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ABA TECHSHOW 2020

ABA TECHSHOW 2020 kicked off with its 4th annual Start-Up Pitch Competition on February 26th. Hosted by stalwart-statesmen-of-innovation Bob Ambrogi, this growing opening night event brings a wider variety of products and services to the tech conference by inviting new or small vendors who might not otherwise be able to afford the exhibitor fees. In addition to giving fledgling companies a leg up, attendees get a sneak preview of future offerings for the profession.

This year’s winner was Billseye, founded by brothers Alcide and Armond Honore’. Their company’s objective is to streamline billing and enhance customer service during client phone calls with the single touch of a button. In so doing, the attorney activates an application that helps gather client information with ease while also integrating with existing practice management platforms. The idea is to better track for time while entering and maintaining data. 

New to ABA TECHSHOW was their ‘Un-Track for Doers’. Planned by Jess Birken, Erin Gerstenzang, Ben Sessions, and Gyi Tsakalakis, this new series of sessions pulled ideas from the “unconference” model to move through more topics and encourage greater attendee participation. In addition to being geared towards practical aspects of legal practice, the unconference sessions facilitated excellent networking opportunities.

We also learned some new things about “deepfakes” and how that could affect legal practice, why litigation finance is about to get really interesting, how ODR is closing one part of the A2J gap, and why virtual reality may become a real staple in courts very soon. In addition, we heard from Clio co-founder Jack Newton how it’s possible for today’s law firm clients to walk away unsatisfied despite getting the result they wanted. And finally, we received an update from ABA president Judy Perry Martinez about her mid-tenure progress as well as recent ABA resolutions aimed at evolving the practice of law. 

Below is the complete catalog of our 12 episode podcast coverage from ABA TECHSHOW 2020 including a list of its 35 participants:

Judy Perry Martinez

ABA President Judy Perry Martinez sits down with host Laurence Colletti to discuss Law Day, the importance of voting, and the ‘Value Proposition’ agenda which, among many things, is bringing a library of free CLEs to membership. Stay tuned to hear about Proposition 115 and the 19th Amendment.

Keynote Speaker Mary Shen O’Carroll

Google Director of Legal Operations and President of CLOC Mary Shen O’Carroll joins host Patrick Palace for a conversation about the prevailing shift in legal operations. Together, they talk about external and internal pressures to modernize legal departments to provide greater value. Stay tuned to hear the three main ways law firms are responding to those mandates.

Jack Newton’s “The Client-Centered Law Firm: How to Succeed in an Experience-Driven World”

Newly minted author and co-founder of Clio Jack Newton joins host Laurence Colletti for a conversation about today’s consumer expectations for legal services and how to meet them through a “Client-Centered” approach which is laid out in his new book titled, ‘The Client-Centered Law Firm: How to Succeed in an Experience-Driven World’. 

Forecast-Alytics: Understanding Litigation Analytics for Case Evaluation

Blue J Legal’s Ben Alarie and Elevate Service’s Warren Agin sit down with host Dennis Kennedy to discuss predictive analytics and how lawyers can better guide their clients by using historic data. Stay tuned to hear about potential growth in litigation finance. 

Apps Apps Everywhere–Tablet and Mobile Legal Practice

Blue J Legal’s Abdi Aidid is joined by Burney Consultant’s Brett Burney and Affinity Consulting Group’s Paul Unger to talk about new and best apps for the legal profession. Stay tuned for a couple of their favorites as well as questions to ask vendors before implementing a new product.

Red Pill vs Blue Pill–How Deepfakes are Defining Digital Reality

More than a mere curiosity, “deepfake” technologies potentially stand to create many problems in our future digital world. Sensei Enterprises’ Sharon Nelson and Canon’s Lincoln Mead sit down with host John Simek to talk about the issues and what lawyers need to know about deepfakes when they practice law.  

Rebels Riot Luncheon Q&A

ABA TECHSHOW Co-Chairs Catherine Sanders Reach and Heidi Alexander sit down with Filament’s Matt Homann, myFirmData’s Pegeen Turner, vLex’s Colin Lachance, and Trident Legal’s Sofia Lingos to discuss their topics presented at the Rebel Riots Luncheon. 

