Technology

ABA TECHSPLOSION!!!

Why would a tech skeptic go to the ABA TECHSHOW?

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It’s that time of  year again. In a couple of weeks it will be the annual ABA TECHSTRAVAGANZA. I think that’s what it’s called. Or maybe it’s the ABA TechPAGEANT. TECHcelebration? Let me check. Leave it to a conference run by a bunch of lawyers to have a page of rules on how to refer to the thing. You can see all of the rules below.

Anyway, in a couple weeks, from April 16-18, I’ll be at the ABA TECHSHOW®!!! — covering it for Above the Law.

You would think that as I’m a young guy, grown up as a digital native, hand-built multiple websites, been blogging for years, have a number of IT/software related clients, etc. — I would be enthusiastic about attending the show and expo. But actually, because of all that, I’m rather skeptical of the whole thing.

Technology has no sheen for me. It’s just always been a part of my life. I remember dialing into local BBSes in the 1980s with a 9600 baud modem. Hearing about a tech company that has advanced document assembly automation by a couple steps isn’t that revolutionary or exciting.

Yet tech companies often seem to think so. One of the side-effects of having run a popular legal blog for five years is that you also become deluged in press releases from legal services companies. No more than a couple weeks go by before I get a breathless email from some PR person promising the world with their technology and that it will “disrupt” the legal industry. Usually the company that contacted me folds in six to 12 months.

I can think of maybe two things that might qualify as having “disrupted” the legal industry in the past 20 years. Email and e-filing. Those two technologies fundamentally changed the legal industry. There are maybe a few other technologies on the horizon that could disrupt the legal industry as well, but they aren’t sufficiently developed to that point yet.

Arthur C. Clarke once said: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” I think for many people who are late adopters of technology, or have only just now come up to speed with what many members of my generation have grown up with and taken for granted, are easily enamored with such technology. If you have been busy running a practice or neck-deep in litigation, it can be easy to have the tech world pass you by. You’ve been too busy helping clients to bother with the latest shiny iToy. Then suddenly you pull your nose up from the grindstone and look around at new technology and it seems “magical.” Hell, Apple often uses that word to describe their products.

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Yet technology isn’t really magic. Technology is just a tool. It might be a stronger tool. Or a quicker tool. Or a tool that allows more leverage or time-saving… but it’s still just a tool. Last week when I finished mounting a bracket in my basement, I didn’t have a celebration over my screwdriver. It was just something I used to get the job done.

But I’m also too young to to be a complete curmudgeonly skeptic. I’m game to try out and adopt new technologies — if they’re going to be a useful tool to add to my tool belt. So that’s what I’m going to be looking for while I’m at the Techshow. Better tools, faster tools, along with greater trends in the legal technology industry. Technology and services that don’t promise the moon, but focus on tangible benefits that help attorneys serve clients more efficiently.

I’ll be using a variety of technology (!) to broadcast coverage while I’m there:

  • First and foremost, I’ll be cranking out posts here on ATL.
  • I’ll be sharing immediate thoughts on Twitter, so follow me at @associatesmind.
  • I’ll be broadcasting live video via Periscope. Follow me on Twitter or Periscope so you can get push notifications when video goes live.
  • I’ll also be casting some pods with fellow ATL columnist Jeena Cho. You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or Stitcher.

If you’re a technology company that is going to be at the show and want to me to come see what you’re doing, hit me up at keith.lee@hamerlawgroup.com — but if you mention disruption, I’m going to belittle you. If any readers want me to look into anything in particular, drop me a line and I’ll see what I can do.

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Also, if the ATL commentariat doesn’t come out and heckle me while on Periscope, I’m going to be terribly disappointed in you. You’ve all been off your game since Partner Emeritus took a leave of absence. C’mon, have some pride in yourselves.

Keith Lee practices law at Hamer Law Group, LLC in Birmingham, Alabama. He writes about professional development, the law, the universe, and everything at Associate’s Mind. He is also the author of The Marble and The Sculptor: From Law School To Law Practice (affiliate link), published by the ABA. You can reach him at keith.lee@hamerlawgroup.com or on Twitter at @associatesmind.

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