InsideLegal

Interwoven Announces Agreement to be Acquired by Autonomy

Direct from their site...  "January 21, 2009, Interwoven entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Autonomy, the clear leader in enterprise search and the front runner in Meaning-Based Computing. The combined company will have more than 2,000 employees and 20,000 customers. Following the close, Interwoven will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Autonomy. This acquisition brings together two quality, high-performing software companies who share a vision to fundamentally change the way organizations discover, analyze and manage information. "

Link to the FAQs on the Acquisition

Link to the Webcast (log-in required)

Link to the Press Announcement

The 411 on LegalTech New York 2009

This post is in a "Q&A "format.  InsideLegal posed the questions and LegalTech, a part of Incisive Media Legal Events, provided the answers.

What is new for LegalTech NY 2009?
This year attendees will have even more to choose from.  In addition to our keynote sessions on each day and educational tracks, two special sessions will be offered daily.

LEGALTECH Town Hall (12:45-2:00 in the West Grand Ballroom) This session is an interactive session that has allowed attendees to submit questions prior to the show via YouTube, to be answered by a panel of experts in the legal technology industry.  This session is to be moderated by Patrick Oot, Director of Electronic Discovery & Senior Litigation Counsel of Verizon Legal Department.

”What is Twitter and How Do I Use It?” (3:00-4:00 in the West Grand Ballroom) This session will cover what this new technology is, how people use it, and how law firms can use it as part of their overall client development plans. The session will be moderated by Monica Bay (Editor of Law Technology News) and will include Matthew Homann (Founder of LexThink LLC); Kevin O’Keefe (CEO of LexBlog); and Chris Winfield (President of 10e20) as panelists.

Tuesday New Sessions:

Inside The LEGALTECH Studio (12:45-2:00 in the West Grand Ballroom)  This session will be will be similar to a “fireside chat” with high-profile experts (a corporate general counsel, a corporate CIO, and a law firm managing director) in the industry giving participants the opportunity to hear their opinions and thoughts on issues discussed in boardrooms when it comes to legal leadership and technology decisions.

“What I Hate About Technology: And What I Expect Our Outside Counsel, Opposing Counsel, Vendors & Staff to Do About It!”  (3:30-5:00 in the West Grand Ballroom)  Monica Bay, editor of Law Technology News, and Anthony Paonita, editor of Corporate Counsel, have planned this great Supersession to address technology challenges faced by general counsel. Sharing their pet peeves will be top general counsel and deputy-level GC lawyers.  Panelists will target billing, e-discovery and litigation, and mobile lawyering, among other sore spots.

In addition to these new featured sessions, you will see another expansion at the 2009 show; the exhibit hall has expanded to include the Grand Ballroom.  

What additional programs/events are being held in conjunction with LegalTech NY? 
The Law Firm Chief Information & Technology Officers Forum February 3-4, 2009 at The Hilton New York Hotel - This event will update Chief Information Officers on best practices to better manage their IT Departments. Listen to cutting-edge updates on new and emerging technologies that can transform your firm and save money. All registered attendees receive complementary VIP admission all three days of LegalTech New York 2009.

First Annual Paralegal Technology Institute at LegalTech February 3-4, 2009 at The Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers - In today's fast-paced, competitive law firm environment, paralegals have become vital to the law firm's ability to deliver quality e-discovery and litigation support services. Law Technology News and Estrin LegalEd, two top names in continuing legal education, have partnered to develop a dynamic program specifically designed for real world litigation paralegals. All registered attendees receive complementary VIP admission to the opening day of LegalTech New York 2009.

The 6th Annual Law Technology News Awards Dinner takes place at 6:00 p.m. Monday. The Technology Awards recognize leaders in the field - both in innovation and implementation. Law firm and vendor award winners will be honored at Carmine's in Times Square.

How many companies are exhibiting this year?  New companies?
As of January 15th, there are 260 exhibitors. There are over 66 new companies to the 2009 event which is over 25% of the exhibitors this year.

