It’s a straight-up fact that you should never accept Turkish delight from a stranger offering it for free.  Horrible, horrible things are bound to happen.  (I feel like a British person would say ‘horrible’, rather than ‘terrible’.  I’ve been conscripted into watching ‘Downton Abbey’ lately; and, I hate it.  Back home, we called it DonwtoWn Abbey, and the British were unwelcome.)  In fact, it’s one of my mottos that one should ‘Never accept Turkish delight from a stranger offering it for free’.

But, Tech-ish delight is something else entirely.  In fact, if the tech-forward/tech-leaning/tech-curious lawyer’s version of Turkish delight is the ABA TECHSHOW . . . well, then: they’re very different indeed.  For one, ABA TECHSHOW is not free.  For another, it could not properly be described as ‘delicious’.  Thirdly, ABA TECHSHOW is available this April, in Chicago; try finding Turkish delight at a local convenience store.  (While we’re just rapping about C.S. Lewis . . . if you’re looking for a book analogous to the ABA TECHSHOW experience, maybe it’s ‘The Screwtape Letters’.)

Plus, I’ll be at ABA TECHSHOW this year; and, who knows when I’ll be back again.  I’m presenting in back-to-back panels, on ‘Remote Access Best Practices’ (with Tom Rowe, of OTB Consulting) and on ‘Maximizing Your Investment in Social Media’ (with Samantha Meinke, of the State Bar of Michigan).  I’ll be co-hosting a ‘Taste of ABA TECHSHOW’ dinner (with Samantha, on the subject of ‘Getting the Most Out of Marketing on Each Social Network’) at a steak place, if you like steak — and, if you do, you can have mine (I hate steak).  Otherwise, I’ll be walking around eating deep dish pizza, selling my book and pacing the conference floor.  There is no end of opportunities to meet and confer with me.  Our own Rodney Dowell will also be in attendance.

But, there’s more: a lot more.  The ABA TECHSHOW schedule is packed with opportunities to listen to great speakers, and to network with some of the most tech-savvy attorneys in the country.  There’s certainly a good deal to keep track of; fortunately, you can use the ABA TECHSHOW 2013 conference app to plan your progress.

The ABA TECHSHOW is the premier lawyers’ technology conference; and, while it does represent a significant cost of attendance (you’ve got to pay to get out there, and to stay, while you’re missing billing time when you’re out there), the efficiency upgrades you acquire through the knowledge you glean from your attendance are likely to make the price worthwhile — not to mention the ability to grow your professional network of like-minded lawyers. 

So, Will I see you at ABA TECHSHOW?  (Don’t worry if it’s your first time: there’s a guide for that, too.)

 – By Jared Correia

This post originally appeared on The Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program (LOMAP) Blog.