LegalTech West Coast: Back to the Bonaventure!

There's an upbeat mood at LegalTech West Coast, both on the show floor and in the conference halls. The medium may be the message all right, but being in a comfortable venue seems to enhance our ability to receive and process all that information!

Everybody seems really happy to be back in the cozy confines of the Westin Bonaventure hotel, rather than the cavernous halls of the L.A .Convention Center — where we always seemed to share the building with the happy occasion of the swearing in of hundreds of ecstatic new citizens. LTWC 2011 changed its dates somewhat abruptly, so some of the usual EDD suspects had scheduling conflicts (most significantly with the Guidance Software über user group meetings in Orlando) but the exhibit hall was jumping and the keynotes and plenary sessions were crowded.

 
The kick off keynote address was presented by Meetup.com's top lawyer, David Pashman (left, with ALM's senior vice president Kevin Vermeulen who introduced him). See LTN's associate editor Michael Roach's report here. 

I was honored to moderate the plenary session, "The Corporate Perspective: Why the Legal Industry Needs to Embrace Technology," featuring Tim Hart (below left), of McKesson, and Brian Renken (below right) of Dell. Both offered  sage insight from Hart's large "enterprise" perspective to Renken's small-and-midsized business  services point-of-view. We focused primarily on how organizations struggle to provide users with the most beneficial technology, while keeping work environments secure to minimize risks and keep the organization agile enough to respond to e-discovery and compliance demands.

During the discussion I gave the audience a "sneak preview" of our upcoming June issue cover story, "Catch Me If You Can," about how CIOs and other law firm leaders are rethinking security protocols in the wake of the recent insider trading charges filed against attorney Matthew Kluger, who allegedly made $32 million in profits by trading on information he acquired while working at  Wilson Sonsini;  Skadden; and Cravath. Pashman, in attendance at the plenary panel, told the group he had been aboard Wilson Sonsini when Kluger was there, generating a gasp from the audience. Of course, he immediately assured everyone that he did not participate in any of the mischief. 

If you are in the Los Angeles area, it's not too late to head over the LTWC Day 2! This morning's 9 am keynote speaker is Manny Medrano, and you can get an hour's worth of CLE credit for his presentation," Trial by Sound Byte: Law in the New Millennium." And EDD Update regulars Joshua Engel, Tom O'Connor, John Jablonski, Bobby Malholtra, and George Rudoy will be presenting today. Get your complimentary pass to the show. We'd love to see you!

Photos: Monica Bay/LTN  Click images to enlarge