What is the registration looking like?  What about free exhibit passes vs. complete registration passes?
Total registration numbers for LegalTech are tracking ahead of our 2008 event (total final registration for 2008 was 12,797) and, in the case of our exhibit hall and blogger access passes, we have seen a significant increase over last year.

For companies that are interested in signing up for a booth, is that still possible?
Yes.  This year LegalTech expanded exhibit space by adding on the ballrooms of the Hilton. For more information, please email Rob Hafiz or call him at 651-337-0411.

For existing exhibitors, are there still additional promotional opportunities/sponsorships available through LegalTech?
There are a few – 1. Treasure Hunt openings available (deadline is 1/23/09). 2. There are still some favorable banner placement opportunities in our two registration areas, as well as meeting rooms and Conference Club rental opportunities. 3. Exhibitors can enhance their website listings, or place inserts in the registration bags. 4. Also, exhibitors can rent our post conference attendee list which contains full contact information including mailing addresses. For more information, please email Rob Hafiz or call him at 651-337-0411.

Beyond paid opportunities, what other suggestions do you have for existing exhibitors to maximize their exposure at the show?
All exhibitors should utilize internal marketing and promotional lists and push the PDF of the exhibit- only pass. This pass allows registrants to attend the keynotes, town halls, general sessions, super sessions and emerging technology sessions.

Download LegalTechNY09ExhibitsOnlyPass

What are the details on the media breakfast for LegalTech NY 2009?
The Editor’s Breakfast will take place on Tuesday February 3, 2009, 8:00am in the Petit Trion Ballroom. This is an opportunity for the Incisive Media publication editors to meet and greet the attendees and vendors before the start of the Day 2 Keynote session. 

Up Your Marketing In a Down Economy

Happy New Year everyone!  It seems that when we left off before the holidays, there wasn't quite the scramble to compensate for the economy and the issues it was bringing to the legal industry.  Now, just over a month later, and four major law firm dissolutions later, it is the ONLY topic on everyone's mind. To that end, InsideLegal will provide comprehensive coverage on economic issues as they relate to the legal technology landscape. Beyond that, we are recruitting a slew of reputable consultants, legal IT, firm contacts, and other legal commentators to provide insight into the topics that matter most to you. 

With that said ...more often than not in a down economy, the first thing that law firms and vendors do is cut back on their marketing efforts.  We have been speaking with vendors lately and have heard that very thing from almost all of them.  Based on our experience, this is a strategy that is extremely counterproductive, and counterintuitive based on the long term goals of growth and increasing market awareness.

It is important to continue with your marketing plan to maintain the momentum. Also, by doing so, you separate yourself from your competitors and other market players.  With keeping your marketing investment the same in a down economy, you actually accomplish more and have an increased presence among other companies that are pulling way back.  This puts you at the forefront of your prospects and keeps you top of mind.  Another benefit is that you're making goodwill points with your vendors (events, publications, agencies, etc.) that are in the same position that you're in. This not only gives you 'bonus points', but goes a long way in building long term vendor partnerships.

So, after evaluating your marketing mix, think twice about cutting costs. If you must cut, look at taking the reduction from across all line items.  For example, it would give you better results to do an event, but cut out the sponsorship or reduce ad sizes instead of completely cutting your event or advertising line items. Also, get creative on cost cutting - partner with other vendors for group buying power - look at co-op ads, seek alternatives to expensive printing and mailing options, etc.

What is your organization doing in this regard?  We'd love to hear from you.

American Legal Technology Insider Issue #6 Available

Issue #6 (see PDF below) of the large law firm publication, American Legal Technology Insider (ALTi), is hot off the press! Coming from the same publishing stable as the UK’s market leading newsletter Legal Technology Insider, ALTi follows the UK formula of treating vendor and industry news as real news, albeit with a strictly North American flavor. ALTi is the brainchild of Charles Christian who is the Editor and Publisher of Legal Technology Insider (in its 12th year) as well as The Orange Rag breaking news blog. Charles Christian has been described by The Times of London as "the definitive online resource for the latest news about legal technology".

If you haven't subscribed already, send an email to sign up to receive future issues of ALTi delivered to your email free of charge.

Download ALTi Issue #6