ABA TECHSHOW

10 TECHSHOW’s Ago – Sharon Nelson Reflects on Her Year as Chair in 2006

We’re on a TECHSHOW countdown and with 10 days to go, we’re hopping in the WayBack Machine to hear from past chairs and take a look at What Was at TECHSHOW!

Nelson_Sharon Sharon Nelson– ABA TECHSHOW Chair 2006
Twitter: @SharonNelsonEsq

What were you doing (real life job) when you were the ABA Tech show chair in YEAR? Are you still doing that same thing? If not tell us a little bit about your journey.    

I was the President of Sensei Enterprises (legal tech, cybersecurity and digital forensics) in 2006 when I chaired ABA TECHSHOW on its 20th anniversary. I still hold that position and see no retirement in sight – as far as I’m concerned, I get paid to play.

 What was / were the notable topics/tracks of your year?

E-discovery was white hot, with the new Federal Rules coming into effect on December 1st of that year. E-Lawyering was a track – and a brand new idea. As I look back, the track with the most staying power has been “Advanced IT” – always a track that generates a lot of interest from the “in-the-weeds” technologists.

 What was the hot technology or must have service, gadget or tool or idea?

Take a look at Sharon’s session agenda courtesy of the Internet Archive (aka The Wayback Machine).

If you had a keynote speaker who was it and what was their topic?  

The brilliant and witty Burgess Allison was our keynoter, reflecting on how quickly technology had become a disruptive force in the practice of law. In 1996, he wrote The Lawyer’s Guide to the Internet. Just imagine how different that book would be today! His speech was called “Technology Eye for the Curmudgeon Guy” which gives you some sense of how much fun it was.

Any final thoughts about your TECHSHOW experience?

From beginning to end, captaining the ship that is ABA TECHSHOW was a blast with the support of the marvelous folks on the TECHSHOW Planning Board and the hard work of the (then) Law Practice Section staff. I was sorry to hand the whip (don’t ask) off to the next Chair – Dan Pinnington – who proved to be an extraordinarily able master of the ship!