ABA Techshow Recap

Guest post by Michelle Hook Dewey, Legal Technologies Librarian at Georgia State University College of Law and LIT-SIS ABA Techshow grant award recipient. 

Thanks to a generous LIT-SIS grant I was able to finally attend my first ABA Techshow—and it did not disappoint! For those not familiar with the ABA Techshow, it is the American Bar Association’s (ABA) annual tech conference, hosted by the ABA’s Law Practice Division. The Techshow provides an opportunity for lawyers, academics, and technology experts to get together and share knowledge and tools related to integrating technology solutions and skills into the everyday practice of law. To accomplish this,  the planning committee, including LIT-SIS member Kenton Brice, put together a selection of programs aimed at addressing everything from tech competency standards for lawyers, to how to use technology to tackle A2J issues, to how to make use of everyday Office tools. There was also an exhibit hall highlighting a host of vendors who could help make those conceptual opportunities a reality for practitioners. For those considering a future visit to the Techshow and wondering “is this the right professional development opportunity for me?” I offer my insight on who might benefit most from attendance.

The Techshow is very practitioner-focused. Remember, it is hosted by the Law Practice Division. Other legal tech conferences, like ILTA of Law Week, might include a mix of builder-based solutions, but at the Techshow the practice focus means the vendor solutions highlighted in the exhibit hall are mostly packaged, out-of-the-box solutions. Additionally, the market focus appeared, accidentally or by design, more geared toward small-to-medium-sized firms.

From a librarian and educator perspective, there were several worthwhile reasons to meander through the vendor offerings. First, anyone teaching in the legal tech space would benefit from exploring the marketplace of solutions out there. While I came in with a strong background in practice-based technologies, the smaller firm focus really helped me think about the differences in how varying firms integrate tech tools based on size. For instance, there were tech-enhanced marketing services, electronic administrative support tools (think robotic assistants and virtual receptionists), and client financing and payment management services. I was able to bring back a host of new product examples and tech integration use-case information that I will be able to implement in my own courses, as well as those taught by my colleagues within our Legal Analytics & Innovation Initiative here at GSU. In addition, there were several programs specifically aimed at legal research and writing.  Some of those vendors are already used in many academic settings, such as Wordrake, while others are new to the American market but hold a lot of promise in legal research instruction and application, such as CiteRight.

The most valuable component of the Techshow though is the programming. The programs provided me with the opportunity to learn from legal practitioners about how they personally have been integrating technology into their practice. Programs like “I Didn’t Know PDFs Could Do That” provided insight into the type of enhanced skills and functionality lawyers really want/need to know in everyday tools like Adobe. Other programs focused on more human-centered components of lawyering such as accessibility of technology tools, how to use technology while maintaining the personal part of relationships, and ethical lawyering with tech.

For me, the most valuable programming was the two sessions I attended on technology competency for lawyers. On Thursday there was a broad panel discussion addressing the increasing jurisdictional requirement of tech competency and the lack of clarity behind the mandates. The panel provided excellent perspectives from academics, vendors, advocates, and practitioners alike (some panelists are defined by more than one of those designations.) Even better was the deeper dive the next day where invested individuals gathered to use design-thinking exercises to explore how a competency structure might get established. As someone whose professional role is largely focused on graduating technologically skilled and competent lawyers, this was of great interest to me. As a law librarian, I was equally excited to see more than a handful of our colleagues in attendance and engaged in the conversation. While I am not sure a final model emerged, the exercise ignited a deeper, more detailed discussion we can all take forward as the legal profession continues to explore and define both legal tech competency definitions and legal tech education. I hope LIT-SIS members take up the charge and continue to play a role in the development of both.

For a full list of this year’s programs, check out their CLE brochure. The Techshow happens every spring in Chicago, so you have eleven months to start planning for next year!

Research Librarian, Perkins Coie LLP