AT THE PODIUM

My first order of business at ILTA was to participate in a media panel, organized by Joanna Forshee, Jobst Elster and her team at the Envision Agency, targeting vendors, on Monday. The panel included representatives from ALM (moi et Sean Doherty, technology editor of Law.com); John (JD) Delavan, editor of the Association of Legal Administrators' Legal Management; Ken Hansen from ILTA's Peer-to-Peer publication; and Keith Ecker, technology editor of Inside Counsel.

It was a fascinating and enlightening session, especially because the five speakers evidenced very different policies about vendor submissions of articles and press releases; and very different approaches to the type of coverage they provide about vendor product and services. Truly, not all publications are run alike, so it is wise for vendors who seek coverage to carefully review publications and their policies (and editorial calendars).

My thanks to Joanna et al for the invitation.

* Today, I did an hour presentation on "How to Deal with the News Media," part of ILTA's professional development track. It was targeted to help IT staff, especially those who are rising in their organization's hierarchy, who might be interacting with news media for the first time. We discussed  everything from understanding basic ground rules (e.g., on the record/ off the record / not for attribution / background) to subtleties of pitching story ideas, what is (and isn't) newsworthy, and more. The audience was incredibly gracious, and asked terrific questions.

Special thanks to Candy White, internal practice consultant at Hunton & Williams, who oversaw the planning for the program, as well as to T.J. Johnson, Randi Mayes and Peggy Weschler, of ILTA.