Jim is more than your average TechShow attendee: he's been attending the conference for nearly a decade, and in 2005, served as its co-chair. With that experience, his interview - available after the jump - provides a nice-wrap up to the technology discussion we've been having at this blog for the past week.

1. Rob La Gatta: As a former chairman of TechShow, how do you think it’s going this year?

Jim Calloway: Well, I’m pretty excited with a number of changes about TechShow.

I think I first came to TechShow in ’99, and have been to every TechShow from ’99 forward. This year they’ve tried to do several things to make it a more interesting experience for the attendees: having one sit-down, plated luncheon where they gave out the first Jim Keane award for e-lawyering was a nice touch. And then, of course, we’re just in a new venue...and the Hilton is certainly – in my view – more upscale than the Sheraton Towers was.

2. Rob La Gatta: I also saw they’re starting to incorporate things like a Twitter feed, a del.icio.us tag, etc. How are those working out so far?

Jim Calloway: I was talking to Tom very late last night, and [he said] there were only a dozen or so on the Twitter. I think the blog feed has been fairly well-utilized, and the nice thing about that is that it's going to be an archive for people’s contemporaneous comments, which others can go back weeks or months later to read.

The major difference between ABA TechShow and pretty much every other legal technology conference I’ve ever attended is that this is really more of an educational conference, where the vendors are invited to participate. And in other types of conferences – I don’t necessarily want to name any – you feel like the vendors are often driving the show, and there’s talk about, “Does a big enough sponsorship get you a place at the podium?” [But] this event is really put on by the American Bar Associations’ law practice management session as an educational enterprise.

3. Rob La Gatta: For your blog, what keeps you going and makes you want to come back each day to write?

Jim Calloway: A little tongue in cheek: I’d say if you’re the kind of person whose friends always complain about how frequent and long your e-mails are, then you may be a good candidate for blogging.

I think I’ve carved out a space that I’m comfortable with, that complements my job. I’m able to use my blog to share bite-sized bits of information with my members (because I’m employed by the Oklahoma Bar Association), but I’m also able to let the rest of the net-using lawyer public in on it at no additional cost or effort. So it’s a great adjunct to my job, and a great service for the public as well.

4. Rob La Gatta: Overall, do you see blogs as a viable marketing tool for practicing lawyers?

Jim Calloway: I definitely think that they are a marketing tool, and I know LexBlog has long been a proponent of lawyers using blogs as a marketing tool. But I think it requires a certain dedication, personality and mind-set, and so it’s not necessarily for everyone. The overcrowded, overworked lawyer who is having trouble maintaining all their personal and business items may have to take a look at themselves as to whether they really have time to support a blog.

Having made that slight disclaimer, I would say that blogs are an incredible tool, because of the relative inexpense and the ease of use...particularly if you can limit the blogs somewhat in your subject matter. You should either you take a very narrow subject of the law and you go national with it, to try to become the national authority in this very narrow area. I’ve also seen a lot of people that have set up things like the Kansas Family Law Blog or something like that, where they limit it both geographically and by topic.

The fact that the search engines still seem to love the blog content, the fact that somebody can easily update their blog in about the same amount of time it would take to draft an e-mail…these things make blogs a potential great marketing tool (for the right people).

5. Rob La Gatta: With technology and the law continuing to become intertwined, where do you see this all going in the future?

Jim Calloway: That’s a great question, because there are several aspects to it.

Number one, in terms of the practicing lawyer: what we do as lawyers is in a large part based on receiving, processing and communicating information. Many lawyers who thought technology just meant that you had a computer as a glorified word processor in the office are now understanding that there are lots of different aspects to the way it is changing legal practice.

I think we’re going to continue to see lawyers change the way they do business. I just attended a session at TechShow on online collaboration and collaboration tools, and I think we’re going to see more of that kind of architecture: clients and lawyers having internet shared presences, so that they are working together more cooperatively and  looking at things in a process, instead of the lawyer just presenting the client with an end product.

So I see that change, but I also see the way technology is changing our world: you go out on the street now and you see kids text messaging, you see how many gifts under the tree last Christmas were based on technology advances...as technology changes society, we’re going to see a whole lot more of interesting issues in everything from intellectual property to privacy rights. For those lawyers who want to be on the cutting edge in that area, we’re going to see a lot of interesting decisions where the old rules that made a lot of sense don’t quite make as much sense anymore.

Founder and co-managing director of the legal resource website JD Supra (and a moderator of JD Scoop, it's accompanying blog), Aviva is a former attorney with 11 years under her belt in business litigation and related fields.

We got a chance to catch up with Aviva earlier today for a few minutes between events, where she spoke briefly on her experience at TechShow, why she founded JD Supra and what technology can do for the legal industry in the future. All this and more, after the jump.

1. Rob La Gatta: Why are you at TechShow?

Aviva Cuyler: I’m at TechShow to let people know about JD Supra and what we’re doing, and also to connect with people I know who are in the ABA and who come to these events from other parts of the country.

2. Rob La Gatta: Can you provide a little information as to how JD Supra got off the ground, and what prompted the idea for it in the first place?

Aviva Cuyler: I had spent about 12 years working in business litigation, primarily doing writing. I was working on pre-trial motions for a case that was keeping me up late many nights in a row, and I realized that other lawyers had briefed [on these] issues already, and there was no need for me to be starting at square one with every brief…if I only could have access to my colleagues’ work. So I got the idea to create a resource where lawyers could share their work with each other, and have it open for everybody.

4. Rob La Gatta: You have a blog that goes along with the JD Supra website. Do you see blogs as being an important marketing tool? Would you have gone ahead without a blog, or do you think it’s necessary?

Aviva Cuyler: In this day and age, I think it was necessary. It’s really essential to have a place to further the mission of the website, to promote good work in the law – “great work in the law and the people behind it”, that's the tagline for the blog. We also wanted it to respond to questions and things that people are saying about the website.

5. Rob La Gatta: Where do you see this all going, with free legal information online? Do you think that eventually everything is going to be much more transparent for the general public, allowing them to feel more at ease with the law?

Aviva Cuyler: I do. And I think they will not only feel more at ease with the law, but have a much greater understanding about the daily work that lawyers do. Which I think in turn can help cut out some of the negative perceptions about lawyers.

Ed, a LexBlog client who we previously featured in our LexBlog Q & A, is the principal of LawBiz Management Company and author of the LawBizBlog.

Last time we chatted with Ed, the conversation covered his history in the blogosphere and opinions on how blogging has impacted him. Today the discussion was on TechShow and the value technology can hold for practicing lawyers. Check it out after the jump.

