If you are reading this blog, then I don’t have to tell you: Little has more dramatically changed the practice of law than technology. For better or for worse, the technological advances of the past decade have irrevocably changed the legal industry and forever transformed the way we practice law.
This is one in a series of posts previewing the upcoming Legalweek/Legaltech conference, Jan. 28-31 in New York.
From e-discovery to cybersecurity, technology is integral to virtually everything that happens in law firms and legal departments of all sizes. A boom in legal tech startups has spawned a treasure trove of useful apps and software, with new products appearing on the market seemingly daily. Artificial intelligence is helping to streamline operations, offering lawyers new ways to do more with less.
Of course, with the good comes the bad. While technology greatly enhances our abilities to serve our clients, it also exposes us to new threats. Data breaches and cyber-attacks are at an all-time high, putting sensitive and confidential information at risk and threatening privacy. Never before has it been more crucial for law firms and legal departments to understand and secure their data or for lawyers to understands how technology affects them and their clients.
And then there is the ethical duty of technology competence!
Getting a handle on all this can be daunting. One way to do so is through the programs presented at legal technology conferences. The Legalweek conference starting next Tuesday, which includes the venerable Legaltech conference and the parallel LegalCIO conference, is a good opportunity for this. Programs will cover the current state of legal technology and a wide range of speakers will offer insights on how technological innovation is transforming the practice of law.
Here are just a few of the sessions during Legalweek that will address the current
