Technology

The Lowdown On Legalweek 2018

Legalweek now consists of of several smaller conferences, each with a different focus. What will you find there?

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Next week, like many legal technology enthusiasts, I’ll be headed to Manhattan for Legalweek New York 2018, formerly LegalTech New York. It was only last year that ALM changed the name to Legalweek, and also expanded the focus of the conference to include more than just legal tech.

As I noted when I wrote about the Legalweek conference last year, the change in focus was intriguing in theory, but somewhat confusing in practice. Seeking clarity and with the 2018 conference looming just around the corner, I welcomed the opportunity to catch up with John Stuttard, Senior VP of Global Events at ALM, earlier this week. During our conversation, he provided insight into the reasons behind the name change and explained their vision for the revamped conference as a whole.

John shared that the goal behind the reinvention of the conference was to expand its appeal, leading to a more diverse range of attendees: “The emphasis and focus of the conference was previously on ediscovery and LegalTech as a brand. Because the industry has a broader scale, if you offer a conference with an increased scope of perspectives it has more appeal. The intent was to keep legal tech as a focus, while also broadening out and adding more into the event for those who might not otherwise have thought that legal tech was for them. So we’ve added issues that expand beyond technology.”

Specifically, Legalweek now consists of several smaller conferences, each with a different focus:

  • Legaltech;
  • LegalCIO;
  • LegalMarketing;
  • Business of Law Forum; and
  • Legal Diversity & Talent Management Forum.

They’ve also added an additional day to the conference which consists of 3 different workshops or “bootcamps” occurring on Monday, January 29th: the AI Bootcamp, the In-House Leadership Bootcamp, and The Small Firm Business Bootcamp: Grow Your Business While Keeping Your Sanity. According to John, adding these bootcamps into the mix is part of the strategy of appealing to new audiences: “We’re trying to broaden the topics so it’s not just ediscovery, but instead covers what’s relevant to the legal industry and what future holds from a technological point of view — with a focus on C-suite to lawyers to law firm employees focused on marketing, and more.”

With so many different options and topics covered, I wondered whether it would be difficult for attendees to keep track of all of their choices. John advised that there’s an app for that, which “covers the different components. And, we’ve structured the passes so you can go to everything if you have a Master Pass (except for the Bootcamps) including the Legaltech conference and the keynotes.”

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Another interesting new feature is the “Small Firm Pavilion” in the Exhibit Hall. According to John, there will be approximately 12 vendors focused on providing software and services to small firms located in this section of the Exhibit Hall, offering further evidence of the conference planners’ intent to appeal to a broader audience.

John also shared that on the third floor of the Exhibit Hall, you’ll find the home base for ALM products, including 1) the legal LITE stage with a focus on light, innovation, technology, education; 2) ALM resources including the Events Division and their journalists; 3) the Legal Intelligence Division; and 4) the Law.com website and newswire service.

I asked John if he had any parting thoughts about the conference and he replied, “Legalweek has gone much further than Legaltech ever did in covering the range of interests of people working in the legal industry. It’s not just about tech — but there’s plenty of tech there.”

So that’s the lowdown on Legalweek 2018. I’ll be there covering a host of legal software providers including Relativity, Bloomberg Law, Litera Microsystems, Veritone, iManage, and LawGeex. I chose my press briefings with Artificial Intelligence (AI) in mind, and will report back on how many of these vendors are using AI and/or how they believe AI will impact the delivery of legal services in the years to come.

Finally, Legalweek is about more than the technology, the CLEs, and the Exhibit Hall; it’s also about connecting and networking with likeminded folks. So, if you see me at Legalweek, make sure to stop me and say “hi.” Hope to see you there!

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Niki BlackNicole Black is a Rochester, New York attorney and the Legal Technology Evangelist at MyCase, web-based law practice management software. She’s been blogging since 2005, has written a weekly column for the Daily Record since 2007, is the author of Cloud Computing for Lawyers, co-authors Social Media for Lawyers: the Next Frontier, and co-authors Criminal Law in New York. She’s easily distracted by the potential of bright and shiny tech gadgets, along with good food and wine. You can follow her on Twitter @nikiblack and she can be reached at niki.black@mycase.com.

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