1. Rob La Gatta: Why are you at TechShow?

Ed Poll: I am at TechShow because it is one of the leading technology shows in the country, if not the leading show. It’s a place where vendors put on exhibits of their wares, and I’m able as a result to stay abreast of what is new in the legal profession and the legal industry. In addition, I get to meet great people like Kevin, and renew my friendships.

2. Rob La Gatta: Is there anybody who you haven’t met before who you’re looking forward to meeting, or who you were looking forward to before you came and got a chance to talk to?

Ed Poll: I think the answer to that question probably is yes and yes.

I’ve met some people I didn’t meet before, and they were able to teach me something that I didn’t know. I’ve also made connections that I would not have made but for being here. And I’ve been able to renew relationships with folks that I knew but don’t see in between the sessions.

Also, I was able to meet with a couple editors of mine and moved my new book on law firm fees and compensation closer to completion. I am expecting to go to press in about 3 weeks. So that was pretty good.

3. Rob La Gatta: Beyond the benefit of picking up tips from the panels, do you see a strong networking potential as well at TechShow?

Ed Poll: Oh, there is networking. When you meet people – both people you know as well as new people you haven’t met before – there’s a tremendous opportunity to network and continue that after the show.

4. Rob La Gatta: And have you seen any panels so far at TechShow that you have enjoyed?

Ed Poll: Yeah, there were a couple of panels I’ve enjoyed; one of them was on technology in the new law practice, by Carolyn Elefant and David Masters. But I do most of my learning on the exhibit floor, rather than in the sessions.

5. Rob La Gatta: In terms of what you’re doing with LawBiz: how much is technology playing into it? Does it shape the way you run your business, and do you expect it to in the future?

Ed Poll: I can’t tell you quite what’s going to be going on in the future...I’m not that omniscient. But it clearly has impacted my business, in several ways. By staying alert to the technology, I’m able to help my clients become more efficient in what they do as well.

When I started in 1990, because of the computer I was able to do work on my own without a secretary; literally, I was able to be solo. Within a matter of months, I was able to grow enough to be able to bring somebody in. I thought part time...but between the time she accepted my offer and the time she began work, I found all kinds of new projects for her to do, so she came on full-time. 

I think that technology has enabled me to stay with an assistant without putting on a lot of extra people, and in effect to be a virtual consultant: when there was a need for me to expand into a team, I was able to do that. And then when the assignment was over, I was able to walk away while the other folks went their separate ways as well.

Laura, a long-time TechShow attendee who practiced law for more than 15 years in the Montgomery area, gives those who couldn't make it to Chicago an inside scoop on how the event is going so far.

We spoke with her a few minutes ago; the transcribed interview is after the jump.

1. Rob La Gatta: What compelled you to attend TechShow? Would you be here if you weren’t presenting?

Laura Calloway: Oh, sure. I attended my first TechShow in 1998, when I was a brand new director of the Alabama State Bar’s Practice Management Assistance Program. This was when Windows 95 was just coming into fashion, and I did not know enough about law office technology to be able to advise our lawyers about it. So, I decided I’d better go somewhere and find out something about it.

This is my 11th consecutive TechShow. I've found that there is such a wealth of information here that it satisfies my needs to keep current with legal technology.

2. Rob La Gatta: Have you seen any panels so far that you’ve enjoyed?

Laura Calloway:  I didn’t speak yesterday, so I saw several that I enjoyed [then]. And we have a particularly interesting one going on right now: it’s called Electronic Data Discovery Jeopardy, where we’re actually having a Jeopardy game with all sorts of questions and answers about the latest cases and technology for electronic data discovery. That was quite well attended...there was a whole lot laughter, but also a lot of learning going on at the same time.

3. Rob La Gatta: What have you been speaking and presenting on?

Laura Calloway: This morning, Catherine Sanders Reach, Bob Moss and I talked about the pros and cons of using an online backup system for your small law firm's files and data. Then, after lunch, Dan Pinnington and I will be talking about using spreadsheets in the law office.

4. Rob La Gatta: I see some state bars have established advertising rules that encompass blogs and what can be done with them. Has Alabama given specific instructions as to what can be done with blogs as an advertising tool?

Laura Calloway: I don’t think we have addressed blogs specifically, but we do have rules that differentiate what is advertising and what is not advertising. [Those] rules would apply to anything that would be construed as advertising,whether it’s a print ad, a radio ad, a TV ad, an Internet presence...those types of things.

For example, if you have a website: there is a disclaimer required in all advertising, and that disclaimer must be on every page of a website. Consequently, I would think that if you had a blog, you would need to put the disclaimer on it (a disclaimer that you’re not making a representation that the legal advice you offered is better than the legal advice offered by any other lawyer in the state of Alabama).

5. Rob La Gatta: How do you see technology playing into how the law is practiced in coming years? Do you have any predictions as to where it’s going to go?

Laura Calloway: Well, I wouldn’t make predictions on any specific technology. But I do see that technology is becoming so much a part of the fabric of our lives that a lawyer who is not interested in keeping up with technology is a lawyer who’s going to be left behind.

Thomas Friedman’s “The World is Flat” is beginning to apply to law firms as well as to manufacturing and other areas of business. People are looking on the Internet for the best lawyer at the best price. And if lawyers don’t develop a web presence and a way to let people know about their services, they’re going to be left behind.

Extremely knowledgeable in e-discovery matters and an all-around great guy to chat with, David and his company specialize in staffing issues for large firms throughout the United States and Europe.

Reached in his hotel room during some downtime earlier today, David spoke on how informative TechShow has been so far from a e-discovery perspective, and where he sees blogs going within that industry. See the full interview after the jump.

1. Rob La Gatta: Why are you at TechShow? What prompted you to come?

David Cowen: I hit all of the major conferences during the year: Legal Tech, Legal Tech West, as well as ILSA and some of the smaller conferences. This is the first time I’ve come out to the ABA TechShow.

Primarily, I’m looking to hear the voice of the the small/mid-sized law firms throughout the United States. What are their challenges? What does the leadership look and sound like? Because my primary job is a talent scout and a headhunter. I’m constantly looking to see who the leaders are in the industry, so that when a client comes to me and says, “hey, we’re looking for a senior director or a senior partner or a senior manager, can you help us find one?”, I actually know who the best and the brightest are in the market. This is as much information gathering as it is talent scouting on who is up-and-coming in the market.

2. Rob La Gatta: For talent scouting, can blogs serve any purpose? Has their proliferation changed the way you do your job?

David Cowen: In this particular market (the small/mid-sized firms) I’m not finding a lot of savvy bloggers. But for me, it’s important...this is information that I want to blog about. I want to share my thoughts on what I’m seeing here.

