WOW! IT'S OVER!

Well, we've survived another LegalTech NY!!  Congrats to all the attendees, vendors, speakers.. hope you enjoyed NYC! Don't know about you but I think I'm going to sleep for three days now!

Here's my final observations, which also appear tonight on David Snow's wrapup via Law.com:

* Trends: While it's hard to immediately decipher new trends during LegalTech NY -- which can be wildly overwhelming -- one development I'm noticing is what I'm calling EDD 2.0, the recognition that electronic data discovery is not just something that happens when you get (or issue) the litigation hold. Many vendors are now talking about "document lifespan management" -- ongoing, constant processing of an organization's e-documents. Expect to hear more on that during 2007.

* Reverse marketing? The LegalTech ad campaign that people love to hate is the Encore Legal Solution faux "sports report" that loops in the video monitors in the Hilton's elevators. By the third time you hear it, you want to smash the screen -- but guess what -- everybody is talking about it. Likewise, I wondered why anybody would want to put advertisements in the bathrooms, but I hear that they're some of the most talked-about ads at the show, and an interesting way to get above the noise.

*Thomson Elite's new chief: I had a chance to meet with Steve Buege, the new president and CEO -- who is very excited about his new gig. Expect to hear more about TE's 3E financial program.

Also met with David Baker, of Baker Robbins & Co., whose consulting agency was recently acquired by Thomson. Many vendors and firms are buzzing a bit about that acquisition, and questioning whether the company will feel pressured to favor Thomson products -- but Baker insists that BRCO will continue to operate as an independent entity. Hildebrandt was also purchased by Thomson a while back, and the two consultancies have had a working relationship. Baker is enthusiastic about continuing that connection.

*LexisNexis held its big bash Tuesday night and invitees didn't have any problem remembering the address: Restaurant 44 at 44 W. 44th! I must confess I didn't make it because I'd been up since 3 a.m. Tuesday morning, and couldn't stand up any more by 9 p.m. -- but I'm going to make up for my absence when I get to meet with Marc Osborne and the Lexis gang Wednesday! (Update: we had a great meeting and learned about LN's latest efforts to package its increasing cadre of litigation offerings. Now if I could ONLY convince them to dump the "solutions" moniker... but I digress).

*Microsoft Corp. had standing room only for a unique "booth" -- it had an RV parked by the Hilton's back doors, where it gave attendees a tour of Vista -- the new operating system that just happened to launch Tuesday.

*Jim King, head honcho of Phoenix-based Ipro Tech, is spending a year based in Montreal, on a sabbatical doing a missionary project for his beloved church. But he couldn't resist popping down to NYC for LegalTech -- which surprised absolutely no one. But it was a delight to see him. King has to be one of the most energetic and enthusiastic people on the planet -- and the planet is the better for him. I've already convinced him that he has to return to NYC for another "mini-break" when the D-backs face the Yankees at the Stadium this June.

* The CIO Forum, which runs concurrently with LegalTech, also drew a terrific crowd. This year's event was led by Tony Cordeiro, CIO at Shearman & Sterling, and Harris Tilevitz, CIO at Skadden Arps. Attendees included MoFo's Jo Haraf, Doar's Samuel Solomon, Thomas Gaines Jr. of King & Spaulding -- just to name a few. Law.com's tech editor, David Snow, moderated a morning panel that included George Rudoy of Shearman and Sterling, a stalwart of the Law Technology News and Law.com Legal Technology editorial advisory boards, as well as the LegalTech educational board.

* Do you have ideas on how we can improve the ballots for the LTN Vendor Awards? We've been hearing some great suggestions -- if you've got a recommendation, fire a note to Kevin Iredell  -- we welcome all comments.

*Thanks to everybody who made time for us -- for conversations, briefings, updates! Way too many to list here, but we appreciated each and every one of you.  And it's not too early to sign up for a briefing session with Claire Duffett, LTN's news editor, for our next big show, LegalTech West Coast 2007. There's big buzz about our new venue: We'll be at the L.A. Convention Center. It'll be hard to top LegalTech New York's amazing keynote speaker, the FBI's David Thomas, but keep your eyes open --- our phenomenal colleagues at ALM Events always seem to have magic up their sleeves. To reach Duffett for an appointment at LegalTech West Coast, June 20-21, e-mail her at lawtech@alm.com or call her at 212 313 9008.