When spring comes back around, so does the American Bar Association’s annual technology smorgasbord: ABA TECHSHOW, this time for its thirtieth iteration. Over those past three decades, a lot of technology has come and gone, while TECHSHOW has stuck around, to review it all. TECHSHOW has amplified trends, and helped to launch movements.
A sampling of this year’s agenda shows that TECHSHOW remains the central destination for discovering the best of what’s around with respect to modern law firm technology:
Mac Attack. For a few years now, TECHSHOW has had a ‘Mac track’, stylized ‘Mac N Law’. If you’re not a lawyer who uses Apple products, you may remain unaware of the ferocity with which ‘Mac attorneys’ advocate for the lifestyle. Check out some of the programming on the Mac side, if you want to go find out what the buzz is all about. You might discover that ‘once you go Mac, you never go back’. If you do, I have another conference to tell you about . . .
‘Danger, Will Robinson!’ Neither is law immune to suspenseful tales of robot takeover. Artificial intelligence, and its potential for outsourcing the majority of the professional workforce, still seems like a nightmarish proposition for tech-lagging law firms — even if it may be less science fiction, and more science fact. Good thing you’re going to TECHSHOW. A number of panels at TECHSHOW address automation generally, and some will take a deeper dive upon the stakes surrounding the application of artificial intelligence in the legal industry.
Tastes Great! More Filling! The ‘Taste of TECHSHOW’ dinners, hosted by TECHSHOW speakers in and around the finest Chicago eateries, are intimate networking opportunities centered around two things lawyers love more than anything else: structured conversations and good food. Find a preferred speaker, dinner location and subject matter, and sign up for the ride (the cab ride, that is: there and back to your hotel), and realize that maximizing your conference attendance is as much about meeting new contacts as it is about attending CLEs and walking the vendor floor.
Empower Play. Lawyers tend to think of technology in terms of the direct effect it will have on their practices: added efficiencies, advanced flexibilities, increased revenue, etc.; but, it’s also true that lawyers harnessing the power of technology also empower their clients, including by offering real-time collaboration options, streamlined communications and evolving payment options, among other things. For more, take a look at the ‘Promoting & Managing Your Practice’ track on Day 2.
TECHSHOW is March 16-19 in Chicago. If you want to get in on the action, there’s still time to register for ABA TECHSHOW, with flights and nearby hotel rooms still available for attendees.
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Yes, it’s not just about the programming: TECHSHOW gives you an inside line on all kinds of technology vendors, a window into the vast conglomeration of ABA resources and ample networking opportunities.
Interested in seeing what else Thomson Reuters is up to at TECHSHOW? Check out our official TECHSHOW page
Thomson Reuters is hosting TECHSHOW’s 30th anniversary party, Thursday night, March 17th, at the Chicago Hilton, HQ for TECHSHOW. (You did read that right, by the way: that’s Saint Patrick’s Day night.)
So, celebrate in the glow of your iPhone — that is, for now . . . at least until the next bigger thing comes along. Find out what that’ll be at TECHSHOW’s 40th.
This post was originally published on the Thomson Reuters Legal Solutions blog.