Blogging for me is about sharing my thoughts on the market, whether it’s the space itself – the law firm space, the vendor space, the corporate space – or about careers in that space....careers within those silos, if you will. There are certainly people here from the corporate space and the vendor space, and I just came away from probably the best presentation I’ve seen in a long time.

2a: Rob La Gatta: What was it?

David Cowen: This was a presentation by a fellow by the name of Bryan Melchionda. He’s a client services manager at EED [Electronic Evidence Discovery, Inc.] in New York, and he gave a presentation on project management/process methodology, and how you really need to look at e-discovery and litigation support from a project management, process methodology standpoint.

He really had it nailed down: he talked about what you need to do to get through this process, and how a project manager really needs to sit in the middle of the law firm, the client and the vendor...and how that’s not really happening. I agree with him. I think that’s a level of sophistication that’s missing in the marketplace today.

3. Rob La Gatta: Overall, would you say that blogs have taken hold in the e-discovery realm?

David Cowen:I would say that in the e-discovery space, blogs are there...but people don’t have enough time to read them as they should.

People in the e-discovery space are doing 12,14,16 hour days. And even with RSS feeds and newsreaders and summaries, I don’t find a lot of people are really plugged into that. Now, some of the thought leaders are beginning to write and blog. Mark Reichenbach from MetaLINCS comes to mind, and of course there are others. But I don’t find a lot of non-vendors and non-lawyers reading and writing blogs.

In other words, the guys that are actually in the ED lit support space – managers, directors, analysts, supervisors, coordinators, specialists in lit support – I find on the listservs, very interested in “how do I solve this problem?” [But] I don’t find the majority of the market plugged into the blogosphere.

I think that needs to change, by the way; I think that if you want to continue to drive your career forward, if you want to continue to have career progression, you need to read more and more. You need to read about what’s going on. Not the technology read; the process read, the business read, the legal read. And I think that content comes from a number of the really terrific blogs out there.

4. Rob La Gatta: Aside from the knowledge potential, do you see there to be strong networking possibilities with blogs? If so, do you see that as being valuable?

David Cowen: I certainly see it being valuable; but I don’t think you have enough middle manager talent developed yet in the e-discovery space where they value it yet. Is there value? Yes. Does the space value it? Not yet, because it’s not mature enough.

Your technical guys are not going to blog and network that way. What do I see? I see them using LinkedIn a lot. They want the immediacy of a network, an immediate network that yields business contacts and business sales and commerce, not necessarily knowledge for knowledge sake. Knowledge for knowledge sake and knowledge for career sake is really more along the lines of a middle/upper level management question. And I don’t see the majority of the people that are in that analyst role doing it.

5. Rob La Gatta: Going back to TechShow; are there any panelists you’re looking forward to seeing or folks you’re looking forward to meeting?

David Cowen: I’ve got a list of people that I have not yet met that are on my radar screen.

• I’m looking forward to meeting Dennis Kennedy, he’s speaking tomorrow at 1:00...
  
• ...Browning Marean from DLA Piper, their e-discovery director...
• ...and I’d really like to meet David Cohen from K & L Gates. He’s their e-discovery chairman, and I’m very interested to know what K & L Gates is doing around e-discovery litigation support – from a process standpoint, from a staffing standpoint – and what his view is from the inside. He’s one of the few senior-level partners here at the show, and I’m very interested to hear his take on where he thinks things are going. K & L Gates is certainly a market leader; they’re one of the top 10 law firms in the country, and they’re building out an e-discovery litigation support capability. My clients (Sullivan & Cromwell, Davis Polk, Sherman & Sterling to name a few) have built this out as well. But I don’t know what K & L Gates has done, and I’m very interested to hear his thoughts.

The first of such interviews, conducted just moments ago, is with Brian Ritchey of LexisNexis. Brian, who formerly served as Regional Vice President at Juris until the company was purchased by LexisNexis in mid-2007, also writes the blog MorePartnerIncome.

Brian took five minutes out of his schedule to chat with us briefly, the results of which are available after the jump. Don't forget to keep watching this space over the next few days for more live reporting from TechShow 2008.

1. Rob La Gatta: What are you doing at TechShow? Why did you decide to come?

Brian Ritchey: I came here, number one, to learn a little bit more about what’s going on with the industry and to sit in on some of the presentations. I’m also speaking on benchmarking and key performance metrics that affect profitability in law firms on Friday, and going over our 2007 Law Firm Economic Survey.

2. Rob La Gatta: What are your impressions of TechShow so far? Today is the first day of actual events, correct?

Brian Ritchey: Yes, and actually – in comparison to New York’s LegalTech – I’ve found that it’s just as busy; there are a lot of things going on. However, I’m noticing that the frenzied atmosphere that was going on with LegalTech is not nearly as bad here. It seems like it’s a lot easier to sit down and talk to people at TechShow.

3. Rob La Gatta: What prompted you to start blogging at MorePartnerIncome in the first place?

Brian Ritchey: Well actually, it wasn’t mine to start with: MorePartnerIncome was started by Tom Collins, who was the founder of Juris. He started [it] because he had been a part of the industry for over 30 years, and decided – as he was nearing retirement – to start sharing some of the information he’s learned over the years...to give that information to law firms to help them improve their performance, as well as to help them deal with issues such as staffing and profitability and things of that nature. I was just fortunate enough to be able to pick up on it and be able to carry it on after Tom had retired.

4. Rob La Gatta: You recently went from Regional Vice President at Juris to a member of the Practice Management Division at LexisNexis. How was that change, and what do you plan to do with the new position in the coming year?

Brian Ritchey: It was very lucky for me. When I was at [Juris], I was working more with products, doing some consulting work (but not nearly to the extent that I’d have liked to). The opportunity came once we were acquired by LexisNexis to spend more time working with other attorneys, and to do things that I believe allow me more leeway in [areas] that are of much more broad interest: being able to speak on profitability, being able to keep up with current trends and things of that nature. Before, I was very product-centric in the scope of what I was able to do.

As far as the future is concerned: we’re about to start the 2008 Law Firm Economic Survey. I believe we’re going to start it next week. And we’re broadening its scope. This year, we want to bring more attention to client development activities, as well as marketing and such, so that we can find out some of the things that law firms are doing to help them stay competitive in the marketplace, and to keep and retain their clients.

Our survey is focused on what we consider the five key performance drivers that affect law firm income, and those were developed by David Maister over 20 years ago. If you track these five metrics, we believe it’s going to affect partner income. And that’s the focus of the survey. But we also want to expand the reach of it to also look into regional pricing (and hopefully even at the state level, depending on how many respondents we get).

