InsideLegal

Inside Legalweek 2019: Battle Tested Tips for Conference Survival

If you are looking for basic tradeshow tips such as "wear comfortable shoes", "plot out who you want to meet ahead of time" and "bring business cards", etc. this isn't the post for you. This is a post based on 19 years of attending Legaltech New York and most all other legal events and conferences. We make the joke annually that it's no coincidence that Legaltech is always within a few days of Groundhog Day. Legaltech's timing is unique in that it allows you to kick off the new year with a bang, however it can also make for a brutal week. With the morphing of Legaltech into Legalweek, this is even more so the case. Here are some Legalweek 2019 'coping' tips which will hopefully have you looking back at the week ahead with enthusiasm not vitriol.

1. There is no ‘cone of silence’!

You wouldn’t believe the things we’ve heard in the common areas of the Hilton over our 19 years attending Legaltech. Realize that the property is a ‘hot’ spot and that you never know who is at the table beside you in the restaurant or sharing the elevator with you, so be discreet!  Update: I'm going to extend this tip out two blocks in all directions. If you are at the Warwick or the Starbucks or the corner pub, it can still be full of Legalweek attendees or your competitors!

2. Multi-task

There is a lot to take advantage of at Legalweek, so often plans for the event begin and end with working your booth. To maximize your investment, take advantage of all the opportunities available to network and/or promote your brand including connecting with partners, media, bloggers but also take time to meet with legal associations on-site such as ILTA , ARMA, AALL or AECDS.

3. "Social" networking

The first word in social networking is SOCIAL. In an industry with the staying power of legal - no one ever leaves, they just change companies/firms - it is just as valuable to make social connections with peers and contacts. During social events, stay social! Don’t start listing the bullet points for your product or bust out a laptop/tablet for a ‘quick demo’. Seriously… it happens all the time! Also bring your manners to the Twitter-verse and don't hog the hashtag. There are many people that participate in the Legalweek social media world so be respectful and don't hog the hashtag! If you are including the #Legalweek19 hashtag (which you should), don't send tweets from multiple company/employee accounts multiple times in a row. There are always a few people/companies that decide that social media success is based on the number of tweets they post. In fact, often those people are ridiculed and avoided, so don't be one of them! 

4. Meeting space hell

Unfortunately, one of the biggest challenges at Legalweek is finding a space to meet on-site, so prepare accordingly. All major events should provide ample space for their attendees to sit and network, but unfortunately, the main common area for meetings during the day is now rented out by ALM to vendors for their meetings during the day, so it's been closed off. We suggest you book a separate meeting space, locate a few off-site meeting options  beforehand or just direct all meeting traffic to your booth to collectively find appropriate space. We have managed to find a few choice places to meet, but then again, you don't expect us to publish those, do you? :-)  

However, we've found a couple of creative ideas from the suspended glass box meeting room above to the "portable chair" to the right (try at your own risk!). Next year, someone should give them away in the exhibit hall!  

5. Beware of the 'convenience' of the coat check

In the past, recovering from hypothermia because I walked to the Hilton without my coat was less annoying than standing in the coat check line. Seriously. (OK, obviously the photo is an exaggeration but you get the idea!)

6. Measure up the competition

If you are a technology vendor/Legaltech exhibitor in town for the week, this is the perfect time to 'compare and contrast'. What are companies in your application area promoting this week? How visible are they? How is their exhibit floor/booth traffic? What are they doing that you might be able to pull off better? Did you know there is a full schedule of demos and product pitches happening throughout the week? And, there's a new Legaltech Product Innovation showcase and award to check out and vote on via the app. Don't come to town solely focused on booth duty and the 'wine and dine'. Be aware, take notes, and share it when you get home. 

A variation from a post originally published January 20, 2015

Inside Legalweek 2019: Legaltech Agenda Word Cloud - Nine Years and Counting

Starting next week, we will join thousands at what will be our 20th edition of Legaltech New York (LTNY). 2019 will mark the third year that LTNY is part of an expanded Legalweek format, with almost four full days of exhibitions, networking and legal sessions.

 

If you've attended LTNY before, you may be familiar with our annual Legaltech NY Agenda Word Clouds that provide a visual display of the words/themes from the Legaltech event's educational agenda and session lineup. If you aren't familiar with word clouds (you'd be surprised!), the larger words/phrases are the ones most often referenced in the agenda text and so on.

