Top 10 Takeaways From ABA TECHSHOW 2017

Every year when ABA TECHSHOW rolls around it feels like summer camp–seeing old friends and making new ones. The Windy City may be frosty outside in March but it’s warm and sunny inside: one of the best “relationship” conferences for solos, small firm lawyers, and legal techies.

Let’s get right to some of the top takeaways from this awesome conference.

1. The robot lawyers are coming – Multiple panels broke down chat bots, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and the like, for the rest of us. The gist was that these advances in technology improved access to justice and weren’t about to take lawyers’ jobs. Yet.

The robot lawyers are coming (to help, not to take your jobs)

– great rundown of the #AI panel at #ABATECHSHOWhttps://t.co/eJwJ1A2Ia5

— Andrew Arruda (@AndrewArruda) March 18, 2017

2. Speaker diversity ruled – A frustratingly common refrain at tech conferences is the lack of diverse speakers. The organizers did a superb job this year to make sure that didn’t happen. Major kudos to the planning board.

Of the 78 #abatechshow speakers, 41 are women! Great job, @AdrianaL on encouraging opportunities for the many expert women of #LegalTech.

— Joshua Lenon (@JoshuaLenon) March 16, 2017

3. Managing your practice – Law Practice Management software was out in force with fantastic new upgrades and integrations to make solos and small firm lawyers more productive. Clio, Rocket Matter, MyCase, LEAP, CosmoLex, Zola Suites, and Practice Panther were among the crowded field.

I shared a ride from the airport with a solo attorney who relayed the story of how she used software to identify bottlenecks at her firm (her biggest client of many years was the culprit), got rid of them, and now has a flourishing, less stressful practice. Bottom line: Use one of these tools in your practice.

4. Whiskey and Donuts – As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, Techshow is a relationship conference and there are ample opportunities to get out, engage, and form lasting bonds.

The coupling of @goglazed artisanal doughnuts with whiskey at @Drumbarchi was a sublime #ABATECHSHOW experience. Thanks, @IntelligentEdit https://t.co/7JKIZcfotX

— Tim Baran (@tim_baran) March 18, 2017

Kevin O’Keefe/ABA’s long-standing Beer for Bloggers, Taste of Techshow dinners, mellow one-on-one coffee and lunch meetings, and rocking vendor parties were all part of the super fun, relationship-building activities.

5. Marketing tips – Hey, we’re a legal marketing blog so no list is complete without a marketing shoutout. My presentation on DIY digital marketing for solos and small firms, (Attorney at Work published a prequel: Crafting a Low-Stress Digital Marketing Strategy for Your Small Firm), included a tribute to veteran legal marketer who passed away recently.

Good advice for your marketing strategy: “Do some. Keep doing it!” @tim_baran #abatechshow pic.twitter.com/xvOn86ztv6

— Musgrove/Smith (@MusgroveSmith) March 16, 2017

I also chatted with scores of folks – from solo attorneys to large vendors and other marketers – about marketing and business development. Great conversations.

6. Media coverage for your firm – Representatives from legal media giants Above the Law, Lawyerist, and the ABA Journal provided valuable insights into how to get recognized and get your content in front of the media. Hey, we’er believers.

Digging this media panel at #ABATECHSHOW ?? pic.twitter.com/gSBrJ47Nuq

— Beth Anne Ballance (@baballance) March 16, 2017

7. Get with “The Twitter” – Yes, someone actually referred unironically to “The Twitter” during a conversation at the conference.

The Twitter is a great way to connect prior to the conference, engage during the conference, and gain new followers after the party’s over. And, you don’t have to send scores of live tweets at each session overwhelming your current followers. I sent less than 10 and gained a bunch of new followers, or, as I call them, my online community of legal industry movers and shakers.

Bonus: I get to supplement my post with tweets that gives you a better sense of what was happening that I ever could in a blog post.

8. Lots of startup energy – Techshow added a row of a dozen legal startups. The startup competition kicked of the conference. They had their own hashtag! #StartUpAlley. I interviewed a few of them and these innovators are full of great energy and ideas. Here’s an overview of the participants.

Ping is the winner of the 2017 ABA TECHSHOW startup competition! 1st place among 12 companies! #ABATECHSHOW #ping #legaltech pic.twitter.com/5be4BH602J

— Ping (@timebyping) March 16, 2017

9. Podcast heaven – Legal Talk Network (LTN) was everywhere: interviewing attendees, presenters, exhibitors, even writers and editors at Beers for Bloggers. The popularity of podcasts have exploded and LTN has kept pace.

Giant fun taping @LegalTalkNet podcast about startup/AI panel with @AndrewArruda & Shamla Naidoo. #ABATECHSHOW pic.twitter.com/TaJlLXwGLM

— Ed Walters (@EJWalters) March 17, 2017

10. Get healthy – There was also activities for the health conscious – like a 5K run and yoga. I mostly avoided these but hear they were fun, and um, wholesome.

The first annual #ABATECHSHOW 5K was a huge success. Congrats to all participants. More pix to come. pic.twitter.com/qMQzhdWDaH

— Rocket Matter, LLC (@rocketmatter) March 17, 2017

Honorable mention goes to the mobile app which was intuitive and useful.

Until next year, Techshow!