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June 7, 2006
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 David Snow, Law.com's Legal Technology editor, reports from LegalTech West Coast. With his daily e-mail, registered participants won't miss any of the show's highlights. |
A Look Back at LegalTech West Coast 2006
There's nothing like a big technology trade show. It's the place where innovations are vaunted. It's the busiest kind of business-deal rumor mill. And, with the nonstop buzz of the show floor and the speedy social circuit of meet-and-greets, it's the fastest way to numb a technology editor's senses to the point of stupefaction.
Well before it closed up shop after Tuesday's sessions, it was clear that LegalTech West Coast 2006 had been a success. Its mix of interesting keynote addresses, educational sessions and exhibitor offerings appeared to hit the mark.
"There's no question that today's law firms and law departments face difficult challenges integrating technology to serve their clients better, faster and cheaper," said Henry Dicker, vice president and director of ALM Events, after the show. "This year's LegalTech West Coast continued its tradition of providing the platform of standards, procedures and product solutions for these complex issues."
Dicker said feedback on the show was overwhelmingly positive and that this year's show was a record-breaker. Unfortunately, though, final attendance figures weren't available before this newsletter's distribution.
News, notes and highlights from the show follow. At the bottom of the page, be sure to click on the links for each day's coverage and read about the sessions, keynote presentations and more.
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Listen Up: Audio Search Makes Noise
Nexidia's audio search product for e-discovery, ESI 6.0, has turned some heads lately, including that of John Bringardner, one of our spies on the tradeshow floor. Bringardner, formerly news editor of ALM's Law Technology News magazine and now a reporter for the company's IP Law & Business magazine, took in a demo of Nexidia's search of Enron phone conversations.
"It's definitely the next thing coming, with all the voicemails out there," he said, referring to the growing burden on counsel to collect all types of electronically stored information for litigation.
Bringardner's not the only one who's heard Nexidia's siren song. E-discovery services provider Fios says it wants to work with Nexidia.
"We've been talking for a number of months now ... and we intend to pursue our relationship further," said Brad Harris, director of product management for Fios. "We're talking about how we can develop a broader e-discovery solution around audio analysis. We believe that their approach is far more efficient than traditional ones for the review process. It culls down a large data set, which then you can move into a search tool after a speech-to-text conversion."
The ESI 6.0 version, released in April, premieres Forensic Search, which speeds audio searches by identifying phoneme patterns rather than matching full words. Nexidia says it generates higher search accuracy than dictionary-dependent, speech-to-text based audio searches.
By the way, the product name "ESI" doesn't stand for "electronically stored information" -- a phrase used in the e-discovery amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure -- but it certainly seems like a fortunate coincidence for Nexidia's marketing department, if not shrewd branding. Nexidia's "ESI" stands for "Enterprise Speech Intelligence."
CaseCentral Beefs Up Online Review
San Francisco-based CaseCentral announced Monday that its new release -- Online Review and Repository 4.2 -- provides attorneys with real-time status reporting of recently reviewed legal documents. The company says its goal is to improve legal teams' ability to monitor the progress of document reviewers by eliminating delays of a day or more that are typical in overnight batch processing of reviewer files.
"The new functionality ... will enable legal teams to improve workflow and minimize the rising costs of legal and compliance-related matters," said Chris Kruse, CaseCentral's president and CEO, in a statement.
Revisiting New Orleans: Disaster Recovery Panel
By Monica Bay
Editor-in-chief, Law Technology News
On Monday, our New Orleans Katrina gang reconvened for a wonderful discussion of disaster recovery/business continuity. Law Technology News magazine's 2006 IT Director of the Year, Janine Sylvas of Stone Pigman, spoke first. (And I'm thrilled to announce that she's accepted my invitation to join LTN's editorial advisory board.) Runner up Ken Orgeron, who spoke in January at LegalTech New York, was unable to join us -- because he's on vacation in New York! -- but we gave him plenty of shout-outs during the discussion.
Runner up James Zeller was able to participate, and provided many insights (including a description of how Chaffe McCall attorneys manuevered back into the firm's highrise in the hurrican's aftermath and literally broke down walls to retrieve servers).
Thad Hymel, IT chief of McGlinchey Stafford, offered advice on everything from the ordering equipment to securing housing for staff, and LTN board member Tom O'Connor, who is on the ABA's Katrina task force, described the May 22-23 Technology SuperSessions that he and his partner Gayle O'Connor just about single-handedly put together to help affected solos and small-firm lawyers.
Editor's note: The passage above appeared on Bay's Law.com blog, The Common Scold.
ALM Events: Exciting News for 2007
LegalTech is truly the most important event of its kind. Our expansive exhibit floor and ever-growing educational programs have lead us to find a new home beginning in 2007. Be sure to join us for LegalTech West Coast at the Los Angeles Convention Center, June 20-21, 2007. Look for details in the coming months by visiting www.almevents.com or call 800-955-2719 to be added to our mailing list. See you next year!
-- The ALM Events Team
Conference Coverage
* Monday notes
* Tuesday notes
* Looking back on LegalTech West Coast 2006
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Stay informed about important legal technology developments after Legal Tech ends.
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For to find other events, visit almevents.com.
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