting on Tuesday, February 4, at 10:00 am, following opening remarks and a keynote by a certain former US Deputy Attorney General. The sessions range from legal automation to e-discovery, AI and analytics. There’s a legal operations track, an information governance track by Consilio, a data privacy track from Relativity and an E-Discovery and AI track from OpenText. ARMA is presenting several IG sessions, and our friends at ILTA have a track of sessions as well on Tuesday, including one entitled “Women Who Lead in Technology.”
LegalCIO
The LegalCIO sessions also kick off on Tuesday and include topics geared toward the CIOs who might be interested in managing technological change, the use of AI, blockchain and cybersecurity threats, as well as the regulatory schemes in privacy that are on the rise.
Legal Business Strategy
For those more interested in the business of law firm and legal operations, the Legal Business Strategy sessions are focused on marketing and business development, law firm strategy and talent advancement strategies. The Business Strategy segment culminates in a session that brings together stakeholders from each of the tracks to discuss modernizing the delivery of legal services in 2020 and beyond.
Networking Events
And I probably don’t need to mention the dozens of networking and social events that will take place each evening. It’s impossible to make it to every event, but I have tried it several times. Some of the highlights for me will be Zapproved’s Corporate E-Discovery Hero Awards Dinner, which is held on Monday night. On Tuesday, I recommend the Consilio event at The Rainbow Room. And Wednesday, the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS) is hosting a cocktail hour at 48 Lounge (again, more full disclosure: I am the president of ACEDS). There are tons of other evening events as well.
For me, Legalweek has become a part of life in legal technology. I cannot remember a time when it did not exist, and I’ve been in this business for 20 years. So, whether you’re looking for the latest software, a new service provider, or just want to meet and network with your peers, Legalweek is the place to be February 3 through 5.
Mike Quartararo
Mike Quartararo is the President of the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS), a professional member association providing training and certification in e-discovery. He is also the author of the 2016 book Project Management in Electronic Discovery and a consultant providing e-discovery, project management and legal technology advisory and training services to law firms and Fortune 500 corporations across the globe. You can reach him via email at mquartararo@aceds.org. Follow him on Twitter @mikequartararo.