Technology

Legalweek Kicks Off Tuesday Prompting Many To Ask 'Wait, What's Legalweek?'

Legalweek (née Legaltech) begins on Monday, but a lot of people still don't realize all it has to offer.

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ALM’s Legaltech show was a mainstay of the legal industry conference calendar. Like clockwork, every January would feature a bitter cold snap just in time for us all to crowd into the Midtown Hilton to see the latest and greatest in technological tools to the legal field’s most pressing problems and hear from the innovators pushing new solutions for nagging inefficiencies. It showcased its share of silly hyperbole — what tech forum doesn’t? — but it also provided a platform to witness the evolution of legal services.

So it’s unsurprising that many of us continue to prepare for “Legaltech” instead of “Legalweek,” the new name for ALM’s big annual New York event. And, in fairness, “Legaltech” is still there, forming the heart of the event. But Legalweek sports a broader focus now, an effort to integrate the concerns of the wide array of legal industry job titles beyond geeking out about technology.

As John Stuttard, ALM’s Senior Vice President of Global Events put it, we should think of Legalweek the same way we think of Fashion Week — a week featuring a number of independent industry events concentrated into one place for one week:

We’re trying to offer more and get more people — more job titles out here — in one hotel. It’s not a “week-long” as much as an effort to get people together over the course of the week…. We heard from people “yes we know of Legaltech, but it’s not for ME” and we thought we could offer more at one time. Last year there wasn’t much time to digest what the week was. But we need to do more to drive home that it’s more than Legaltech. Rebranding can take 3 or 4 cycles to really embed. This is just cycle 2.

Last year, the show changed its name to “Legalweek: The Experience” which sounded like the world’s worst museum IMAX feature. It prompted… some snickers. But the more understated “Legalweek” is gaining traction the more the legal community understands all of its offerings.

In addition to Legaltech proper, the event plays host to Legal CIO, a forum for C-level tech officers from firms and legal departments. It affords the decision-makers in the tech buying space an opportunity to caucus with peers about the challenges they face.

The show also offers a Business of Law Forum for key stakeholders — because it’s always key stakeholders — to discuss the future of the legal industry. This is the big question on every firm leader’s minds. Or it should be.

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A newcomer to the week’s events is the Legal Diversity & Talent Management Forum, focused on attracting and retaining a diverse workforce and bringing together human resources professionals from firms and legal departments.

Finally, ALM offers a Legal Marketing conference. This was actually an externally run ALM conference in the past, but they’ve brought it under the Legalweek umbrella to make sure those responsible for firm marketing are active participants in the show as well.

While these conferences are all worthy events standing alone, when you consider the products and services marketed at Legaltech, Legalweek is indirectly offering the participants a real service. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard a great pitch for an HR solution and thought, “yes, but will the IT managers at this show realize why they’re personnel folks might need this?” Now those HR professionals will be in the same building strolling past these tools. They’ll be able to engage their tech people as informed stakeholders. Everybody wins when the people who need to use these products are able to see them.

Legalweek is also offering three narrowly focused “bootcamps” in artificial intelligence, in-house leadership, and “growing your solo practice while keeping your sanity.”

So if you haven’t signed up for Legalweek yet, get on that. It’s an interesting show that always has a lot to offer. And these days it has a lot to offer even if you aren’t a tech-head.

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HeadshotJoe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.

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