We often hear that lawyers are fearful of innovation. We often hear that lawyers are luddites when it comes to technology. We often hear that lawyers are horrible at business. We often hear that lawyers are miserable in their work.
So what happens when you gather 2,000 legal professionals who embrace innovation? What happens when you spend two days with 2,000 legal professionals who get technology? What happens when you assemble 2,000 legal professionals who are savvy about business and seeking to get even better? What happens when you are with 2,000 legal professionals who are energized by the practice of law and want to thrive at it?
What happens is the Clio Cloud Conference.
Last week in San Diego was the seventh of these conferences, presented by the practice-management company Clio. I’ve been at all seven. The first was an intimate affair of fewer than 200 attendees, but with an energy and vibe unlike any legal tech conference I’d attended. This year, ten times larger, the intimacy was lost, but somehow not that energy and vibe.
In the week since the conference, I have struggled to put my finger on what it is about this conference that feels so different, that creates that unique energy. The word I keep coming back to is “cult.”
Yes, the word cult can carry a negative connotation, suggesting blind adherence to a religion or orthodoxy. But it can also mean, according to Merriam-Webster, a great devotion to an idea or movement, such as the cult of physical fitness. Wikipedia says cults often form around “novel beliefs and practices.”
Within the stilted environment of the legal profession, the ideas that prevailed at this conference were, indeed, “novel beliefs and practices.” Within the context of a profession known for its resistance to change, having 2,000 people together