5. Rob La Gatta: With blogging taking off as it has, do you see it’s feasible that in the future, law bloggers will become the reporters, rendering legal publications and news magazines unnecessary?

Brian Ritchey: It’s funny that you mention that. I just talked to Kevin about the fact that I believe the evolution of blogging, at least in the context of those that are in the consulting aspect, [is going to make us] more like reporters. We’re scouring the Internet, looking at other people, writing about stuff. And then we’re reporting it to readers of our blog, where it has allowed law firms and other readers to not have to scour the Internet to get information.

Hopefully the standard news organizations will adapt as well, and find ways to be able to retain their readership. I do believe that the role of bloggers, as with other social networking sites, has a tremendous impact and add value to all professions…not just the law.

He'll be bringing his expertise to TechShow with the following panels:

• "Small Volume E-Discovery: One Hard Disk Could Make, or Break, Your Case", with Todd Flaming (3/14, 2:15-3:15 p.m.)
• "60 Tips in 60 Minutes," with Barron Henley and Sharon Nelson (3/14, 4:15-5:15 p.m.)
  
• "The Mobile Office: Take Your Desktop in Your Pocket", with Dominic Jaar (3/15, 8:30-9:30 a.m.)

1. Rob La Gatta: When it comes to proving yourself knowledgeable on e-discovery issues, do you see the blog as being important for your consulting business?

Brett Burney: Yes, definitely.

Number one, it helps to convince clients that I am staying abreast of the current topics and the important events in the marketplace. I think that always helps clients to have a little more a comfort level with who they’re talking to. Because a lot of times I’m talking to attorneys, and as much as you want to have them believe that you know what you’re talking about, they like to see proof. To me, the blog helps that.

Number two, it forces me to keep on top of the important issues. I don’t get a chance to blog as often as I wanted to when I first started, but when I see something big or an important trend going on, it forces me to focus my thoughts about that trend and put it into a blog post that I can [use to] get my word out. It’s more like a soapbox, which is what I think a blog should be.

The important thing, though, is that I’m finding I have to walk a fine line between what I can post as an independent consultant, and making sure that I don’t cross the line. For example, I would never blog on a current matter that I’m working on. But even some of the general topics that I might be talking about could potentially weave their way back to the client. So I just have to be cognizant about that. It doesn’t necessarily color what I do, because I’m an independent consultant, but it’s something that you have to keep in mind.

2. Rob La Gatta: From your experience working with lawyers at a large firm, do you think that they are - as an industry - utilizing new technology as much as they should be?

Brett Burney: Short answer? No. I feel like attorneys can certainly be trained on “click here to do this, click there to do that.” And they can certainly grow into a comfort level with using something like Word or Outlook. But what I like to try to do, even in my own consulting practice, is help lawyers try to better understand how to use technology to become even more productive or more efficient.

In other words, how does it fit in their workflow? Technology is just a tool; I’m not the first one to say that (a lot of my peers and people that I look up to in the legal technology industry say the same thing). If an attorney is already bad at time management, just simply going out and buying Abacus isn’t going to immediately make them better at time management or interacting with their clients. They have to understand where the real problem comes from, and fix it at its root level...then the technology can help them devise a better and new workflow.

It’s not just always about buying the latest and greatest technology, or the shiniest new gadget...it’s about helping the attorney understand where that gadget can help make them more productive. Because otherwise you’re just wasting money.

3. Rob La Gatta: Your panel, "60 Tips in 60 Minutes": what is it? Why do you think it is one of TechShow’s best attended and highest rated panels each year?

Brett Burney: Well, there’s "60 Tips," which is at the end on Friday. And then the show to end the show is  "60 Sites in 60 Minutes," which is the last thing to happen on Saturday. Both of them are not to be missed.

I am very honored to be participating in "60 Tips." I think the greatest thing about [these panels] is that you hit upon products, services and websites that most people just don’t come across in their normal mode of business.

The other thing I like about [these panels] is what I see from attendees that like to be there: they don’t have to sit through a long, boring presentation. We get to the point immediately...we literally have a tip a minute. You can really walk away with several good nuggets of information, whereas at a regular presentation you might have written down two or three little pieces of information that you caught in between your daydreaming.

4. Rob La Gatta: Are there any panels or panelists that you are particularly looking forward to seeing, or that you would recommend to other attendees?

Brett Burney: Personally, I am very excited about the Mac Track. I’ve written a couple of articles for an ABA magazine and for Law.com on using Macs in the practice of law. Through that I’ve gotten involved in the Mac-using legal area, and there are several great attorneys out there. Ben Stevens, who writes The Mac Lawyer, is a great speaker and shares a lot of good information about how he uses the Mac in all aspects of his family law practice in South Carolina.

Last year, I did the Taste of TechShow dinners, which is something that was started by Adriana and the planning board. I headed up the dinner that was for Mac using attorneys, and it was an awesome experience. I’m thrilled to see that TechShow is recognizing that, "Okay, not everyone uses Windows." There’s a very small percentage of Mac users, but they are out there.

After the Mac Track, I’m more biased towards e-discovery stuff:

• I never miss a presentation by Craig Ball;
  
• Judge Herbert Dixon is on the planning board, and he is an excellent presenter…I was thrilled with him last year;
  
• Browning Marean, who’s from DLA Piper;
  
• and Judge John Facciola.

Then, [there are] two more panels I’m very excited about:

• David Ries and John Simek, doing law firm data breach. I’ve been talking to David for a while as he’s been getting ready for that panel;
  
• and Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell just wrote a new book on attorney collaboration. They’re launching [it] at TechShow and giving a presentation either late Friday or Saturday.

5. Rob La Gatta: Ultimately, what do you hope to come away from TechShow with?

Brett Burney: The best part for me is two-fold.

Number one, catching up with old friends in the industry (an industry that has been fantastic to me). And number two, interacting with attendees in a way that most other shows don’t allow you to do.

Obviously, where I’m coming from, I’m not going to hesitate to give my business card to somebody. But what I like about TechShow is that there’s always this kind of camaraderie, this sense of intermingling between the so-called experts and the attendees, who relish the opportunity to get more information or to learn more about the technology that they’re using. I just don’t get that any other conference that I go to.

Interested in hearing more? Recent LexBlog Q & A posts:

• TechShow Q & A: Dominic Jaar, counsel at Bell Canada and author of the blog Wines and Information Management [3.11.08]
• TechShow Q & A: Toby Brown, e-discovery marketing manager at Fulbright & Jaworski [3.10.08]
• TechShow Q & A: Adriana Linares, president of LawTech Partners and author of the blog I Heart Tech [3.7.08]
• TechShow Q & A: Reid Trautz, legal consultant and author of Reid My Blog [3.6.08]
• TechShow Q & A: David Bilinsky of Thoughtful Legal Management [3.5.08]

Coffee, lunch, dinner, beer, or stopping by your office - you name it. Being on the road and away from the family gets lonely - not that type of lonely (I'm not client 9 nor do I have access to an ATM card that kicks out 4k). Seriously, it's always great to meet folks who may be followers of my blog, who I've had occasion to write about, or I've just crossed paths with via the blogosphere.

