eDiscovery Daily Blog

Observations about Legaltech 2020 from Attendees: eDiscovery Trends

Once again, we’ve completed another Legaltech New York (LTNY).  So, what did attendees at the conference think about this year’s show?  Let’s take a look.

As I’ve done the past four years, I reached out to several attendees (some of whom I met with during the show) to get their thoughts and impressions of this year’s show.  As always, these should be taken as their personal opinions and observations regarding the show, not those of their employer or clients.  As always, we had several who responded with their thoughts, so thanks to all who did!  So many that, once again, we’re going to spread these observations over two days.  Here we go!

“LegalTech panel’s this year seemed to emphasize privacy and especially the CCPA (and less on the GDPR than in the past).  Also less emphasis on ‘pure’ ediscovery panels, except at the ‘boot camp’ on Wednesday.   And Drinks with Doug and Mary was as crowded as ever. Global warming is a serious problem, but nice to offer our out of town visitors a LTNY week without bitter cold or snow and slush as in past years.”

—  Judge Andrew Peck (ret.), Senior Counsel, DLA Piper

“This was my ninth Legaltech and the more things change, the more they stay the same.  The look and feel for the entire event was different—new exhibit hall layouts, new branding, new sessions—but it was still the tried-and-true legal technology community we see each year.  Between the happy hours, dinners, and run-ins at the Hilton, the best time was spent catching up with friends and colleagues.  Without a ton of huge announcements during the show, the same went for attendees talking to us vendors in the exhibit hall, beginning each interaction with a simple, ‘What’s new?’”

— Shawn Gaines, VP of Marketing for Relativity

“The two things I find most valuable about LegalWeek each year are connecting with colleagues and seeing the available technology tools that I can utilize in my practice. Because eDiscovery is such a global community of professionals, it’s a treat to get to see colleagues who I’d typically only have calls or exchange emails with, in person. There were many hosted events where colleagues could gather and socialize from the EDRM’s Legal Tech Jumpstart on Monday and Drinks with Doug and Mary on Wednesday to the ACEDS Happy Hour on Wednesday. All of these events were wonderful networking opportunities for renewing relationships and forming new ones. Also, I normally go with goals of finding “gap fillers” – that is, some sort of technology solution to resolve a pain point in my practice. This year, those were foreign language translation and time line builders, and I was able to walk away with new tools to try in both of those areas. Each year I feel LegalWeek gives me a boost that adds momentum to my career, and this year was no different.”

— Suzanne H. Clark, Esq., CEDS, Discovery Counsel, eDiscovery CoCounsel, pllc

“Despite everything I had heard about the annual conference, I wasn’t sure what to expect from my first Legaltech NY. My obsession with learning all I could about a field most of us fall into rather than pursue and the event’s reputation as a party scene had encouraged me to prioritize other conferences with education sessions hyper-focused on eDiscovery throughout my first decade in the industry. Now that I experienced the conference first-hand, I understand and appreciate that the educational value of meeting and connecting with the polymaths who shape the field is commensurate with the value of the panels and sessions they deliver on topics that highlight the broader context of my specializations. I was inspired by the many brilliant minds I met and very much look forward to building on each other’s contributions, innovating together, and solving new challenges both with and around artificial intelligence, the advancement in technology that was appropriately featured as both a problem and solution in sessions this year.”

— Lilith Bat-Leah, CEDS, Director, Data Science, Fronteo

“The highlights for me this Legalweek involved the project management workshop I had the pleasure of conducting on Monday and then talking further with you during the NineForum about the growth and possibilities that lie ahead in project management, not just in legal, but in the new projectized economy that I predict will continue to emerge in 2020.”

— Mike Quartararo, President, Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists

“The conference looked much more attended this year.  #Drinks with Doug and Mary is always a stellar celebration with my cohost, your fabulous self and my partner, Kaylee Walstad.  Thank you CloudNine and ComplianceDS!  Bloggers luncheon was a highlight, thank you, Relativity!  The global nature of Legalweek was notable—we had folks from South Africa, from Ireland, and from UK coming to support EDRM. The outpouring of support from long timers to newcomers for EDRM just warmed my heart.”

— Mary Mack, CEO & Chief Legal Technologist, EDRM

We’ll publish the rest of the observations tomorrow (including mine)!

So, what do you think?  Did you attend Legaltech last week?  What did you think of this year’s show?  Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.

Sponsor: This blog is sponsored by CloudNine, which is a data and legal discovery technology company with proven expertise in simplifying and automating the discovery of data for audits, investigations, and litigation. Used by legal and business customers worldwide including more than 50 of the top 250 Am Law firms and many of the world’s leading corporations, CloudNine’s eDiscovery automation software and services help customers gain insight and intelligence on electronic data.

Disclaimer: The views represented herein are exclusively the views of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views held by CloudNine. eDiscovery Daily is made available by CloudNine solely for educational purposes to provide general information about general eDiscovery principles and not to provide specific legal advice applicable to any particular circumstance. eDiscovery Daily should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a lawyer you have retained and who has agreed to represent you.

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