Legalweek signs

Missed our Day 2 insights? Check out yesterday's post here.

Rhys Dipshan: Discussions around new technology or services leading to fewer legal jobs always gets the most attention. Which makes sense—everyone is looking after their bottom line. But disruption in the legal industry doesn't have to mean bad change. The industry, after all, is rife with inefficiencies and service gaps.

The ALSPs and tech providers I spoke with over the past few days stressed time and time again how they aren't looking to take away anyone's job. Instead, they're looking to address pain points, such as the rote manual tasks, that can often slow down law firms and legal departments. Such providers see themselves as natural partners to existing legal teams, and as a vital part of a broad ecosystem where there's more than enough room for all to thrive.

This may be true in today's market. But if ALSPs start to take on more complex legal work, and if the lines between law firm and legal service begin to blur (not in the least because of changes in law firm ownership rules), is such an ecosystem sustainable? At what point, if any, do the delineations between the different parts of the legal market start to vanish, especially as law firms become legal tech developers, and vice versa?

Victoria Hudgins: As this year's Legalweek came to a close, it's always interesting to see which panel has a big turnout. I like to think I can gauge which topic is of interest to Legaltech readers. But sometimes I'm 20 minutes into a panel and half the seats are empty while other panels are packed to capacity. It can be a mixed bag.

This year, to my pleasant surprise, a Legal Business Strategy panel discussion regarding GCs seeking diverse outside counsel had a decent turnout. The room wasn't filled to the brim, but there was an active discussion among the panelists and audience to improve opportunities for diverse attorneys.

However, the California Consumer Privacy Act panel I attended was packed, with many in the crowd jotting down or jabbing notes into their cellphone or laptop. Obviously, the one-month-old data privacy law has captured lawyers' attention.

The varying panel attendance reminded me that new regulations and their impact on a lawyer's practice is always top of mind. But lawyers are also receptive to hearing about potential solutions to one of legal's age-old challenges.

Frank Ready: Here we are at the last day of Legalweek, a period that—for me at least—has been filled with many conversations about privacy and the hurdles facing law firms attempting to build or implement their own tech. The privacy chats in particular were interesting and aligned with many conversations that I've had with lawyers and legal technologists over the course of the last year. These conversations mainly focus on evolving technology and laws (hello General Data Protection Regulation) that either conflict or have yet to fully evolve.

I'm not sure that I'll be singing a different tune at the end of Legalweek 2021, as the desire to remain competitive with technologies such as AI is countered by a deepening commitment to the protection of the personal information and data necessary to fuel the growth of that technology. Unless a national U.S. privacy law is enacted within the next 365-days, it doesn't seem like a conversation we're ready to have.

Zach Warren: As I'm sitting here at JFK Airport and reflecting on my experience, one word that I heard a few times today keeps coming to mind: energy. It seems that many Legalweek attendees this year felt energized about tech's prospect for the future, for the new innovations popping up left and right, for meeting the other people also attending this week's show. People roaming the exhibit hall seemed more eager to ask questions, and those on the vendor side seemed jazzed to be giving answers. On the whole, there was an air of excitement.

To me, every legal tech conference is a great legal tech conference since I get to catch up with some friends and make others. But I don't always leave feeling energized—not at every Legalweek, and not at every conference. It's a fun feeling going back with not only new ideas, but a renewed passion that the law truly can be pushed forward in a way that benefits all. Especially as I've long said that Legalweek sets the tone for the first half of the year, I'm optimistic that there will be big things ahead for the legal technology industry and for law as a whole. I hope all of our readers feel the same.