Un-Track for Doers

Birken Law’s Jess Birken, EHG Law’s Erin Gerstenzang, AttorneySync’s Gyi Tsakalakis, and Sessions Law’s Ben Sessions join host Christopher Anderson for a conversation about their “unconference” track designed to cover more practical topics for legal practice while offering better opportunities to network through peer-to-peer learning. 

HR 101 for Lawyers – Best Practices for Hiring and Firing

Lawclerk’s Greg Garman sits down with Lawyerist’s Stephanie Everett and Inter Alia Law’s Darlene Tonelli to discuss best practices and tips for hiring and firing. Stay tuned to hear their worst firing stories. 

Online Dispute Resolution – Changing the Status Quo and Defining the Future of Work in the Legal Profession

Civil Resolution Tribunal’s Shannon Salter and Hyphenus’ Jonathan Verk join host Patrick Palace for a conversation about online dispute resolution and the different ways it’s chiseling away at the access to justice gap.

Seeing is Believing – Virtual Reality Preparedness

Harvard Law School’s Matthew Stubenberg and University of Oklahoma College of Law’s Kenton Brice sit down with host Laurence Colletti to talk about virtual reality, its decreased cost of use, and why it’s becoming more important in legal practice.

Start Up Alley Winners

Billeye’s Alcide Honore’ and Armond Honore’ sit down with Bob Ambrogi and Laurence Colletti to talk about their one-touch app that’s designed to streamline billing and enhance customer service during client phone calls. In addition, Bob Ambrogi talks about the Start-Up Pitch Competition, how it helps innovation, and what we can expect next year.

List of Participants (in alphabetical order):

  1. Warren E. Agin (Elevate Services – Managing Director for Digital Strategy & Solutions)
  2. Abdi Aidid (Blue J Legal Vice – President of Legal Research)
  3. Benjamin Alarie (Blue J Legal – CEO)
  4. Heidi Alexander (MassLOMAP – Director)
  5. Bob Ambrogi (LexBlog – Publisher and Editor-in-Chief)
  6. Christopher Anderson (Profit First for Lawyers – Co-Founder and CEO)
  7. Jess Birken (Birken Law)
  8. Kenton Brice (University of Oklahoma College of Law – Director of Technology Innovation)
  9. Brett Burney (Burney Consultants LLC)
  10. Laurence Colletti (Legal Talk Network – Executive Producer)
  11. Stephanie Everett (Lawyerist – President)
  12. Greg Garman (LAWCLERK – Co-Founder)
  13. Erin Gerstenzang (EHG Law Firm)
  14. Matt Homann (Filament – CEO)
  15. Alcide Honoré (Billseye – CEO)
  16. Armond Honoré (Billseye – CIO)
  17. Dennis Kennedy (University of Michigan Law School – Adjunct Professor of Law)
  18. Colin Lachance (vLex – General Manager)
  19. Sofia Lingos (Trident – Managing Attorney)
  20. Judy Perry Martinez (American Bar Association – President)
  21. Lincoln Mead (Canon Business Process Services – Project Manager / Client Relationship Manager)
  22. Sharon D. Nelson (Sensei Enterprises – President)
  23. Jack Newton (Clio – CEO and Co-Founder)
  24. Mary Shen O’Carroll (Google – Director of Legal Operations, Technology and Strategy)
  25. Patrick Palace (Palace Law – Managing Owner)
  26. Catherine Sanders Reach (North Carolina Bar Association – Director for the Center for Practice Management)
  27. Shannon Salter (Civil Resolution Tribunal – Chair)
  28. Ben Sessions (The Sessions Law Firm)
  29. John Simek (Sensei Enterprises – Vice-President)
  30. Matthew Stubenberg (Harvard Law School Access to Justice Lab – Associate Director of Legal Technology)
  31. Darlene Tonelli (Inter Alia Law – Founder)
  32. Gyi Tsakalakis (AttorneySync – Founder)
  33. Pegeen Turner (myFirmData – Co-Founder)
  34. Paul J. Unger (Affinity Consulting Group – Managing Partner)
  35. Jonathan Verk (Hyphenus – Co-Founder and CEO)

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After receiving his J.D. and MBA, Laurence Colletti went into solo practice with emphasis in general business and commercial real estate. He has always carried a strong passion for web-based media with a particular interest in podcasting and video. Laurence leverages his legal background against that passion to help bring sophisticated, relevant content to Legal Talk Network podcasts. You can follow Laurence on Twitter at @LaurenceEsq.