I'm staying at the Hilton, the site of TechShow, and in between a few scheduled meetings, I'll be wandering around. Call my cell (206 321 3627) or drop me an email if you'd like to get together.

I'm presenting on the use of technology for marketing with Greg Siskind on Saturday morning. More importantly, LexBlog is co-hosting (means free) with the ABA Journal the Beer for Bloggers event Friday at 5:30.

His schedule in Chicago includes the following panels:

• "All in The Family: Collaborating Within Your Own Firm", with Guy Wiggins (3/14, 8:30-9:30 a.m.)
• "The Mobile Office: Take Your Desktop in Your Pocket", with Brett Burney (3/15, 8:30-9:30 a.m.)

1. Rob La Gatta: Why did you first start blogging?

Dominic Jaar: Funny story: I was in a conference on web 2.0, discussing some tools I was using internally (mainly collaborative tools). The organizer of the conference dared me to start blogging…and I just did it. It was kind of funny, because I had never blogged before. I had written a bunch of articles for magazines and given interviews, but I really enjoyed the feeling of [blogging] about a topic that’s right here, right now.

Many times, I post from my Blackberry on my way to the office in the subway, so I don’t even proofread...after the fact, sometimes people tell me, “What did you mean by that?” I'll realize, re-reading the post, that I was so much in my head that I totally forgot to give background on what I was writing.

I enjoy the format, and the interaction you get as well. When I was writing articles for magazines, rarely would I receive any comments from anyone, besides people that I knew who said, “I read your article, it was interesting.” Now people can react to the ideas you’re putting forward in your blog, so it’s a bit more interactive. But in Canada blogs are not too big, so I don’t have many comments on my own...I end up receiving more emails than getting comments. I think people are afraid, particularly lawyers, to speak their mind and give their opinion out in the open.

2. Rob La Gatta: So do you not think enough Canadian lawyers are blogging, then? Would you say their numbers aren’t on par with the percentage of American lawyers that are blogging?

Dominic Jaar: I think they’re not on par at all. My fingers – and, if there was an extra one that came out lately that I’m not aware of, perhaps my toes – would be enough to count them out.

[But] there is definitely a learning curve: normally in terms of adopting technologies, I’d say Canada is about three to five years behind the U.S. Right now, [blogging] is still a bit obscure...I think many law firms, and even solo practitioners, haven’t seen the marketing benefit of it.

3. Rob La Gatta: Do you expect, both in America and in Canada, more in-house counsels to start blogging in the near future?

Dominic Jaar: Quite frankly, I don’t. And I have to say that I’m not really blogging as an in-house counsel; I’m more blogging as an individual. So perhaps if there’s another individual who is interested in technologies and collaborative tools, they might start blogging...and if they happen to be in-house, that’s fine.

But I doubt anyone would do a professional blog as an in-house. There are too many ethical rules and issues you might run into, in terms of divulging certain type of information, etc. And I suspect the communication department in the company you’re working for would really be looking closely at everything you’re writing, [which] would affect the interest in just saying what you think.

I know, for example, Mike Dillon in the U.S. does [a blog]; but he works in a particular company where [blogging] is totally in their field (in fact, Sun is even encouraging and hosting their employees’ blogs). But I haven’t heard about many other companies that would do similar things. On the contrary: what I’ve seen is many corporations getting blogging policies that are really strict on what can and can’t be said, and I think it definitely affects the positive side of blogging when you’re censored in some sort of way.

4. Rob La Gatta: Switching the focus over to TechShow: I see that one of your panels is on collaboration within law firms. Can you give an example of how this type of collaboration is beneficial?

Dominic Jaar: At Bell Canada, we're working with many law firms, and I find that we are reinventing the wheel over and over again. The same documents are exchanged between parties many times, and I’m trying to force our outside counsel to post their documents on collaborative tools, instead of sending an e-mail with an attached document (and then having me review it and track change, ending up with multiple versions).

If we had collaborative tools, the outside counsel could just post the document and let me know it’s there, and we could either interact simultaneously or whenever we had time, and only have one version of it. 

5. Rob La Gatta: Personally, what do you hope to gain from attending the ABA TechShow?

Dominic Jaar: TechShow is sort of one big family, where you have a bunch of like-minded people, so it’s really the place to exchange information and learn. Even as a speaker, I realize that often people who are attending know some things that you don’t know, and by having a discussion we can all learn from the experience. It’s definitely a matter of meeting people that share the same interests and have a bunch of information that is beneficial to you.

Interested in hearing more? Recent LexBlog Q & A posts:

• TechShow Q & A: Toby Brown, e-discovery marketing manager at Fulbright & Jaworski [3.10.08]
• TechShow Q & A: Adriana Linares, president of LawTech Partners and author of the blog I Heart Tech [3.7.08]
• TechShow Q & A: Reid Trautz, legal consultant and author of Reid My Blog [3.6.08]
• TechShow Q & A: David Bilinsky of Thoughtful Legal Management [3.5.08]
• Bruce MacEwen, legal consultant and author of the law blog Adam Smith, Esq. [3.3.08]

Toby has got a full course load at TechShow, where he'll be speaking on the following panels:

• "VoIP: Should I Converty and What's It Going To Cost Me?", with John Simek (3/13, 8:30-9:30 a.m.)
• "Winning the Beauty Pageant: Catching Corporate Counsel's Eye With Technology", with Ted Banks (3/14, 1:00-2:00 p.m.)
• "Client Retention: Technology to Avoid the Seven-Year Itch", with Carolyn Elefant (3/15, 9:45-10:45 a.m.)
  

1. Rob La Gatta: Does Fulbright & Jaworski have an official blog policy for its lawyers?

Toby Brown: Fulbright does not currently allow blogs due to the perceived ethical risks. Since our marketing department sees potential value in blogs, we continue to watch for specific opportunities to address this policy. We just need to make sure we address ethical concerns as we help move our firm in that direction.

2. Rob La Gatta: As someone in the marketing department at a large firm, do you see technology playing an increasing role in marketing tactics? Aside from blogs, what are some of the prominent technologies being used for marketing purposes by large firms?

Toby Brown: Absolutely. Many of our emerging marketing initiatives are highly technology dependent.