 

Let's take a look at InsideLegal's 9th annual Legaltech NY Agenda Word Cloud. To allow for comparison of this year's visual with the trends from past years, we've also included below the word clouds we created in 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011. Take a look, click on the images to enlarge and compare for yourself.

 

For this post, we'll leave the commentary and word cloud "interpretation" to you all, but I must say, it sure is nice to see topics other than eDiscovery trending ...

 

 Remember: Click on images to enlarge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Subscribe to InsideLegal for LTNY updates and market information and follow us on Twitter at @InsideLegal for timely updates. 

 

The word cloud was pulled from the agenda located at www.LegalTechShow.com.

Inside Legalweek 2019: Rewarding Legal Technology Innovation

In July, 2015, ALM’s Legaltech News last unveiled the winners of the LTN Innovation Awards, an annual recognition of the best legal technology leaders, products and projects in the legal community. Three and a half years have passed and now it's time to once again recognize industry leaders in legal technology innovation. The 2019 Legaltech Product Innovation Competition is underway with 7 finalists having been named in early January. 

Erin Hichman, Senior Analyst with ALM Intelligence, is charged with organizing the 2019 innovation competition. We wanted to learn more ... how did this come about? how will the judging work? who applied? and who made the final cut. Let's find out.

IL: What is the genesis of the award? Why launch this now?
EH: Over the past year we’ve really witnessed the continued “explosion” of legal technology, but, more importantly, and interestingly, we are starting to see a new level of sophistication and innovation in product development. The legal technology market and landscape is changing so quickly - and is becoming crowded. We decided to launch the Product Innovation Competition this year at Legaltech to provide a platform for those that are using technology to improve the legal industry and approach traditional challenges and goals in a new way. It’s also a great way to help the consumer and user of legal technology understand what is available to them.

In most firms and legal departments, there are multiple stakeholders who must review and evaluate new technology, and many of those are in NYC the last week of January attending Legalweek. Given the depth and breadth of attendees, including many in-house legal professionals, we wanted to provide a platform for companies to launch new products with maximum exposure.

IL: Please walk us through the judging and evaluation process?
EH: There will be two awards given out - one from the panel of judges we have, and one from the conference attendees (“People’s Choice Awards”). We have a fantastic panel of judges including Catherine Krow of Digitory Legal; Haley Altman of Doxly; Silvia Hodges Silverstein of Buying Legal; Richard Tromans of Tromans Consulting, and Ryan McClead of Sente Advisors. They will all speak with the finalists at their booths, and also take part in the demos or “pitches” each finalist makes. All of the conference attendees are encouraged to check out the finalists and interact with them as well. The judges will evaluate on six criteria, using a scale of one to five:
1. Is the solution distinctive or fundamentally different from existing products?
2. Does the solution enhance efficiency and/or productivity?
3. If there a clear market need?
4. Design
5. Functionality
6. Applicability

Conference attendees will be able to vote via the event mobile app (for iOS devices), on the following criteria:
1. Does the product enhance efficiency and/or productivity?
2. Design
3. Overall Functionality
4. Applicability

IL: What are the judges looking for in a finalist/winner?
EH: Ultimately the judges are looking for products that are unique and differentiated from existing products in the legal industry that solve a particular challenge, and/or take a new approach to something that has been fairly static historically.

IL: Can you touch on the application field, the recently announced finalists and the award ceremony?
EH: There was a broad range of products, 25 in total, who entered the competition, from smaller newer entrants to the legal field to large and well-known names. Some key themes we saw reflected across many entrants was using AI and creating a more integrated, seamless and collaborative experience for the end-user.

Seven finalists were identified after an initial round of scoring by the judges:

• Fastcase Analytics Workbench enables lawyers and librarians to create their own reports using user-defined analytics, rather than pre-defined analytics.
• FRONTEO Patent Explorer 19 uses the company’s AI engine, KIBIT, to perform patent search and analysis.
• H5 PII Identification Solution helps legal and compliance professionals quickly and accurately identify likely PII content within Relativity.
• LexisNexis Context provides AI-powered insight to attorneys on judges and expert witnesses to better prepare for, present and argue cases.
• LexMachina Legal Analytics for Insurance Litigation includes more than 93,000 cases pending in federal court since 2009 to provide insight and trends in insurance case timing, resolutions, damages, remedies and findings.
• OneTrust Privacy Management and Marketing Compliance Software helps law firms better demonstrate regulatory compliance through its privacy management and marketing compliance platform.
• Tikit Carpe Diem Intelligent Time allows attorneys to write or dictate time sheets by using Natural Language Processing and turns them into time records. This tech analyzes and converts unstructured into structured data; attorney’s thoughts are transformed into fully formed time narratives.

