Virtual Legal Conferences: Can You Really 'Connect' Online?

Virtual legal conferences are all we've got for now, for better or for worse.

In November 2020, masks and social distancing are part of our collective reality for now. As a result, air travel is no longer feasible (or desirable) for most of us. And you know what that means: in-person legal conferences are out of the question right and won’t be happening for the foreseeable future.

As a result, virtual legal conferences are all we’ve got for now, for better or for worse. That being said, they’re not a particularly great option and leave a lot to be desired, as I explained in this Above the Law post from June:

Unfortunately, most “virtual” conference platforms fail to incorporate many of the very elements that make conferences the most enjoyable. Sure, virtual CLE sessions and vendor “booths” allow attendees to peruse marketing materials and to chat via text messages with vendors, but even in those respects they fall flat. The feeling of true interaction and engagement is limited and the experience often feels very one dimensional, and — let’s be honest — boring.

In that post I advocated for a legal conference with avatars. I strongly believed then, and continue to believe now, that a conference with avatars is the only way to come a bit closer to replicating the face-to-face networking that makes traditional in-person conferences so valuable — and fun.

Thus far, no conference planners have taken my suggestion to heart and held a conference with avatars. However, last week I had the opportunity to attend two virtual legal-tech conferences (via complimentary passes) that had very little in common other than the word “connect” in their name: Alt Legal Connect 2020 and Intapp Connect20.

Intapp’s online conference was the epitome of a traditional technology company conference for its users, and most sessions were focused on ways that attendees could use Intapp’s suite of software tools to grow and improve their businesses. There were three different tracks that provided a wealth of information, one of which was devoted entirely to legal professionals. Sessions primarily consisted of: 1) how-tos for their different product lines, and 2) panels of current customers who explained how Intapp’s software forwarded their business goals.

In comparison, Alt Legal’s inaugural conference was designed to appeal to current and prospective customers, namely intellectual property and trademark attorneys. This conference covered a wide range of topics of interest to its target audience, including substantive IP and trademark updates, legal marketing tips, legal technology advice (I was honored to be a speaker at one of these sessions), and law firm management and business strategies. Alt Legal also offered unique live events such as Mexican and Italian cooking classes and virtual Taboo and Charades games to help break up the monotony of back-to-back Zoom sessions and insert a bit of levity into the conference.

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Both conference platforms included opportunities for online networking with attendees and speakers. The conferences included chat capabilities that allowed attendees to participate in what were often lively discussions about the topic being addressed by the speaker. There were also virtual vendor booths that participants could visit, and engage with company representatives if they were so inclined.

In other words, in both cases, the conference planners did the best they could under the circumstances and, despite the limitations inherent in an online conference environment, put on events that presumably achieved their goals and provided value to attendees. Like every other company that scheduled conferences in the latter half of 2020, they made the best out of an unfortunate situation.

Even so, and despite the planners’ best efforts, these online events, like many others that occurred before them, were missing the key element that makes conferences enjoyable and memorable: in-person interaction and camaraderie.  Through no fault of the people who planned these online conferences (and the ones that preceded them), they were simply back-to-back online meetings at a time when we’re all suffering from extreme Zoom fatigue and are craving genuine social engagement.

That’s why I continue to believe that one way to solve this problem is by holding an online legal conference with avatars. I’m convinced that this format will offer a way to insert a form of gamification into events, thus adding an additional element of fun and making them just a bit more enjoyable.

No doubt in-person conferences are the ideal format, but I think we can all agree that they won’t be occurring anytime soon. Meanwhile, virtual conferences using videoconferencing alone are falling flat. Since that’s the case, and we’re stuck with online interactions for now, why not experiment a bit to see if providing a new and unique way to interact and engage might be the stop-gap solution?

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In short, I think gamification is the solution to virtual conferencing fatigue, and using a conference platform that incorporates avatars is a great way to go about it. Gamification has been proven to increase user engagement and interaction, which is exactly what we need to improve the virtual conference experience. Sound interesting? If so, and you’re on board, here are three of the best-known contenders for consideration: VirtwayTeeoh, and Whova.

I may be a lone voice in the darkness, yelling into the ether from my lonely virtual mountaintop, but I’m confident that someday soon, someone, somewhere will hear me and see the light. And, maybe, just maybe, that day is today. Are there any takers out there? Anyone? Bueller?


Nicole Black is a Rochester, New York attorney and Director of Business and Community Relations 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 at @nikiblack and she can be reached at niki.black@mycase.com.

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