For instance, CRM is a major focus right now. Even though we have had that technology for some time, we are now very focused on using it more effectively to deepen our relationships with in-house corporate counsel departments. Besides, our marketing lists are solely dependent on the CRM system. So another focus is on new methods for improving the data in our CRM app and getting client contacts on the right marketing lists. Once that effort is in place, we will begin more detailed monitoring of marketing campaign success - another technology dependent effort.

Beyond CRM, we see a host of Knowledge Management technologies gaining ground. competitive intelligence tools, "firm experience," firm produced content (e.g. documents) and even alternative billing are on our radar. I interact regularly with our CIO and strategize on what the future holds for our firm.

3. Rob La Gatta: Over the past 6 months, we’ve noticed a bit of an upswing in AmLaw 200 firm-produced blogs. Do you expect to see more growth in this area in the future?

Toby Brown: Yes, and I hope we are an important part of it.

4. Rob La Gatta: You’re speaking at a TechShow panel on VoIP. Why is VoIP valuable to law firms? Have you seen it becoming popular among lawyers?

Toby Brown: VoIP is still a bit of a nebulous term for many lawyers. It is definitely becoming popular in more technology aware populations of lawyers, but hasn't really hit its stride in the legal market. It's value is centered on the ability to integrate traditional phone and voice mail services with every other aspect of communication and information.

I continue to be amazed by the new VoIP applications coming into the market. VoIP, on its own, offers firms a well-defined, short term ROI just because it shares infrastructure with a network. When you combine that ROI angle with the value-add of integrated communications, to me it's a no brainier. As lawyers discover value in using technologies that expand and deepen their client relationships, VoIP and its various value-add tools will become more and more popular.

5. Rob La Gatta: What do you hope to gain from attending the ABA TechShow, both personally and professionally?

Toby Brown: TechShow is a great way to stay in touch with emerging legal technologies and the people driving them. Every year of my involvement has given me some new important trend to watch and at least one new colleague with expertise I find interesting and valuable. The program is always exploring new paths, such as the Going Green and Client Relationship tracks new this year. I'm looking forward to my time in Chicago (minus the cold weather).

Interested in hearing more? Recent LexBlog Q & A posts:

• TechShow Q & A: Adriana Linares, president of LawTech Partners and author of the blog I Heart Tech [3.7.08]
• TechShow Q & A: Reid Trautz, legal consultant and author of Reid My Blog [3.6.08]
• TechShow Q & A: David Bilinsky of Thoughtful Legal Management [3.5.08]
• Bruce MacEwen, legal consultant and author of the law blog Adam Smith, Esq. [3.3.08]
• Mark Obbie, professor at Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and author of the legal reporting blog LawBeat [2.28.08]
  

• "Pictures ARE Worth a Thousand Words: Visual Communication Tools for Lawyers", with Ray Morgovan (3/13, 2:15-3:15 p.m.)
• "The Lawyer's Guide to Managing Client and Case Information with Outlook", with Larry Smith (3/13, 4:15-5:15 p.m.)
• "Outlook Tips and Tricks", with Catherine Sanders Reach (3/13, 4:15-5:15 p.m.)
  

1. Rob La Gatta: I went to your blog, I Heart Tech, and it hasn't been updated since August. What happened? Are you blogging elsewhere, or did you stop altogether?

Adriana Linares: No, I am not doing blogging elsewhere.

I’m going to start back up again soon...I’ve just had a lot of professional and personal projects that have merited my time and attention. I love the blog: I love blogging and sharing my thoughts and ideas with people in the legal community, so I’m definitely going to hop back on that...hopefully next week, as soon as TechShow is over. Because that has been one of the big projects that I’ve had, especially in the last two months leading up to TechShow...there’s a lot of work involved for us.

2. Rob La Gatta: As someone who looks at the intersection of technology and the law, do you think large law firms and state bars that discourage (or outright prohibit) lawyer blogging are inhibiting potential growth of the legal industry?

Adriana Linares: [That's] such a tough question to answer, because I don’t know that not allowing lawyers to blog inhibits potential growth. I think it might change the way the legal industry grows. But I think part of the reason that we have these prohibitive rules and regulations is just a fear in law firms or state bars: a fear of what could happen, and what might be said.

It is, in my opinion, not understanding the purpose of the technology and the purpose of allowing lawyers and people who work in/for your firm to have a voice and talk openly. I think that’s really what hurts the industry more than anything, is trying to put a cap on how people communicate  (whether it’s internally or externally).

3. Rob La Gatta: At TechShow this year, you're presenting in a panel on visual communication tools for lawyers. Why is using visuals important for lawyers today?

Adriana Linares: Today, the Internet has totally and drastically changed the way we communicate with each other and with clients, and lawyers really need to be able to use all of the senses when it comes to communicating.

Historically, lawyers have used the power of the word (whether it was written or spoken). [But] today, people – whether it’s a jury or a judge or your client – are so familiar with visual communication, through the Internet and e-mail and PowerPoint presentations and their smart phones, that I think lawyers need to step up and start figuring out how to use the power of those things.

Everybody says it a million times: "one picture is worth a thousand words." So with that session, I’m hoping to help lawyers understand that they can still use all of their knowledge and all of their expertise, but that it can be enhanced. Their message can be heard even louder if they use things like PowerPoint and Publisher, and even just Word, to better make their message heard.

4. Rob La Gatta: TechShow is generating some buzz on the Internet about the web tools (Twitter, Flickr, shared blog tags, etc) they're using to encourage discussion about the event. As a member of the planning board, can you offer some insights as to how this came about?

Adriana Linares: For sure the biggest influencer in using those tools is Tom Mighell, who is our chair. Tom is a social networking junkie...he believes in the power of it, and really understands it more than the average person. He’s also a practicing attorney, and is the major thought leader in his firm when it comes to technology.

Tom was really excited about showcasing some of these technologies. We all know that an attorney or a group of attorneys are not going to sit around using Twitter or communicating via Flickr or del.icio.us. But what we’re hoping to do is introduce them to these new technologies that people are talking about and that people are familiar with, and give them the opportunity to use them. [We want] to inspire lawyers to not be afraid of technology...it’s okay to use these tools, and they do have some value when used properly.

We’re going to have a page off TechShow.com, which I think will be up on Monday or Tuesday, where we'll be showcasing four things:

• A master blog feed through a Yahoo Pipe, wherein blog posts from anybody who is blogging about the show are going to all go through one feed.
  
• A Flickr feed, so that any pictures that are uploaded during the show are also going to be funneled onto the TechShow Flickr feed at the site.
  
• The Twitter feed is going to be pretty fun and interesting.
  
• A del.icio.us feed, so that if anybody hears/listens to/is told about a cool website or tool on the Internet, that they can tag it with "ABA TechShow."

