ABA TECHSHOW to be held March 7-10 in Chicago

The American Bar Association Law Practice Division will host TECHSHOW 2018, March 7-10 in Chicago. ABA TECHSHOW is where lawyers, legal professionals, and technology all come together. For three days, attendees learn about the most useful and practical technologies available. This year will be no exception, with more than 60 sessions in 16 different tracks covering the latest in blockchain, cybersecurity, modern e-discovery and the latest trends in legal technology.

The keynote speaker will be Daniel Martin Katz, an associate professor of Law at Illinois Tech–Chicago, on Thursday, March 8, from 1-2 p.m. Katz, a scientist and technologist, will offer a provocative view of the near future: how lawyers should embrace innovation and these new technologies if they want to achieve greater professional success or merely ensure their economic survival.

Program highlights include:

• “AI in Practice – Or, the Robots are Not Your Enemy — Artificial intelligence is impacting the way law is practiced and how law firms operate. Hear the experts discuss the current state of AI in the legal industry — where it is already in use, where it might go in the future, and how AI can be leveraged in law practice today.

• “Mentoring Women and People of Color in Legal Tech” — The legal technology field is not immune to the lack of diversity found in the profession. Mentorship is essential to the success of young women and people of color entering this field, but forming these relationships can be difficult because most potential mentors have not faced similar challenges. This session will discuss how law schools can develop mentoring models for women and people of color in the legal technology arena.

• “Lawyers and Leads: How to Effectively Develop Business” — Most attorneys cringe at the word “sales,” but to be successful at business development, you need to understand how to sell your services. This session will focus on capturing, tracking and following up with “leads” in the digital age. Panelists will also discuss the use of chatbots, text messaging, lead buys, automation and more to help you to ethically close the deal with new clients.

• “Effective Security Awareness Training for Law Firm Personnel” — Phishing and social engineering scams are pandemic, as criminals increasingly target law firms to access financial accounts or hold your data for ransom. Education is your first step in an ethical approach to protecting against common cyberattacks, and helping employees to become a part of your “human firewall.” Learn how attackers penetrate firm defenses, and how to implement an effective cybersecurity awareness program with videos, realistic phishing tests and more.

• “Alternative Fees for the Process-Oriented Firm” — Now that your consistent, repeatable processes help you to achieve better outcomes more efficiently, it’s time to start thinking about alternative fee options for your clients. Alternative fees help you to capitalize on your process improvements, because you’re no longer wasting time on routine tasks. Also, learn more about the different types of AFAs and when they might make sense for you.

• “Think Before You Tweet: Ethical Issues in Social Media” — More lawyers are using social media to market their practices. Remember, though, the duty of technological competence also extends to social media. What you tweet, post or publish is as discoverable in litigation or ethics investigations as emails, public statements and electronic documents. Our experts will discuss the rules and guidance on the ethical use of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or even your own blog.

A complete agenda of the program can be found online.