LTN's Key Takeaways From Legalweek New York 2022: Day 3

Miss the action on the last day of Legalweek 2022 New York? Here’s what Legaltech News’ editors and reporters view as the day’s highlights from their coverage and conversations.

Rhys Dipshan: At the end of Legalweek 2022, an old adage comes to mind: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” I have to admit—maybe that’s just my subconscious desire for some stability after years of disruption and rapid changes. But there’s also a sense in the legal market that for all that is new, there’s still older, more persistent technology issues that still need attention.

All of the most pressing e-discovery issues discussed at annual Legalweek judge’s debate, for instance, weren’t ones that just popped up over the past few years, or even ones related to remote work. Many courts, for instance, are still dealing with battles over 502(d) orders—which, much to chagrin of former U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of New York Andrew Peck, are still not being as widely used as they should—calls for “discovery-on-discovery,” and how to address links to cloud-based documents in emails (which have been around well before the pandemic).

To be sure, the impact of remote work won’t just be an afterthought in the industry. Its repercussions are still coming into focus, and it’s likely we’ll see even more considerations, experiments and debate over its place in the legal market for years to come. But for all that has changed, the practice of law remains the same.

While that doesn’t seem like a groundbreaking epiphany, it was hard to realize when we were all still in “the thick of it.” But now that there’s some semblance of a return to “normal” (surely, “a new normal”), we can focus more on ongoing technology issues that we’ve been grappling with since well before anyone knew what Zoom was. What is different, however, is that the market is likely better equipped to handle these issues than ever before, especially since there’s much less resistance to technology to overcome in the first place.

“I’m a little slow on the tech side and I needed this as a little kick on the butt,” said Arthur D. Burger, director and chair of Professional Responsibility Practice Group at Jackson & Campbell at a Friday Legalweek session. “And I’ve been surprised at how our secretaries have been able to help us just like we were face-to-face, how Zoom calls and meetings work very well, and just how comfortable it is to basically do the same times of things that we did at the office.”

An industry that was all too often called technology-averse has in part become true believers. Now the real work begins.

Zach Warren: I’m tired. But it’s a good tired. It’s the tired of being able to talk with people face-to-face, of walking through a crowded exhibit hall once again, of moderating and participating on engaging panels, and yes, of a few different after hours parties. Even after two years away from the New York Midtown Hilton, it’s a bit funny how quickly everybody shifted back into old routines, and how this felt like Legalweek once again. It’s not that the pandemic didn’t matter, it’s in fact the opposite—it heightened everyone’s enthusiasm to meet once again face-to-face.

Nobody knows where legal conferences will go from here; it’d be a bit presumptive to assume we presume anything in the age of COVID. I don’t see Legalweek going anywhere though, just as I don’t see ILTACON or ABA TechShow or other legal tech conferences going anywhere. Most everyone I spoke with this week—and I spoke with a lot—called this a successful week, even behind some masks and with enhanced protocols. Legalweek isn’t just about panels and booths, after all, but about the people that make this an exciting industry. There’s something special about being able to be among the energy, and for both now and in the future (including March 20-23, 2023), I couldn’t be more excited to be among it.