5. Rob La Gatta: Are there any panels or panelists that you are particularly looking forward to seeing, or that you would recommend to other attendees?

Adriana Linares: Other than the keynote – which I think is going to be fantastic and interesting – my two favorite things that I would encourage attorneys to attend are:

• Office 2007 and Vista: any of the sessions that talk about making the move, what the move means, the new features in Office 2007, I think are going to be beneficial. Not to encourage attorneys to run out and buy a Vista PC (I don’t think I would encourage any attorney to do that), but at least to give them an idea of what their choices are going to be over the upcoming year or two.
  
• Then, in stark contrast to Office 2007 and Vista, the other thing that I’m really excited about is our Mac Track. It’s a mini session and is on Saturday. We have great speakers...two of [them] are full-on practicing attorneys who use Macs all the time. I think that’s going to be enlightening, and a lot of people are going to walk away with a better understanding of what they can or cannot do with a Mac.
  

Interested in hearing more? Recent LexBlog Q & A posts:

• TechShow Q & A: Reid Trautz, legal consultant and author of Reid My Blog [3.6.08]
• TechShow Q & A: David Bilinsky of Thoughtful Legal Management [3.5.08]
• Bruce MacEwen, legal consultant and author of the law blog Adam Smith, Esq. [3.3.08]
• Mark Obbie, professor at Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and author of the legal reporting blog LawBeat [2.28.08]
  
• Jim Maule, professor at Villanova University School of Law and author of the legal blog MauledAgain [2.27.08]

• "Technology for the Paperless Mobile Lawyer", with Bruce Olson (3/13, 4:15-5:15 p.m.)
• "Securing Your Clients' Data While On The Road", with Dave Ries (3/15, 9:45-10:45 a.m.)
• "60 Sites in 60 Minutes", with Craig Ball and Tom Mighell (3/15, 4:15-5:15 p.m.)
  

1. Rob La Gatta: How helpful has Reid My Blog been in building your reputation as a legal consultant? Has it had any substantial impact?

Reid Trautz: It has certainly widened the impact that I have, and I find that it’s best for confirming who I am and what I do as a professional: the blog gets a higher return in Google searches and Yahoo searches, so it’s what people turn to. And because of the blog posts and diversity of topics, people can get a real sense of what I do. It’s been effective, but mostly from the standpoint that it confirms a personal referral that someone else has given.

2. Rob La Gatta: Will you describe a little bit about what you’ll be speaking on at TechShow?

Reid Trautz: I’ll be speaking in three sessions this year:

• One on mobile security, meaning: how do we protect our confidential client data and other information while we’re taking it out of the office?
  
• I’ll be speaking on going mobile & having a mobile paperless office: when I'm working out of the four walls of my office, can I work as effectively in just a digital mode? What are the tools that I can use so I don’t need paper?
  
• The third session is "60 Websites in 60 Minutes," which is always great fun (but also has a lot of value, in that it highlights new and different websites that provide services and information for lawyers that will help them in their practice). I’ll be doing that with Tom Mighell and Craig Ball, and we’ve got a real good lineup of 60 sites that are both useful and productive...and some that are just plain funny.

3. Rob La Gatta: Obviously the main focus of TechShow is the application of technology in lawyers’ lives. Can you be a successful lawyer while neglecting new technology?

Reid Trautz: Well, no. I think that the demands or preferences of our staff – who can’t always come to that same office everyday – or the clients that want to have information back to them as quickly as possible are really pushing us to look at the new technology and to adopt [it].

There are some lawyers who really like to do that, and I applaud them; but there are others who are a little reluctant...and they’ve got to understand that these outside pressures are going to push us to adopt new technologies. Many of them can make us more productive and more efficient, and can make our firm more profitable.

While we take advantage of the technology, we also have to remember that there are some risks – especially given our requirements for confidentiality – [that require us] to make sure our systems are maintained, so that we don’t have confidentiality breaches.

4. Rob La Gatta: It’s funny – you see some lawyers who embrace these new forms of communication...but at the same time you see a lot of large firms or state bars that, when it comes to things like blogs, are very hesitant towards (or downright opposed to) embracing them. Do you expect this to change in the future?

Reid Trautz: Yes. I think that there is a misunderstanding on the part of ethics authorities in some jurisdictions who really don’t understand how the marketplace is shifting, both in how clients find/hire lawyers and how consumerism continues to change the way law is practiced.

We need people to look at not only what we have today, but what’s evolving and what’s changing into the future, and to make sure that our ethics rules are meeting those needs – both of the profession and of the clients we serve. And I do see that changing. I see some states coming out with advertising rules that are arcane. They don’t really understand the marketplace, and when those [rules] are given the light of day, bars need to look at how clients find lawyers. And that’s online: through websites, through blogs, that’s through asking friends via e-mail to send a hyperlink.

That’s where it's going. they’re not going to the yellow pages anymore.

5. Rob La Gatta: Ultimately, what do you hope to gain from attending TechShow? Is there anything you want to come away with – knowledge? Personal connections? Something else?

Reid Trautz: I hope to come away with both new knowledge and new personal connections. This I think is my ninth year at TechShow, and I always learn something new.

Interested in hearing more? Recent LexBlog Q & A posts:

• TechShow Q & A: David Bilinsky of Thoughtful Legal Management [3.5.08]
• Bruce MacEwen, legal consultant and author of the law blog Adam Smith, Esq. [3.3.08]
• Mark Obbie, professor at Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and author of the legal reporting blog LawBeat [2.28.08]
  
• Jim Maule, professor at Villanova University School of Law and author of the legal blog MauledAgain [2.27.08]
• Buzz Bruggeman, founder of ActiveWords and author of buzznovation [2.26.08]

Our first guest is David Bilinsky, Practice Management Advisor and staff lawyer for the Law Society of British Columbia and author of the blog Thoughtful Legal Management. Dave will be speaking on two panels at TechShow:

• "Records Management Technology: It's A Small World After All", with Jesse Wilkins (3/13, 4:15-5:15 p.m.)
• "Drafting Bills Your Clients Will Rush To Pay", with Steve Best (3/14, 1-2 p.m.)

1. Rob La Gatta: Your background includes a lot of work for traditional print publications. When you started blogging, did you find adjusting your writing style for the web to be a challenge?

Dave Bilinsky: Blogging is much more direct than writing for a print publication. With a blog, you feel like you are speaking directly to someone and holding your breath anticipating a reply (by way of a comment or cross-blog post). This possibility of interaction and dialogue is very important to me, and is something that I aim at every time I do a post.

