Old dogs? New tricks? No problem!
Amazingly enough, and against all odds, lawyers are learning to embrace new technology! The evidence was on plain display last week in New York, at LegalTech 2006, where senior partners turned out in greater numbers than ever before.
There was a time, not so long ago, when it made sense to busy partners to pick a tech vendor and an IT manager and be done with it. But EDD is now high-stakes best practise in complex litigation, instead of new-fangled IT convenience. At the same time, clients large and small are demanding reliable integrated technology to match both budget and systems. So technology competencies are fast becoming a key factor in a law firm's own marketing -- not only to attract new clients, but to attract and retain top tier new hires. Now law firms are not only putting up with new tech but getting good at it.
Litigation support managers in top law firms and Fortune 500 legal departments are not shy about shopping around for the most effective systems. Technology providers, meanwhile, understand that they supply an increasingly knowledgeable technology consumer. So competition among vendors is also heating up, and we're seeing a swell of skills development opportunities sponsored by vendors themselves, who realize that an informed consumer is their best customer.
The trend is already strong in newer, nimbler boutique firms, staffed by tech-savvy recent law school graduates. And bar associations, law firms and CLE providers are beginning to serve practicing lawyers with training in the key elements of meta-data and EDD.
New tricks? No problem! Litigation support has never been more competitive than it is right now. Nor has it ever had more respect.
There was a time, not so long ago, when it made sense to busy partners to pick a tech vendor and an IT manager and be done with it. But EDD is now high-stakes best practise in complex litigation, instead of new-fangled IT convenience. At the same time, clients large and small are demanding reliable integrated technology to match both budget and systems. So technology competencies are fast becoming a key factor in a law firm's own marketing -- not only to attract new clients, but to attract and retain top tier new hires. Now law firms are not only putting up with new tech but getting good at it.
Litigation support managers in top law firms and Fortune 500 legal departments are not shy about shopping around for the most effective systems. Technology providers, meanwhile, understand that they supply an increasingly knowledgeable technology consumer. So competition among vendors is also heating up, and we're seeing a swell of skills development opportunities sponsored by vendors themselves, who realize that an informed consumer is their best customer.
The trend is already strong in newer, nimbler boutique firms, staffed by tech-savvy recent law school graduates. And bar associations, law firms and CLE providers are beginning to serve practicing lawyers with training in the key elements of meta-data and EDD.
New tricks? No problem! Litigation support has never been more competitive than it is right now. Nor has it ever had more respect.
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