The Circuit: Vegas, Baby!
Why is Las Vegas such a magnet for legal conferences?
Ed. note: This is the third piece by Above the Law’s newest legal technology columnist, Monica Bay. In case you missed them, you can read her prior posts here and here.
Got an itch for Las Vegas? There’s a good bet that you could find a convention to attend this month, whether you are a legal professional—or a radiology business manager, excavation safety expert, pizza shop owner, tobacco connoisseur, digital signage executive, doctor or veterinarian, travel adviser, financial services specialist, member of the Western Political Science Association—or if you need a tutorial in musculoskeletal imaging. Among the law/legal tech-related March options are the Annual Corporate Counsel Conference & National Moot Court Competition and Adobe Summit 2016.
There’s no question that many legal organizations favor Vegas. For example, the International Legal Technology Association’s annual conference was held there in 2010 (ARIA), 2013 and 2015 (Caesars Palace) and will go back next year (Mandalay Bay). (Granted, 2010 was only because Nashville’s Opryland was flooded.) The American Bar Association also is a steady customer.
Law Firm Business Development Is More Than Relationship Building
Why is Vegas such a magnet? There are many reasons: It’s pragmatic and outrageous; it’s relatively easy to get there (not much snow and airfares are usually tolerable); it’s open 24 hours; there are a zillion hotels (and some are great); there’s plenty of huge conference rooms (but don’t expect decent wi-fi); you don’t need a car (unless you wanna go explore that big dam); there are unending distractions: gambling, shows, spas and some really good restaurants (but be careful, they can be surprisingly expensive); and for those of us who hate weddings, it’s the perfect place to elope.
Lawyernomics
Among the April hordes trekking to Nevada’s biggest playground are the attendees of Avvo‘s Lawyernomics annual conference at the upscale Wynn Las Vegas hotel. If you aren’t familiar with Avvo, you probably work in the Am Law 50 and don’t have time to follow ABA politics re: online legal services (tech-savvy, family/small business-friendly shops like Avvo, Rocket Lawyer and LegalZoom). [See, CodeX Blog, “The ABA-Rocket Lawyer Ramifications.”]
Avvo offers fixed-fee legal services, including document review ($149 & up), advice sessions ($39) and start-to-finish support (starting at $399). Typical issues include family matters, immigration and business, among others.
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Lawyernomics offers three days of education, networking and fun. This year’s event kicks off on April 7 with a reception and continues with two full days of presentations and workshops: April 8 focusing on “How to Market Your Practice,” April 9 targeting “Run Your Firm Like a Business.” The event wraps up with a party at the hotel’s XS Nightclub.
The two marketing keynotes feature:
• “UnSelling: The New Customer Experience,” Scott Stratten, president of UnMarketing and author of The Book of Business Awesome.
• “Good Content v. Good Enough Content: A Fight for Sore Eyes,” Ann Handley, author of Everybody Writes, and co-author of Content Rules.
Avvo “strives for a mix of legal and non-legal keynotes,” explained Dan Lear, Avvo’s Director of Industry Relations. Avvo looks for speakers who will be “accessible and provocative,” he said, because “legal audiences are smart, but often not as attuned to the latest technology or marketing trends. We want our speakers to meet our legal audience where they are—but then take them somewhere unique and valuable.”
For the marketing segment, Lear said, “topics will range from search engine optimization, online branding, social media to video and content marketing. We’ll also offer professional headshots, Avvo profile optimization, website audits, and gadget troubleshooting.”
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For the firm management agenda, Avvo wants to address “the shifts in demand for transparent and convenient delivery of quality services which present a tremendous opportunity for attorneys,” said Lear. “We want to help attendees understand and navigate this landscape. Lawyers must leave behind the comforts and simplicity of the billable hour and learn how to run sophisticated businesses that deliver consumer-centric services. This is a tremendous change.”
Advice for Biglaw Refugees
We asked Lear what advice he would give to Biglaw lawyers who want to join or create small “boutique” firms. “Lawyers’ biggest marketing challenge is that they don’t understand who their ideal clients are—or how to find them,” he said. Whether young or veterans, “lawyers must be very deliberate in thinking about how they will bring business in the door.” Biglaw lawyers cannot—and should not—assume that clients will just “find them” because of their experience, he said.
The Bottom Line
Says Avvo’s founder and CEO Mark Britton: “Lawyernomics explores the many intersections of law and business. We take good lawyers and send them home better businesspeople. It’s that simple.”
Registration info. Cost: $700. (It’s too late for early bird tickets that were $500 and $600.)
Among 2016 Vegas legal events
• April: American Bar Association: 2016 Property Insurance Law Committee Spring CLE Meeting (Wynn Las Vegas)
• May: National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers: 9th Annual Forensic Science and Law Conference (The Cosmopolitan)
• June: American Immigration Lawyers Association: Annual Conference on Immigration Law (The Cosmopolitan)
• October: American Bar Association: 20th Annual National Institute on Class Actions (Wynn Las Vegas)
• December: National Center for State Courts—E-Courts Conference (The Cosmopolitan)
Earlier: The Circuit: Warm Up To E-Discovery
The Circuit: Legaltech New York 2016
Monica Bay is a Fellow at CodeX: The Stanford Center for Legal Informatics and a columnist for Above The Law. She also writes for Bloomberg BNA Big Law Business and serves as a special consultant to The Cowen Group. She is a member of the California Bar and is based in New York City (and can be frequently found at Yankee Stadium). Email: [email protected]. Twitter: @MonicaBay.