When you write for a print publication, it is weeks before you see the article in print, and at that point your mind has moved on to other things. I think print is still very important to us, but blogging is an application of Marshall McLuhan's 'global village' concept: allowing minds from thousands of miles apart to connect globally [in a way] that was previous only possible in face-to-face conversations. The possibility that a blog post can trigger multiple points of view that are then shared and which are thought-triggering themselves in real-time is absolutely fascinating.

2. Rob La Gatta: The approach you take of starting each blog post with a song quote is interesting (and something I've never seen anywhere else). Why did you do this, and where did the idea come from?

Dave Bilinsky: Music has always been very important to me. In 1994 when I volunteered to do my first article for the Canadian Bar Association on lawyer-client communication, I was thinking about what I wanted to say, and lyrics from Reba McEntire just sprang into my head:

"Well there's no problem gettin' to me
Baby you can dial direct
I got call forwarding and call waiting
You can even call collect
...
So tell me why, haven't I heard from you?"

I wrote this first column starting off with Reba's lyrics, and it just 'clicked' for me (the lyrics were actually written by S. Knox and T.W. Hale). I called it my lyrical headnote...it was a way to highlight what I was going to say in the column in a way that made the reader think and made me think; I had to make sure that the lyrics fit the article.

Hundreds of articles later, it has become a trademark of sorts for me. Now, I wouldn't consider writing a column or a blog post without the lyrical headnote. And I find that I get great feedback and encouragement from readers about the lyrics.

3. Rob La Gatta: One of your panels at TechShow is on records management. Can you explain exactly what this is in a legal context, and why it warrants its own panel?

Dave Bilinsky: With the advent of the paper-less office and electronic discovery, electronic records management is increasing in importance. As the Practice Management Advisor for the Law Society of British Columbia, I was repeatedly being asked, "Can't we just image our files and store them electronically?" I started thinking about that, and realized that it wasn't just this simple; there are a host of issues surrounding the process of creating, searching, storing, archiving and destroying electronic records in a law office.

Zubulake and similar cases raised issues around the preservation of electronic evidence. The Sedona Conference has been instrumental in being a thought-leader in the whole area of electronic discovery. I took those ideas and asked the question, "What would happen if a law firm was the subject of a lawsuit that involved electronic evidence?" That one question for me opened up the whole issue of electronic records management by a law firm.

4. Rob La Gatta: Are there any panels or panelists that you are particularly looking forward to seeing, or that you would recommend to other attendees?

Dave Bilinsky: That is a hard question, since there are so many great thinkers and presenters. I am going to do something different [this year], and that is highlight the new speakers:

• Nils Jensen is a Crown Prosecutor in British Columbia (equivalent to a District Attorney but without the big budget) who has been doing great things in bringing technology to court on a shoestring as well as teaching law students how to do this.
  
• Dominic Jaar is an in-house lawyer with Bell Canada who is at the forefront of on-line collaboration (he does a blog on wine and technology) as well as the Chair of LegalIT, a legal technology conference in Quebec sponsored in part by the University of Montreal.
  
• Britt Knuttgen is doing a couple of great sessions on managing e-mail and on voice recognition.
  
• Of course, fellow blogger Kevin O'Keefe is a new TechShow speaker this year, and after his great presentation at The Pacific Legal Technology Conference in October, I know he will be a big hit.
  
• And my co-speaker, Steve Best is going to be fabulous on our session on "Drafting Bills Your Clients will Rush to Pay."

5. Rob La Gatta: Ultimately, what do you hope to come away from the ABA TechShow with: knowledge? Professional contacts? Something else?

Dave Bilinsky: TechShow for me is all about swimming in a nutrient-rich sea. There is no better environment for being exposed to new ideas, new technologies, new contacts and new ways to think outside of the box when it comes to legal technology.

Yes, you do come home with professional contacts and an incredible amount of knowledge. You can laugh at "60 Sites in 60 Minutes" and write notes as fast as you can in "60 Tips in 60 Minutes." But it is more than that.

[TechShow] is all about finding one place where you are in a group of like-minded individuals who are at the forefront of the envelope, who are only too willing to share and discuss ideas and things that work. And I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Interested in hearing more? Recent LexBlog Q & A posts:

• Bruce MacEwen, legal consultant and author of the law blog Adam Smith, Esq. [3.3.08]
• Mark Obbie, professor at Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and author of the legal reporting blog LawBeat [2.28.08]
  
• Jim Maule, professor at Villanova University School of Law and author of the legal blog MauledAgain [2.27.08]
• Buzz Bruggeman, founder of ActiveWords and author of buzznovation [2.26.08]
• Mike Dillon, General Counsel at Sun Microsystems and author of The Legal Thing [2.25.08]

They're putting together a master RSS feed that will stream all of the conference blogging from one place. Drop Tom an email and he'll get you set up.

If you don't want to be a part of the main feed, just make sure you use the words 'ABA TECHSHOW' in your posts, and they'll try to pick you up.

Look forward to seeing you.

The ABA Journal and LexBlog are cosponsoring the event and picking up the tab. Ed Adams, Editor and Publisher of the Journal, named the event Beer for Blawggers. But Ed's on the dark side. Over on the light side, we know blawgs are for kids. Real lawyers have blogs.

And who knows, since bloggers drink beer and blawggers drink cocktails, maybe Ed's half of the bar tab will be higher than mine. ;)

TechShow Chairperson Tom Mighell highlighted this afternoon the social networking tools to be used at the ABA TechShow.

• A blog feed that will aggregate all of the live-blogging at ABA TechShow, as well as any other blog posts regarding the show.
• A Twitter feed will update conference attendees about upcoming sessions, events, and other fun stuff, via text message or on the Web.
• Got a camera? Bring it to ABA TechShow, 'cause we're working on a Flickr feed that will show all the photos taken at the conference all in one place.
During the conference our speakers will discuss useful and interesting websites for lawyers and legal professionals.
• An ABA TechShow del.icio.us feed will allow attendees to create a page of links from some of the sites they learned about during presentations.

This will allow not only networking and collaboration among those in attendance who may not have met each other, but also allow non attendees to monitor things from afar.

If you haven't registered for TechShow in Chicago from March 13 to 15, you ought to do so by going here. See you there.

Anyone want to get together to discuss blogs, or anything else for that matter? I'd be happy to come by your office or meet for coffee, beer, or a meal.

Also discussing with Ed Adams of the ABA Journal co-hosting a blogger meet-up over beers in the Hilton Hotel's bar. I'm sure blog readers would be welcome as well.

Give me a call, 206 340 8204, or drop me an email if you want to hook up. Look forward to seeing folks.

• The Content
• The People
• The Vendors
• The Fun
• I'm presenting and will be there for three days (I added that one)