Hi, What's Next readers. In today's briefing, the Law.com technology reporting team is here with highlights from Legalweek New York, where thousands of industry professionals gathered to discuss the latest legal tech and other forces rocking the industry. What caught our attention? A recommendation to start learning IT skills in law school, the latest trends in e-discovery, and a look at whether technology has a role in improving law firm diversity.

All of that, and more, below. We'll be back next week with our usual mix of news from the intersection of law and technology.

Former Attorneys General Alberto Gonzales and Loretta Lynch present the opening keynotes at Legal Week 2019 at the New York Hilton Hotel. Photo by David Handschuh/ALM
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Technology Can't Fix Everything

Big Law's lack of diversity is back in the news, and in-house counsel are not usingtechnology to leverage improvement of outside counsel's diversity, according to a Legalweek panel. Instead they're requesting diversity stats from the firms and cultivating that data into spreadsheets to track the diversity of the attorneys working on their legal matters. But is technology even needed for this long-standing issue? Jennifer Heil, deputy head of litigation at MUFG, noted that federal agencies like the Justice Department have diverse and highly skilled lawyers. That's not necessarily because they use tech to track inclusion and retention of diverse lawyers, but because the federal government set a clear expectation for hiring and promotion of such lawyers. That means tech may not be the answer for an industry-wide issue, and legal departments may instead have to use their power to demand diverse attorneys.

Get those IT Skills

One theme that was repeatedly echoed at Legalweek is that lawyers need to understand their relationship with technology. At Legalweek's opening keynote, former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, told the current and future attorneys in the audience that “to know the law, you need to have IT skills, [and] you need to start learning those skills at law school.” 

This is particularly true for litigators, in-house professionals, and others in the e-discovery world. At Legalweek's day-two Judges Panel, retired U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew J. Peck, who is currently senior counsel at DLA Piper, said that similar to a decade ago when attorneys had to familiarize themselves with email collection and review, today's attorneys need to understand the various forms of non-email communications that can pop up in discovery.

Judges aren't expecting attorneys to be on top of every new data sources or technology that comes to market. Chief Judge Joy Conti of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania noted that “the pace of change is so fast in this field, it makes it interesting, but it's also very difficult for the partners to keep up, let alone the judges.”

But ignoring new developments is no longer an option—or a defense—in discovery proceedings.

While attorneys need to become more tech-aware, they also should be cautious not to over-rely on technology, which should never replace conventional legal work.

At a session looking at how parties should respond to government investigations, Allison Stanton, director of e-discovery in Main Justice's Civil Division, noted that relying on e-discovery technology to search databases for information requested by investigators isn't comprehensive.

“We need to get back to the sleuthing part, the detective work, because as a prosecutor or as a litigator, one of the first questions [we ask] in a witness interview is, 'Do you have data or information on X?'”

Leveraging Your Data

A panel held earlier this week explored how universal data models can be used as the foundation for smarter, user-friendly contracts that allow attorneys to access the information they need without the occasional heartbreak of a keyword search.

“One of the beauties of data is speed,” said Jamie Wodetzki, chief product officer and co-founder of Exari, which provides contract management software.

Another session gathered experienced e-discovery professionals to discuss how the forensic data retrieved from mobile devices has become crucial to investigations, a major shift from halcyon days of email.

Phones provide access to unique data—such as geolocation information—that can be used to establish context and draw connections. Expect to see more lawyers pushing to get access to cell phone data in future cases.

“As people move away from using email from the primary form of communication, I think you're going to see more mobile requests,” said Anna Clark, a partner at Phillips Lytle.

That increase in requests will come amid a patchwork of privacy laws globally. A session focused on cross-border investigations gave panelists the opportunity to open up about some of the difficulties they faced in preparing their respective organizations for the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation.

Those difficulties are not likely to go away any time soon, especially with the California Consumer Protection Act coming down the pike.

“Tomorrow is a new day. Whatever you've got in place today is probably going to have to change tomorrow,” said Linda Johnson, lead e-discovery manager at global healthcare company GlaxoSmithKiline.

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Three Things to Watch

Crypto Actions Stalled: According to CoinTelegraph, the government shutdown created some real headaches for companies in IPOs and for folks under regulatory scrutiny. Applications from companies that sought to go public in the first quarter are delayed, including China's second-largest Bitcoin mining hardware manufacturer, Canaan, which turned to New York after its $400 million plans were lapsed by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, according to the report. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates trading in virtual currency futures and derivatives, also operated with a skeleton staff during the shutdown, according to a CFTC statement issued in December. The shutdown also delayed some CFTC actions against traders accused of spoofing, but proceedings have now resumed, including a case in Illinois against Jiongsheng Zhao of Australi. He is charged with “spoofing and engaging in a manipulative and deceptive scheme in the E-mini S&P 500 futures contract market on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange,” according to the CFTC. IBM, Banks and Insurers in Blockchain Healthcare Initiative: BenefitsPro reportsthat IBM is collaborating with insurers and banks on a blockchain initiative they hope will make healthcare payments systems more efficient. The effort involves IBM, Aetna, Anthem, Health Care Services Corporation and PNC Bank. IBM described it as a paradigm-shifting attempt by competitors to work together to reduce cost. Could GDPR Nix This Mix? Corporate Counsel's Caroline Spiezio reports GDPR could complicate a proposed merger of WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram's messaging services there. The Irish Data Protection Commission said Facebook's plan to integrate all messaging services owned by the company “can only occur in the EU if it is capable of meeting all of the requirements of the GDPR.” Any violations could be costly. Google was hit with a $57 million fine last week by France's data privacy enforcement agency, Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés, or CNIL.