Clio

We just returned from an extremely busy and rewarding week at the ABA TECHSHOW. As usual, it was an engaging show with a variety of interesting vendors and talks.

Throughout the show the level of energy and excitement was palpable. Although we’re in the midst of a recession, it wasn’t evident given the vibrant tone felt during the sessions and on the exhibit floor. Many others at the conference shared the same observation – it was a heartening experience to see so much excitement around legal technology despite the difficult economic climate.

We were also pleased to note, both from the exhibit floor and from the CLE sessions, that Software-as-a-Service is clearly gaining interest and traction in the legal community. At last year’s TECHSHOW, where we launched our public beta program, Clio was one of the only Software-as-a-Service providers exhibiting. This year, we were happy to share the exhibit floor with many excellent new Software-as-a-Service vendors, and hope to see even more next year.

Likewise, Dominic Jaar, one of the conference’s faculty, observed that the legal technology business in the midst of a profound sea of change in a post titled Software-as-a-Service: Reshaping the legal software landscape on the ABA TECHSHOW blog.

Overall, as compared to TECHSHOW 2008, we observed a large boost in the number of talks that covered SaaS in the CLE sessions, with this year’s topics including:

• Software as a Service: Can You Say Goodbye to Upgrade Headaches with SaaS? by
  Catherine Sanders Reach and David Whelan
• Taking the Leap: Essential Technology for the New Law Practice by Bruce Dorner and Eric Mazzone
• Web JD: If You’re Not Serving Your Clients Online Someone Else Will Be by David Bilinsky and Steve Matthews
• Smart Ways to Work Together: Collaboration Tools and Technologies for Lawyers by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell
• Got Apple Envy? Macs in a PC World by David Sparks and Ben Stevens
• Lawyering in the Cloud: Creating a Virtual Firm by David Bilinsky and R. Andrew Smith

One of the highlights of the show was the keynote address by Richard Susskind, a legal technology expert with over 25 years of experience. In his address, which Dennis Kennedy did a nice job of liveblogging, Susskind argued that the impact that the Internet and technology is having on the legal profession has not peaked, as some lawyers think it has, but rather is accelerating. Susskind argued that to survive, lawyers will need to embrace technology to make themselves more efficient and effective.

The conference also offered a great opportunity to catch up with friends from last year’s show and to build some great new relationships. If you didn’t attend TECHSHOW this year, plan on attending next year – it’s a blast.