The Award Ceremony will be held at 10:40 on January 31 on the Legaltech LITE Stage, which is accessible to everyone at the entire Legalweek event. We encourage everyone to attend!

IL: What does the future hold for the Legalweek Product Innovation competition?
EH: We are very excited about this new addition to Legaltech. The response to the competition has been really good. We had 25 very interesting products enter, and after some close scoring, ended up with seven finalists. We think that this type of competition is the perfect fit for Legaltech and the overall Legalweek event, and are already making plans to include it next year.

Inside Legalweek 2019: Q&A with Mark Fried, ALM Events President

Legalweek 2019 is less than two weeks away. This will be our 20th year heading to the big apple for a legal tech, legal business, legal operations submersion. This will be Mark Fried's first as President at ALM Events (he's also company CFO), a position he assumed last February. With 11 months to learn the ropes and get a lay of the legal land, what's Mark's vision for not only Legalweek but all ALM events? What's in store for Legalweek 2019? and what are some of the 'must attend' sessions? Let's find out!

IL: Mark, what have been your priorities for ALM Legal Events since taking charge?

Mark Fried, ALM

MF: Firstly thank you for the opportunity to discuss our events and solutions at ALM. My priorities at ALM regarding Events have been to grow registrations on every event. At the core of this growth is the premise that we will offer best in class programming and speaker line ups for every conference while we build in enough time and rigor to adequately launch, market and sell each event. This requires a full 12-18 month outlook on every event with an eye on developing target markets and audience. Integrating and aligning our program development with editorial focus and priorities has been at the heart of commitment to quality and integrity within our conference programs. As a leader in the legal media, I want to ensure our audience knows we are equally a leader in live events.

IL: What overall program updates/changes have you initiated and why?

MF: In 2019, our attendees will continue to benefit from Legalweek as a week in time, where all disciplines of the business of law gather to exchange ideas and address the future of the legal industry. In addition to Legaltech, Legalweek’s largest and most established conference, Legalweek features 4 other conferences focusing on the various areas within the business of law: LegalCIO, LegalMarketing, Business of Law Forum, and Legal Diversity & Talent Management Forum.

We are reinventing the 2019 exhibit hall. The exhibit space has been purposely designed to let exhibitors showcase their products and services for maximum exposure, with new features on every floor ranging from the Emerging Technology Sessions Theater on the Americas Hall I, to CLE Sessions held on Rhinelander to Product Innovation Finalists conducting demonstrations on the Grand Ballroom exhibit floor. Additionally we have added lunch on the exhibit floor for master pass attendees & conference attendees to LegalCIO, Legal Marketing, Legal Diversity & Talent and Business of Law.

IL: What are your expectations for Legalweek 2019?

MF: We will continue to provide an event format where attendees will find relevant communities to make new connections, and glean new and pertinent information and tools that enable them to do their job more efficiently. Our expectation is that Legalweek will continue to build its reputation as THE place where the business of law happens and grows. I am excited to integrate the content offers with the exhibit hall and look forward to further innovations where technology and the business of law meld throughout every attendees entire experience.

IL: Please provide us with the Legalweek highlights from your perspective and what's new in 2019.

MF: The highlights of Legalweek 2019 include a Product Innovation Competition and the Emerging Technology Sessions that will take place right on the exhibit floor. We will also feature new program formats, with a mix of workshops, panels and traditional presentations – all designed to encourage a higher level of attendee engagement. We are introducing Alexa Navigation Pods and attendees will enjoy an updated registration area as well as expanded Keynote seating.

IL: What should a Legalweek 'first timer' not leave NY without? 

MF: 32% of Legalweek attendees are “first timers”. With that number in mind, in 2019 we’ve developed a Newcomer Orientation, which will take place on Monday, January 28th. This program will guide new attendees through the best way to navigate the various conferences and not be overwhelmed, tell them what they need to know about visiting the exhibit hall, and explain how to take advantage of everything they will encounter over the course of the coming days. First timers should leave feeling invigorated and motivated with the most current knowledge and best practices regarding legal technology, innovations and the business of law ... including new peers, contacts, vendors and solutions that will positively impact their law practice in 2019 and beyond.

IL: Our InsideLegal audience is primarily legal technology executives and law firm leaders. Can you recommend a Legalweek session or two you view as 'must attend' for this audience?

