All year we look forward to ILTACON. There is no other event quite like it. We go to meet our clients, learn from our peers and find inspiration. We spend months planning what we will do, who we will see and how we can get the most out of our time at the event. ILTACON never disappoints.
While we are there, we hope to connect. We participate in sessions, offer demos, schedule client meetings, ask for client feedback and offer advice. But more than all that, what stays with us most when we return home is what we learn when we listen.
Because we listen, we get back to our offices around the globe with a renewed sense of purpose. We move forward excited and energized to find new ways to use technology to solve problems. Most of our best ideas come because we listen.
Here’s what we heard at ILTACON 2018.
AI is here to stay
Last year there was a lot of buzz about AI, but little in the way of evidence and action. That is certainly not the case this year. This year’s ILTACON proved it’s official, the legal industry is all in on AI. Sessions about AI were standing room only as last year’s promises of what AI can do evolved into discussions of what AI is doing and how it can be even better.
In listening to attendees and panels talk about the topic, adoption of AI seems to be driven primarily by one factor: data. The future of law is data and its power is undeniable. If leveraged correctly, data becomes the key to better processes, improved accuracy and more favorable outcomes for clients. The sheer volume of data within a law firm makes manual processing impractical and unsustainable, so without an AI engine, the data will forever be underused.
So, the problem for firms isn’t whether or not to invest in AI, but rather how to decide which engine is best. Because AI engines are so specialized, firms must identify what problem is most urgent and which solution can deliver the most value. For most, the answer is a custom strategy built with more than one AI engine that introduces a whole new problem: integration.
Tech solutions that play nice are on the rise
You work well with others and your legal tech should too. Historically, law firms have chosen technology solutions that solve specific problems. The firm invests in one solution for their data rooms, one for task management, one for data analytics, one for knowledge management and so on. Each likely accomplishes its mission admirably, but do they work together? Can information from one be easily transferred to another?
No one solution can successfully be all things to all people. Solutions that are designed for integration with other technology partners are growing in popularity and, as a result, a camaraderie between vendors is emerging. The benefit of these technology partnerships is hard to deny—clients get more ROI from each solution as they create a digital toolkit and the technology providers enjoy greater adoption and loyalty.
Your data is in demand and at risk
For an industry that is so risk averse, it’s a little surprising that data security isn’t all we talk about. News about high-profile breaches comes out daily, and for the most part, it seems like firms tune it out as white noise instead of the cautionary tale it should be. Data security is complicated and technical, which makes individual employees numb to its importance. But that’s where an alarming number of breaches start—with a single employee.
ILTACON’s most comically terrifying session about data security featured a teenage hacker armed with tools purchased from Amazon or ebay, a sense of humor and a wealth of knowledge courtesy of a few coding classes and the internet. The hacker demonstrated why data security needs to be top of mind as he accessed audience members’ devices in real time with a horrifyingly low level of effort. Also worth mentioning, the audience was primarily IT professionals who knew exactly what he intended to do and still were compromised.
So, if you think your data security is “good enough,” you’re probably not paying attention.
We need to arm technology champions with tools for success
Leaders of change require conviction, vision and persistence. Luckily, that’s just the sort of person that ILTACON draws in. We spent time talking with attendees who formally or informally serve as technology champions within their firms. They routinely share their knowledge and experiences with colleagues in the hope that they will be inspired to embrace the benefits of technology.
These champions work to increase adoption, improve efficiency and deliver a better return on investment for the firm. They advocate for technology, and it’s our job as a solution provider to arm them with every bit of support we can.
To do that, we start by listening. Tell us how we can help.
