Adventures at ILTACON: Through the LegalTech Looking-glass

Last week I was in National Harbor, Maryland, to attend ILTACON on behalf of Perkins Coie - E-Discovery Services & Strategy . I learned a lot at the conference, in addition to having fun with my colleagues. Check out some of the interesting developments in the industry:

???????????1) Law firms and their attorneys and business professionals must embrace technology to attract and retain clients. Clients are becoming more sophisticated and tech-savvy, and are demanding that their counsel provide cloud-based and artificial intelligence solutions. This applies to everything from how clients access and receive bills/invoices to the way their data is reviewed in e-discovery. To this point, corporations and law firms alike are building their own AI models to reduce data and costs.

???????????2) I enjoyed the sessions dedicated to AI, data mining, and technology + the law. I learned that while technology has improved legal processes and created efficiencies in many areas, there are still sectors where it is not being properly leveraged. To address some of the deficiencies, vendors are working on some intriguing advancements, such as portable AI models that can carry over from case to case without sharing client/confidential data and information, and the use of AI with images.

???????????3) Everyone in the industry is struggling with the same data issues—particularly around size, data types, and cost. Questions about AI, collection, technology-assisted review, automation, and ways to cull data were pervasive across all law firm sizes, configurations, and practice areas. An increased focus is turning toward pre-litigation information management. Almost every vendor mentioned working on information governance or litigation hold products.

???????????4) Overcollection of data is also a major topic of discussion. Clients are concerned that collection for litigation is taking longer, and that e-discovery teams are collecting materials that should not be collected. Ultimately, this leads to higher processing and hosting costs with a longer review time. William Roberts and I learned about a new tool (coming soon) that will be able to run more targeted cell phone collections.

???????????5) Automating some of our processes could make us more efficient and give us more time to focus on other areas, such as consulting and advising.

???????????6) The metaverse, while still foreign to a lot of us, is coming quickly. Thanks to my former colleague Jerry Bui , I learned that more people and companies are building or buying space in this virtual world. Many legal issues still need to be addressed—like who owns the digital assets, what rights do we have in a digital space, does attorney-client privilege exist, and how does one preserve and collect the data.

Fun Facts/Stories:

• Congratulations to Tanya Brown, CEDS, eDEx ! While attending the conference, she learned about Lean Six Sigma?(a method that relies on a collaborative team effort to improve performance by systematically removing waste and reducing variation) and earned her white belt. She found that the principles taught seem perfectly applicable to the legal industry and many of its problems and issues.
• Elizabeth Anastasia, CEDS, RCSP was able to reconnect with a past colleague while watching the spectacular fireworks on the river behind the Ferris wheel.If you’re ever visiting National Harbor and want to feel like a cowboy, Cadillac Ranch (across from the Gaylord) has a mechanical bull!
• Thanks to Joy Tranel for showing us a great time "off-campus" at a local concert venue. We kicked-off the week seeing the hilarious Steve Martin and Martin Short.

#ILTACON22 #ediscovery #legaltech #networking #AI