MF: Starting off the State of the Industry and Opening Keynote featuring both Alberto Gonzales and Loretta Lynch is definitely a must see event. Other top 2019 picks to check out include:
• Why Lawyers Are Adopting AI Faster Than You: Law Firm Leaders Share Technology Strategies 
• Leveraging Data Analytics: Getting More Done, without Doing More
• Innovation, Client Collaboration, and Business Development Through Document Automation
• The International Legal Cloud 2019: Discovery, Security, and Business Considerations
• Innovative Law Departments: New Roles Highlight the Importance of Innovation in Law Departments

Click here for a list of all Legaltech conference sessions; here for the LegalCIO agenda; here for LegalMarketing sessions; here for the Business of Law Forum agenda; and here for Legal Diversity & Talent Management content details.

Hey Legal, What's the State of our Industry? ALM Intelligence Speaks

‘Pre’ Legalweek New York began today with various premium boot camp-style intensives but Tuesday’s ‘State of the Industry’ general session at 9AM (Grand Ballroom West) marks the official kick-off for Legalweek 2018. I had a chance to touch base with Steve Kovalan and Nicholas Bruch, both senior analysts with ALM Intelligence and tomorrow’s ‘state of the union’ session leaders.

Steve Kovalan
Senior Analyst, ALM Intelligence

Nicholas Bruch
Senior Analyst, ALM Intelligence

Check out this insightful Q&A before you head into the session tomorrow and you might be one of the smartest (but definitely most informed) folks in the room. I attended the 2017 session, really a useful, perhaps sobering way to kick-off the conference, and was constantly reminded that law firms are (still) lousy listeners when it comes to acting on as Kovalan and Bruch put it, the ‘changing field of play’, especially in terms of new competitors and evolving client demands. So as we head into this year’s session, the elephant in the room if you will is whether law firms have made any strides in terms of recognizing change and taking proactive measures to address increasing client as well as market demands?

IL: Before we dive into some of your findings, can you tell us a bit more about your research scope and focus for this project?

ALM: When we prepare for this presentation each year we try to do two things. Firstly, we reflect on what we are hearing from law firm leaders, law department leaders, and other leaders in the legal industry. We spend a lot of time talking to people in leading roles in the industry. It is important to us that this presentation reflects on those conversations and connects to the trends they are seeing in their own businesses and the narratives that we see forming out in the legal market which try to help explain why things are moving in the way they are. The second thing we do is take a deep dive into the data to help explain some of the trends and, when needed, debunk some commonly held beliefs that aren’t supported by the data.

IL: Last year, your state of the industry session was focused on three central themes: disruption, innovation, and revolution. How does 2018 compare in terms of focus areas? SK & NB: This year’s presentation certainly touches on the themes we discussed last year. Disruption is still a major conversation in the legal industry and you will see that trend continued in this year’s presentation. Our focus this year, however, is slightly different. We want to show people what the data says about the future of the legal market and provide a coherent view of where the legal market is heading over the next decade. IL: What are the top 3 significant data points, perhaps even ‘wow moments’ you will be sharing during your session?

ALM: Different parts of the audience will find different data points more compelling so we try to put something in the presentation for everyone. We suspect individuals from law departments and ASPs will find some of the insourcing data particularly compelling; the law firm audience will find the data on billing rates and GDP growth of interest and our analysis on the future of the legal market should be compelling and thought-provoking to all.

IL: You mention that based on your data analysis, the legal industry is undergoing a significant, if subtle, shift. What are you seeing?

ALM:  People tend to see things in extremes – either everything is changing or nothing is. That tendency is as true in the legal market as it is anywhere and you see it all the time. We're constantly hearing predictions about the “death of the hourly rate” or the “death of Big Law”. Our analysis suggests there is a shift happening in the legal market, but it’s not quite that dramatic. If we look at the legal market 20 years ago it was fairly straightforward – law departments managed the work and law firms did the work. This is obviously a generalization, but it is also broadly true. Law department’s primary task was deciding which law firms got what work and on what terms, while law firms did the vast majority of high and medium value work (and a fair amount of low value work). Today’s market is a bit more complex. Law departments still play the role of manager but law firms now share their market with in-house teams, alternative service providers, and increasingly, with the legal arms of The Big 4. The looming question for the future of the legal market is how all of this new competition is going to impact the space that law firms once owned. Many people seem to believe that the answer to that question is fairly straightforward – that law firms will lose market share at the expense of these new competitors. We believe the data suggests a slightly more nuanced outcome is more likely. We think some law firms will be highly successful. But we also believe that many will, indeed, loose share to new rivals. We think success in the future legal market will be based on a firm’s ability to provide a unique value proposition. Some firms will success because they have the scale to deliver services more cheaply. Others will succeed because they are profitable enough to buy the best talent. Regardless of the specific value proposition we strongly believe the market is moving to a world in which firms – whether they be law firms or ASPs – must be highly focused.

