TECHSHOW 2008 was the best TECHSHOW yet - at least according to Jobst and me and the many vendors and speakers we spoke with. Although the new location, Hilton Chicago, was a beautiful property with incredible sleeping rooms, I found myself missing the Sheraton a bit, but I'm thinking that is due to the fact that I spent seven TECHSHOWs there and became quite familiar with the property and the surrounding area. From my point of view, the only real downsides to the new location were the lack of cell phone service in the building and the "basement" feel of the exhibit hall. With that said, there seemed to be more exhibitors and it was especially nice to see more new vendors participating than I can remember in years past. At the media panel we produced Wednesday, it was amazing that we did not recognize one vendor in the audience! It's always nice to see some new blood getting involved in the industry and I'm sure it's especially appreciated by the attendees.
TECHSHOW Media & Faculty Reception
Immediately following the TECHSHOW Media Panel was a reception that combined the media, faculty and exhibitors. This was a great opportunity to network with this influential crowd and was opened to the exhibitors for the first time this year.
[L-R Kevin O'Keefe, Dennis Kennedy, Tom Mighell, Dave Bilinsky, Matt Homann - Photo courtesy of Adriana Linares]
[Jobst Elster & JoAnna Forshee (me!) - Photo courtesy of Adriana Linares]
LexisNexis (formerly CaseSoft) Industry VIP Dinner
It was nice to see that the tradition of the CaseSoft Industry Dinner continued in 2008. The event is hosted by Bob Wiss and invites approximately 40 industry thought leaders to an incredible dinner at the private rooms at Spiaggia. The event was as fabulous as last year, but a noticeable difference was the new faces in the crowd from LexisNexis. My table consisted of Matt Homann - Visual Strategist for XPLANE and Co-Founder of LexThink; Larry Smith - Executive Director of ABA LPM; Adriana Linares - Consultant, TECHSHOW Board Member and Owner of LawTech Partners; Jeffrey Allen - Special Issue Editor of the Technology & Practice Guide issue of GP Solo, and his lovely wife, Anne Marie; Scott Merrick - Director of Litigation Marketing for LexisNexis; and Lori Taylor - Marketing Manager of LexisNexis Litigation Services.
[L-R Bob Wiss, Dennis Kennedy, Dan Pinnington - Photo courtesy of Adriana Linares]
TECHSHOW After Dark Party
Another change to TECHSHOW for 2008 was the addition of a reception for the attendees, faculty and exhibitors on Thursday night. We popped in for a few minutes before we had to head out to a client dinner and we were pleasantly surprised to see quite a crowd. Entertainment was provided by the Empty Can Band, which is led Dave Glynn, who also happens to be the Director of Business Development for Law Bulletin Publishing, and they were great! The rooms stayed full until the end of the reception at 8pm. A great showing for this first time event and I look for it to build on this foundation in 2009.
[Dave Glynn with Empty Can Band]
Taste of ABA TECHSHOW - Friday Night Dinner Groups
For the second year in a row, the ABA TECHSHOW has coordinated dinner groups on Friday night. This year there were 18 dinner groups consisting of 8-10 people including 2 speaker hosts. These dinners are at separate restaurants throughout Chicago and you can sign up to attend by either selecting a topic that interests you or speakers that you would like to meet. This program was coordinated by ABA TECHSHOW Board Member Adriana Linares and was a huge hit for the second year in a row.
Conference Concierge
Another program that was started last year and continued in 2008, was the TECHSHOW Conference Concierge program for the attendees. This booth sits in front of the entrance to the exhibit hall and is manned by faculty and speakers that are available to answer attendees' questions and give suggestions on sessions for attendees to attend. This is a volunteer effort by the faculty and was the brainchild of Adriana Linares, who coordinated the effort again this year. Here are a few of the volunteers this year...Dennis Kennedy, Kevin O'Keefe, Adriana Linares, Toby Brown, Ben Stevens, Jeff Flax, Craig Roy, Judge Bob Moss, and Tom Mighell.
Conclusion
We'd like to thank Larry Smith, Executive Director of ABA LPM and Tom Mighell, Chair of 2008 TECHSHOW Planning Board. We'd also like to thank the entire Planning Board as well as the Advisory Board (I served on as well). I can't wait to see what Laura Calloway, who is the Chair of the 2009 TECHSHOW Planning Board, does to top this year's event! No pressure, Laura...
[Tom Mighell - 2008 TECHSHOW Chair - Photo courtesy of Adriana Linares]
[Larry Smith & Laura Calloway (2009 Incoming TECHSHOW Chair) - Photo courtesy of Adriana Linares]
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