Technology

6 Things To Watch For At ABA TECHSHOW This Week

If you are attending, make sure to check out what are sure to be the highlights of this year’s conference.

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Will you be in Chicago this week for ABA TECHSHOW? It is one of the largest and most important legal technology conferences, and is particularly well-suited for legal professionals working in solo and smaller firms.

If you are attending, here are six highlights to watch for at this year’s conference.

  1. Startup Pitch Competition.

Techshow opens at 5 p.m. CT with the second-annual Startup Pitch Competition in the Plaza Ballroom at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. Fifteen legal startups were selected by readers of Above the Law to participate in this competition. The 15 companies will also be on display in a special Startup Alley portion of the exhibition hall.

The competition will be a fast-paced event in which each startup will get 2.5 minutes to present a pitch to the live audience. Most will have videos prepared in advance to ensure adherence to the time limit. At the end of the hour, the audience will vote using a polling function in the TECHSHOW app.

The winner gets not only bragging rights, but also free exhibit space at the 2019 TECHSHOW, one year Emerging Company membership in Evolve Law, and a profile published on Above the Law.

Evolve Law’s Mary Juetten and I will moderate the event, which this year is being sponsored by practice management software Clio.

Sponsored

  1. Getting Women A Seat At the Table.

Also on the opening night, a special networking event will focus on “getting women a seat at the table.” Sponsored by Above the Law and Evolve Law, it is called the 10/20/30 Networking Event, reflecting the troubling fact that women make up only 10 percent of corporate board members, 20 percent of law firm partners, and 30 percent of judges.

​The event is open to “all stakeholders committed to getting women a seat at the table” and will go from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. CST. Tickets cost $10, with all proceeds going to the Domestic Violence Legal Clinic of Chicago. Find more information and register here.

  1. The Katz Keynote.

Be sure to calendar Friday, March 9, at 1 p.m. CT, for the keynote address by Daniel Martin Katz, professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law and widely recognized thought leader in technology and entrepreneurship in law. His topic, Six Vectors of Legal Innovation: How Current Trends Will #MakeLawBetter.

Sponsored

Katz will talk about the opportunities and perils presented by new technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and the Internet of Things, and offer his view of how lawyers should embrace innovation if they want to achieve greater professional success.

  1. Two Notable Legal Tech Birthdays.

Almost exactly 10 years ago, the first two cloud-based practice management platforms came on the market. On Feb. 21, 2008, Rocket Matter announced the launch of its beta version, followed a week later by the beta launch of Clio.

As I noted in a post here last September, these launches were significant. These companies quite literally invented cloud-based law practice management. They spawned a field of legal technology that now dominates law practice. Not only that, but both became major drivers of the profession’s broader adoption of the cloud.

At TECHSHOW, both companies will be celebrating their 10-year milestones, each in their own way. For attendees, the best way to participate in the celebration will be by attending Clio’s 10-year anniversary after party, which takes place on Thursday, March 8. Find details here.

  1. Taste of TECHSHOW Dinners.

One of the best ways to meet new people and engage in great conversations at TECHSHOW is to attend one of the Taste of TECHSHOW dinners. These are small-group dinners hosted by TECHSHOW speakers held at a variety of restaurants around Chicago.

Each dinner is organized around a discussion theme — such as cybersecurity or social media — but the actual conversations tend to be wide-ranging and engaging. As I am writing this, there are still slots open. Your best bet to secure a seat is to sign up in advance.

  1. The Exhibit Hall.

One of the best ways to learn about what is new in legal technology is to simply wander around the TECHSHOW exhibit hall and visit with the vendors who are on display there.

Well over 100 companies will be exhibiting at TECHSHOW. In addition, there will be announcements of new products made at the show, including a new product, Lawmatics, that founder Matt Spiegel — the original founder of the MyCase practice management platform — says will be like Salesforce and HubSpot for the legal profession.

Where to Find Me.

As for me, I am moderating the Startup Pitch competition on the opening night, and then presenting on two panels on Thursday: Creating Your Own Legal Tech Startup, with ROSS Intelligence CEO Andrew Arruda, at 8:45 a.m.; and Alexa, Is This IoT Evidence Admissible?, with Antigone Peyton of Protorae Law PLLC, at 10:45 a.m. And on Friday night, find me at Beer for Bloggers hosted by LexBlog and the ABA Journal, which takes place 5:30 to 7 p.m. CT at the Emerald Loop Irish Bar, two blocks from the Hyatt.

See you there!

Robert Ambrogi Bob AmbrogiRobert Ambrogi is a Massachusetts lawyer and journalist who has been covering legal technology and the web for more than 20 years, primarily through his blog LawSites.com. Former editor-in-chief of several legal newspapers, he is a fellow of the College of Law Practice Management and an inaugural Fastcase 50 honoree. He can be reached by email at ambrogi@gmail.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@BobAmbrogi).

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