IL: Based on your analysis and insights, what major trends will be impacting the legal industry this year and further down the road?

ALM: 1. The Big 4: The Big 4 are coming for the legal market. The legal arms of the Big 4 are still largely underappreciated. We strongly believe that there is growing evidence that the Big 4 are targeting a position in the legal market which threatens law firms and traditional ASPs.

2. Consolidation: The consolidation we have seen in the legal market over the past several years is likely to continue and, probably, accelerate. We will see more law firm mergers and more ASP mergers. We believe it is highly likely that the Big 4 will go on a buying spree in the ASP market for example.

3.  Divergence: The data clearly shows that there is an ever-widening gulf growing in the law firm market. Law firms are growing more and more different from each other – in terms of profitability, size and operational models. We think we will see this trend continue and probably accelerate. In 10 years full-service law firms will look dramatically different from bet the company firms.

4.  Litigation Finance: The litigation finance trend has just begun and it is arguably one of the biggest and most exciting trends in the legal industry right now. It has the power to be a major force for change in the legal industry. It could, for example, spur new demand for litigation services (via an uptick in lawsuits). It could also spur changes in the way litigation is priced and managed.

5.  Law Firm Failures: We have seen quite a few law firm failures in the past years. Dramatic failures – with law firms going into bankruptcy – and less dramatic ones – with failing law firms “merging” into “white knight” firms. The data suggests this trend will continue and potentially accelerate. There is significant volatility in law firm financials. Many firms can withstand a single bad year – but few are in a position to withstand two or three bad years.

6.  CLOC Movement: We think the CLOC Movement – a term that we use to describe the changes going on in-house – will continue to evolve. Currently, it appears to be focused on in-sourcing. We suspect that will change in the coming years to a greater focus on vendor management and more sophisticated sourcing strategies.

IL: In 2017, you commented on the ‘changing field of play’ with various graphs and visuals. What are you seeing this year?

ALM: The trends we have seen on the client side – that we highlighted in the ‘changing field of play’ slide last year – have continued. Clients continue to report that they are in-sourcing more and that they are using ASPs more. We provide new data, particularly on the in-sourcing trend, in this year’s presentation. We're very optimistic about the future of the ASP market. In the short term, we think they have a lot of scope to grow in areas like litigation support, contracts, and due diligence. In the longer term, we think there are even more opportunities. We are less convinced about the future of the in-sourcing trend. The largest law departments may be able to effectively manage large portions of their legal work themselves. But we're not certain most departments will have the scale to compete with ASPs and law firms. We think in-sourcing is a transitionary step. As stronger alternatives grow, we suspect law departments will follow the direction of other support functions in large corporations. Most marketing departments, IT departments, and finance departments outsource large portions of their work. It is tempting to think law departments are an outlier – but we suspect they are not.

IL: Lastly, for anyone on the fence about attending your ‘state of the industry’ session on Tuesday at 9Am, what’s the one compelling reason you can give them to make this a ‘must see’?

ALM: The legal industry has gotten so large and complex over the past several years that it is easy to miss the forest for the trees. Many people live in their own bubble within the legal industry. Law firm partners are surrounded by other law firm partners. They might be highly aware of the trends within the law firm market and they probably know quite a bit about the law department trends as well. But, we suspect, most partners know very little about the happenings in the ASP world or the LegalTech world. The same can be said about individuals who work in ASPs, law departments, or LegalTech. This presentation is a chance to see the forest and the trees at once. To be able to see how the corner of the legal industry fits into the broader picture. We think that is incredibly valuable for most people, particularly business leaders. We are focused on what the data can tell us. We base our findings on imperial evidence, on analysis of large longitudinal data sets. Presentations like this one are meant to bring together some of our best research from the past year to provide business leaders with a set of facts to help them better understand the marketplace.

Get your Legal Week Tuesday started right by attending this state of the legal industry session at 9AM in Grand Ballroom West. 

