12on12: A Dozen Must-See Panels at LegalTech New York

Evan Koblentz

Law Technology News

01-15-2013

Correction: The session "Real Life Legal Tech" is Wednesday at 11 a.m., not Tuesday as originally published.

Note: Welcome to 12on12, a new LTN column. It will spotlight 12 interesting things on the 12th day of each month. (This inaugural edition has a bonus item, a baker's dozen 13.)

From network security to e-discovery statistical sampling, there are plenty of compelling sessions to attend at LegalTech New York, Jan. 29-31 at the Hilton New York on the west side of Manhattan. Several sessions are appealing not only because of the topic but due to who's talking.

Smart lawyers may want to start their show planning by blocking time in their iPhone calendars for all three keynotes, along with the three plenary addresses.

1. The show opens with a keynote address from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partner Theodore Olson, who will discuss "Recent and Upcoming Supreme Court Cases." Olson, a former Solicitor General of the United States, is a member of his firm's executive committee, co-chair of the appellate and constitutional law practice groups, and serves on the firm's crisis management team. Expect the talk to cover copyright law, immigration, and health care. Sponsors: Content Analyst (booth #314), KPMG (#2101). (Tues., 9 a.m. - 10 a.m.)

2. The second-day keynote, "The Judicial Perspective — Managing Big Data, Proportionality, Data Security, and Privacy," packs in five speakers who are entrenched in the nitty-gritty of electronic data discovery:   Andrew Peck, magistrate judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York; Michael Baylson, senior judge for the U.S. District Court for Eastern District of Pennsylvania; LexisNexis' Matthew Gillis, vice president and managing director, litigation solutions and professional services; and moderator Patrick Oot, special counsel at the Securities and Exchange Commission and co-founder of the Electronic Discovery Institute. Sponsor: LexisNexis (#100-108; 200-209). (Wed.,  9 a.m. - 10 a.m.)

3. Day three features Charles Duhigg, a reporter at The New York Times and author of bestseller book The Power of Habit, that analyzes how individuals, companies, and countries can understand and capitalize on the individual and social habits to effect change, be it profound (Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King battle racism; Alcoa changes its safety culture) or ordinary (weight loss). Duhigg will target our profession with his lecture on "The Power of a Crisis: Remaking the Habits of Lawyers." Sponsor: DiscoverReady (#134-136). (Thurs., 9 a.m. - 10 a.m.)

4. A midday plenary session is "Facing the Cliff: Can Proportionality Avert the E-Discovery Crisis?," moderated by Symantec discovery counsel Philip Favro, with panelists Shawn Cheadle, general counsel, Lockheed Martin Space Systems; Wendy Butler Curtis, of counsel at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe; Frank Maas, magistrate judge in the southern district of New York; and Ariana Tadler, partner at Milberg. Sponsor: Symantec (#2003-2009, 2300-2306). (Tues., 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.)

5. The second-day plenary, Case Studies and Lessons Learned from the Practical Use of Technology-Assisted Review, offers insight from Deborah Baron, vice president of legal and compliance at Autonomy, and from Thomas Lidbury, partner, Drinker Biddle & Reath; Alan Winchester, partner, Harris Beach; Maura Grossman, counsel at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; and Jennifer Keadle Mason, managing partner, Mintzer, Sarowitz, Zeris, Ledva & Meyers. Sponsor: Autonomy (#110-116, 211-217). (Wed., 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.)

6. The closing-day plenary will feature Raymond Kelly, New York City's Police Commissioner. Details of Kelly's presentation were still under wraps, but if you're thinking of being someplace else during this session, then as we say here in New York, "Fuggedaboutit!"  (Thurs., 12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.)

7. "Statistical Sampling to Enhance & Defend Your E-Discovery Practice," with Maura Grossman, counsel at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; Gordon Cormack, professor at the University of Waterloo; plus DiscoverReady CEO James Wagner Jr. and vice president of discovery strategy Maureen O'Neill. Statistical sampling has been a hot topic for the past year, especially in the industry debates about whether to use predictive coding. (Tues., 10:30 a.m.-11:45 a.m.; track sponsor: DiscoverReady, #134-136.)

8. "Developing a Law Firm Security Awareness Program," with Lathrop & Gage's Carlos Rodriguez, and Rogers Townsend & Thomas director of information technology Mark Brophy. Rodriguez leads the International Legal Technology Association's LegalSEC committee and also ILTA's security peer group. (Tues., 2 p.m.-3:15 p.m.; track sponsor: ILTA, #1800-1802.)

9. Judges abound on LTNY panels, including "Real Life Legal Tech," featuring U.S.D.C. Judge Michael Baylson, of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He will be joined by Anne Kershaw, senior attorney and consultant at A. Kershaw; attorney/analyst David Horrigan, of 451 Research; and David Brown, vice president and executive editor at ALM (Law Technology News' parent company) as well as editor-in-chief of The National Law Journal. The panel will be hosted by CEO/attorney Howard Reissner, author of the recent LTN commentary, "Technology-Assisted Review: Too Soon for Prime Time?" Sponsor: Planet Data (#2700). (Wed., 11:00 a.m.)

10. "E-Discovery and the Cloud: A Checklist for Success," by FTI Consulting project manager Joel Jacob. Cloud computing is a prominent subject in the legal technology landscape, but what should your firm do -- and avoid doing -- to succeed at it? (Wed., 10:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.; track sponsor: FTI Consulting, #2110.)

11. Hacked! Cyber-Threats to Lawyers, Law Firms and their Clients, featuring Alon Israely, co-founder and manager of strategic partnerships at Business Intelligence Associates, and Lawrence Husick, co-chairman of the Foreign Policy Research Institute's Center for the Study of Terrorism. (Tues., 11:45 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.)

12. Big Data - Big Hype or Big Opportunity? Speakers on this panel promise to cut through the fluff, Barry Murphy, senior analyst of eDJ Group; Galina Datskovsky, senior vice president of information governance at Autonomy; Julie Colgan, a certified records manager from IBM; Eric Hunter, director of knowledge, innovation & technology strategies at Bradford & Barthel; and Jason R. Baron, director of litigation at the National Archives and Records Administration. (Thurs., 10:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.; track sponsor: ARMA, #536.)

Baker's dozen (bonus #13): "Defensible Disposal; If It Doesn't Exist I Don't Have to Review it." This panel has my favorite title because it's so candid. Recommind, a company also known for its candidness, is sending product marketing manager Bill Tolson. Topics will include "the cause and effect associated with uncontrolled electronic information growth especially in relation to the e-discovery process, and the current state of the art of information management technologies, again in relation to e-discovery requirements, [and] how categorization techniques can be used to defensibly and effectively manage and dispose of unneeded data," Recommind promises. (Thurs., 1:45 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.; track sponsor: Recommind, 2201-2205.)

Those are just a few of the diverse options you'll have at LegalTech New York.  Keep in mind that the schedule is subject to change. Stay tuned to the LTNY conference grid for details. Our LTN team looks forward to seeing you at the Hilton!

Evan Koblentz is a reporter for Law Technology News. Send email or follow him on Twitter.