LegalTech NY as Kingmaker?

Everybody at LegalTech New York was abuzz last week as speculation increased that Mohamed ElBaradei will be the next president of Egypt. Why the trending spike? Because the Nobel Peace Prize winner spoke a year ago at LegalTech -- on Feb. 1, 2010 -- about The Rule of Law and the Role of Information in Verifying Compliance in Developing Nations.

So Gonzalo de Cesare, (right) who presented this year's Feb. 1 keynote about the technology used in international war tribunals, received much teasing about what country he will lead in 2012.

De Cesare was this year's LTNY "rock star" with his ALM trifecta: first, with his powerful and moving keynote address; second, with his article, "History Repeats Itself," which appears in the newly redesigned Law Technology News inaugural issue that debuted at the show; and third, he was selected by our independent LTN Awards jury as the 2010 LTN IT Champion of the Year, and received his award immediately following his keynote address.

De Cesare, a native of Peru, has served as information officer for the United Nations, and has been deeply involved with international war crime tribunals, where he has focused on discovery and disclosure issues -- with the goal of establishing "repeatable processes" that can help safeguard the rights of all participants while processing millions of documents.

De Cesare and his team have developed disclosure standards for the trial of Slobodan Milosevic (the late president of the former Yugoslavia and Serbia), and prosecutions in Rwanda and Cambodia, incorporating legal technology such as the ZyLab eDiscovery System, LexisNexis CaseMap, West LiveNote, and IBM Lotus Sametime.

De Cesare is now serving as political advisor at the European Union Police Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In Kosovo, the teams are using Google Maps to pinpoint villages and other locations that are relevant to investigations.

So who knows what the future holds for de Cesare? And we'll all anxiously await news of who will be at the LegalTech podium on February 1, 2012!

Check out the LTN Video interview with de Cesare.

 

Don't Buy that iPad Yet!

One of the time-honored traditions of LegalTech New York is the unofficial competition among vendors for the most memorable tchotcke of the year. I can only imagine the conversations of legal technology marketing teams as they try to "outwit, outplay, and outlast" their competitors on the exhibit hall battlefield by offering a giveaway or drawing that becomes the talk of the Hilton.

We got some sneak previews via a highly unscientific poll (two quick Twitter posts and an e-mail query) prompted by JoAnna Forshee's note telling us about RealPractice's offering of free head shots by Joshua Zuckerman Photography (booth #501).

To absolutely no one's surprise, Apple products dominate the LTNY drawings. (Be sure to pick up a copy of the February Law Technology News, and check out our cover story, "Resistance is Futile," about how law firms are finally caving to lawyer demands to use iPads and other "consumer" technology.)

Vendors are offering an iPad (IKON/Ricoh #2014, Aderant #202, MyCase #2406, iConect #1510, Autonomy #110); an Apple Macbook Air (Guidance Software, #220; Digital Reef, #1404); and an iPod nano (Autonomy #110) to entice you to their booths. Already own everything Apple creates? Stop by Wave Software's booth #331 and you'll get a free iPad/iPhone/iPod screen cleaner.

Prefer Kindles? Check out RainMaker Software #130; AlphaLit, #512; or Wave Software #331.

Other freebies (via giveaways or drawings) include:

• "Neat, sturdy foam gliders in celebration of our AirMail2 launch," Doc Solid #315.
• Footballs, eLitigation Solutions,#2105.
• 18 holes of golf at a course of your choice: D4, #1402.
• Bose QuietComfort Headphones, Nexidia, #2221.
• Stuffed monkeys, Business Intelligence Associates, #1301.
• Pez (Star Wars, Toy Story, Disney Fairies, Marvel Heroes, and Homer Simpson), Cole Valley Software, #210.
• Gumballs -- and an Xbox 360 with Kinect, a Flip MinoHD, and a Kindle. Kroll Ontrack #216.
• "Blinky" items (they light up), Edge Legal Marketing -- Monday night cocktail party.

Finally, if you are willing to walk around with a CaseCentral promotional button, you might be picked to win a $100 bill. "Everyone loves Ben Franklin," explains Chris Beahn, director of product marketing for CaseCentral, #307.

 

LegalTech New York: Editors' & Bloggers' Breakfast

Editors' Breakfast: We are happy to announce that we will be hosting our traditional Editors' Breakfast, on Tuesday, Feb. 1, from 8-9 a.m., in the Petit Trianon room of the New York Hilton, as part of LegalTech New York.

It's a great opportunity for vendors, consultants, freelancers, and lawyers with an interest in writing to meet many of ALM's national editors, including many of our Law Technology News team.

Immediately following the editors' fete, Jill Windwer and the Law.com team will welcome legal bloggers (from 9-10 a.m.) for their annual meet-and-greet networking opportunity.

It's free, everyone is welcome. We hope to see you there!