 

6 Tips for Legalweek NY Attendee Survival

If you are looking for basic tradeshow tips such as "wear comfortable shoes", "plot out who you want to meet ahead of time" and "bring business cards", etc. this isn't the post for you. This is a post based on 18 years of attending Legaltech New York (LTNY) and most all other legal events and conferences. Legaltech's timing is unique in that it allows you to kick off the new year with a bang, however it can also make for a brutal week. With the morphing of Legaltech into Legalweek, this is still the case. Here are my tips for how to look back at Legaltech/Legalweek in a positive light...

1. There is no ‘cone of silence’!: You wouldn’t believe the things we’ve heard in the common areas of the Hilton over our 18 years attending LTNY. Realize that the property is a ‘hot’ spot and that you never know who is at the table beside you in the restaurant or is sharing the elevator with you, so be discreet!  Update: I'm going to extend this tip out two blocks in all directions. If you are at the Warwick or the Starbucks or the corner pub, it can still be full of Legalweek attendees or your competitors!

2. Multi-task: There is a lot to take advantage of at Legalweek, so often plans for the event begin and end with working your booth. To maximize your investment, take advantage of all the opportunities available to network and/or promote your brand including connecting with partners, media, bloggers but also take time to meet with the other legal associations on-site such as ILTA & ARMA.

3. "Social" networking: The first word in social networking is SOCIAL. In an industry with the staying power of legal - no one ever leaves, they just change companies/firms - it is just as valuable to make social connections with peers and contacts. During social events, stay social! Don’t start listing the bullet points for your product or bust out a laptop/tablet for a ‘quick demo’. Seriously… it happens all the time! Also bring your manners to the Twitter-verse and don't hog the hashtag. There are many people that participate in the Legalweek NY social media world so be respectful and don't hog the hashtag! If you are including the #Legalweek18 hashtag (which you should), don't send tweets from multiple company/employee accounts multiple times in a row. There are always a few people/companies that decide that social media success is based on the number of tweets they post. In fact, often those people are ridiculed and avoided, so don't be one of them! 

4. Meeting space hell: Unfortunately, one of the biggest challenges at Legalweek NY is finding a space to meet on-site, so prepare accordingly. Book a separate meeting space, locate a few off-site meeting options beforehand or direct all meeting traffic to your booth to collectively find appropriate space. We have managed to find a few choice places to meet, but then again, you don't expect us to publish those, do you? :-) However, we've found a couple of creative ideas from the suspended glass box meeting room below to the "portable chair" (try at your own risk!). Next year, someone should give them away in the exhibit hall!   

   

5. Beware of the 'convenience' of the coat check. In the past, recovering from hypothermia because I walked to the Hilton without my coat was less annoying than standing in the coat check line. Seriously. (OK, obviously the photo is an exaggeration but you get the idea!)

6. Who's Who?: Legaltech has always attracted attendees from all walks and that is even more the case with the new Legalweek concept. For vendors, it provides an incredible opportunity to speak with prospects that you may not normally get in front of, but that also means that the ability to scan and pull in the right people from the crowd is all the more important. Although this is by no means a perfect technique, knowing who is walking by your booth is a start and you can use Legalweek's color-coded badges to help you with that. Just pray you are not color blind! Below is a guide to the badge colors for Legalweek 18. Remember though: Treat everyone with respect. Even if they are with a 2 person firm now, they may be hired by your largest client in a couple of years! 

A variation from a post originally published January 20, 2015

InsideLegal’s 2018 Legaltech NY Word Cloud ... And 7 Year Flashback

Starting next week, we will join a few thousand people at what will be our 19th edition of Legaltech New York (LTNY). 2018 will mark the second year that LTNY is part of an expanded Legalweek format, with three days of exhibitions, networking and legal sessions.

 

If you've attended LTNY before, you may be familiar with our annual Legaltech NY Agenda Word Clouds that provide a visual display of the words/themes from the event's educational agenda and session lineup. If you aren't familiar with word clouds (you'd be surprised!), the larger words/phrases are the ones most often referenced in the agenda text and so on.

 

Let's take a look at InsideLegal's 8th annual Legaltech NY Agenda Word Cloud. To allow for comparison of this year's visual with the trends from past years, we've also included below the word clouds we created in 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011. Take a look, click on the images to enlarge and compare for yourself. 

 

Remember: Click on images to enlarge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Subscribe to InsideLegal for LTNY updates and market information and follow us on Twitter at @InsideLegal for timely updates. 

 

The word cloud was pulled from the agenda located at www.LegalTechShow.com.

