It’s early January, which for me means CES, the giant consumer electronics show. (CES used to Stand for Consumer Electronics Show but now it’s just CES). CES calls itself the world’s largest and most important tech event, where the entire technology ecosystem gathers to conduct business, launch products, build brands, and network
Each year I go to CES and come back energized and optimistic. Each year I try to summarize what I learned and how those lessons might apply to legal.
So what’s new and different this year? I won’t begin to try to talk about all the products introduced and discussed, some of which are good, some bad, and some just plain crazy. I won’t talk about the conference itself, which like everything else these days, was all virtual instead of being live in Las Vegas. But there were three things that stood out this year.
The first was diversity: more women and people of color in leadership and featured speaker roles than ever before. The second confirmed for me again the opportunities the virtual and remote world hold. And finally, attitude: the different attitude I always sense at CES about technology and what it holds for us.
Each of these things can and should impact legal. I say can and should instead of do impact legal. Because these three things I saw at CES are things we all too often don’t see in the legal tech and legal world in general. Clearly, the legal world and particularly law firms are far behind in having women and people of color in leadership roles. Too many lawyers fail to see or recognize what virtual can do. And so many lawyers have, well, a piss poor attitude toward technology.
CES 2021 clearly shows the potential breadth and impact