InsideLegal’s 2017 Legaltech NY Word Cloud (along with 7 year flashback)

Next week, a few thousand people will convene at Legaltech New York (LTNY), part of an expanded Legalweek format, for three days of exhibitions, networking and legal technology sessions. To give an overview of what will be covered in those sessions, we have created our 7th annual LTNY agenda word cloud, visually displaying the words/themes included in the event's agenda of sessions. Based on the information from present/past word clouds and general event buzz , here are our initial observations:

• eDiscovery ...no surprise: Over the years, LTNY has taken on a larger focus on eDiscovery as well as a larger group of eDiscovery exhibitors and the word cloud supports that. Unfortunately, this has caused a stream of established non-eDiscovery vendors to shelve their attendance at the show. 
• No such thing as a free lunch: The days of free LTNY exhibit/conference passes are now over. How will this impact attendance numbers and delegate quality? I feel this will really weed out the tire kickers/"what are you giving away?" visitors.
• LegalCIO still picking up steam: Formerly the Law Firm Chief Information and Technology Officers Forum, the event aims to pack a punch with an intriguing 9 session, 6 roundtable agenda delivered by law firm C-levels, GCs and vendor sponsor executives. We have attended this event as well for the past 5 years and the sessions are impressive.
• Investigations vs. AI: According to the 2017 word cloud, it's all about investigations (how do e-discovery, analytics, cross-border regulations and information governance impact them?!). What about artificial intelligence, one of the most popular, buzz-worthy term in late 2016? [Hint: It's to the left of eDiscovery]
• What happened to the Codex start-up pavilion? Unfortunately, they were not invited in 2017. With startups rising up at unprecedented levels, these types of spotlights seem to make sense. 

 

 

FYI ... the size of selected words dictates how often they have been mentioned or referenced within the agenda (aka, how popular they are). [Click on image to enlarge]

This is the seventh year we have used the event program to create a visual snapshot of the main content themes and discussion topics. How does this compare to previous years? What topics made headlines in our word clouds for 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011? Take a look and compare for yourself...  

 

 

 

Subscribe to InsideLegal for LTNY updates and market information and follow us on Twitter at @InsideLegal for timely updates. 

 

 

The word cloud was pulled from the agenda located at www.LegalTechShow.com minus speakers' information and includes words mentioned 3+ times.

Legaltech New York 2016 Agenda Word Cloud (& Comparison to Past Years)

In a couple of weeks, a few thousand people will convene at Legaltech New York (LTNY) for 3 days of exhibitions, networking and legal technology sessions. To give an overview of what will be covered in those sessions, we have again created the LTNY agenda word cloud, visually displaying the words/themes included in the event's agenda of sessions.

 

FYI ... the size of selected words dictates how often they have been mentioned or referenced within the agenda (aka, how popular they are). [Click on image to enlarge]

 

This is the sixth year we have used the event program to create a visual snapshot of the main content themes and discussion topics. How does this compare to previous years? What topics made headlines in our word clouds for 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011? Take a look and compare for yourself...  

 

 

 

Subscribe to InsideLegal for LTNY updates and market information and follow us on Twitter at @InsideLegal for timely updates. 

 

 

The word cloud was pulled from the agenda located at www.LegalTechShow.com minus speakers' information and includes words mentioned 4+ times.

LegalTech New York 2015: Punxsutawney Phil Says More eDiscovery Ahead

LegalTech New York (LTNY) is here, again. The Super Bowl and Groundhog Day are over; the snow is here, so it must be time for another LTNY … This was how we started last year’s post, oh the irony.

2015 marks our 16th LTNY attendance and if you aren't able to be on-site with the thousands of attendees, 190+ vendors and many legal technologists, consultants, media/bloggers and influencers from literally all over the place, tune in to our daily LTNY reports and recaps.

To kick-off our 2015 edition, here’s our short list of pre-show topics, sessions to watch, trends to notice and conference stats.

Going to LegalTech … viable alternatives to exhibiting

So as many of you know, we like to track stuff … how many vendors at LTNY? How many EDD folks? Session themes and sponsorship influence; top conference topics and word cloud buzz? What are the vendors doing? And what aren’t they? And, who’s new?

Here are some stats for starters. According to the official LTNY mobile app info, 190 vendor companies registered (aka have a booth) in 2015. Compare this to 220 in 2014 and 263 (29% more) in 2009, the 2^nd year we started tracking this. 44% of all 2015 exhibitors represent EDD products & services not counting the consultancies (another 5%) that specialize in EDD-related consulting support in some form or fashion. This marks the 2^nd highest percentage (we counted 45% in 2012) of EDD vendors since our first analysis in 2008. Beyond EDD, we took note of several other vendor focus areas with some critical mass (at least 4% exhibitor share):

• Analytics 4%
• DMS/Document Assembly and related tech 5%
• Practice/case management 7%
• Info Governance [Privacy/security/DR/Governance] 8%

The stats above reiterate what has been on the lips of many LTNY goers for years … LTNY is EDDNY and if you are not in the information governance (IG)/Risk Management/Security/Privacy space largely within the realm of EDD; LTNY is not your best bet. Large, household name vendors are not renewing exhibit space and many other companies are looking for alternatives to connecting with targets during the week. This trend is not necessarily bad; it just clarifies the writing on the wall. In actuality, between companies attending the Law Firm CIO/CTO forum, other non-LTNY legal influencer events, a significant spike in off-the-clock soirées and separate non-Hilton hospitality and demo suites, the shear amount of legal/legal technology brainpower attending this year is at its peak. On Monday alone, we had the option of four alternate legal/tech-themed programs leading up to LTNY kick-off on Tuesday.

Hot button issues

As mentioned in our previous ‘word cloud post’, LTNY 2015 is heavily focused on IG, risk and compliance... particularly as it relates to eDiscovery, corporate security and information management. We heard it last year but this year it is loud and clear... IG is no longer a sideline, add-on activity but a broader strategy of managing information overload. The time to simply check off IG and compliance tasks is over. Big data while less of a buzz word than the past three years, is being rolled into IG, risk management, information management and business analytics priorities as opposed to being positioned stand-alone. From a technology perspective, big data is still tightly linked with the eDiscovery space and specifically Technology-Assisted Review, aka predictive coding. Considering privacy and security are on everyone's 'major challenges' and 'top priority' lists, the topics themselves are somewhat downplayed. We suspect these topics are central to most information governance discussions which seem to be dominating this year.

CIO Forum

Law Technology News and The American Lawyer are presenting the 11th Annual Law Firm Chief Information & Technology Officers Forum, a day and a half event taking place in conjunction with LTNY at the Hilton New York. The 21 session program includes 8 roundtable discussions forum attendees can choose from including: Mobility in Legal Services; Legal Services. Anywhere; Managing Cyber security Risks; Securing Your Content in the Cloud; Navigating the transition to an efficient, paperless office; and fulfilling regulatory and KM guidelines for email. Check out the full agenda here and watch this space as we’ll be covering some of the CIO Forum sessions via @InsideLegal and here.

Legaltech (new)s beginnings

Per Monica Bay’s recent post on lawtechnologynews.com, the February 2015 edition of Law Technology News magazine is its last. Last night, at a party kicking off LegalTech New York 2015, ALM unveiled "Legaltech news." The new name aligns with its sister unit, Legaltech (which will lose its capital T). The February 2015 edition is also Monica’s last, marking 30+ years with ALM. And as she put it “time for the next generation to take the helm.” Speaking of, as of February 9^th, the new editor of Legaltech news will be Erin Harrison, the current Associate Publisher and Editor-in-Chief for InsideCounsel.

New class of legal entrepreneurs wanted

A few weeks ago, ALM announced a collaborative partnership with CodeX: The Stanford Center for Legal Informatics, a think tank of Stanford faculty and students, as well as professionals from key organizations working on the frontier of legal technology. According to the release, the partnership will help provide compelling new educational content at ALM's Legaltech events, plus ALM will be working with the CodeX team to introduce new companies to the LTNY crowd. Eligible companies will be offered free exhibit space in a new pavilion on the trade show floor, as well as have the opportunity to host thought leadership presentations on the pavilion stage. This could be a smart move considering much of the existing educational content is sourced from mostly established vendors with the resources to pay for sponsored speaking tracks. ARMA and ILTA do a fine job plugging in educational content for their respective audiences, but what are less established, not as well financed companies to do when it comes to adding their thought leadership and know-how to the mix? The ALM/CodeX partner model might facilitate this and provide more balance across the board.

For LTNY 2015, CodeX will present three ‘future of legal technology’-themed panels and has secured exhibitor space for a group of innovative, early stage legal tech companies. The CodeX Pavilion Exhibitors include 10 vendor companies spanning big data analytics; IP/patents; compliance; document processing; web-based case management and a law firm-specific digital creative and content marketing.

We hope this gives you a quickie snapshot of what’s in store over the next several days. Stay tuned to this blog and out Twitter feed for more #LTNY15 and #LFCIO15 coverage and insights.