The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/11430
inside iLTA A Crystal Ball to 2020 by Scott Christensen Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon LLP On April 27, delegates and vendors from around the U.K. and Ireland, as well as a few U.S. participants, gathered at The Grange St. Paul’s Hotel in London for an exciting day of education and networking. The theme was “2020 Foresight: The Future of Legal IT.” This event offered a tremendous opportunity for leading technologists and business strategists to share their expertise and collaborate on matters of great interest to the legal profession. professionals can provide transformational new services riding on magical new infrastructure enabling lawyers to leverage that technology in unprecedented ways for clients. David peered into his crystal ball, highlighting T industry trends such as irreversible globalization, increased competition, technology as a “game-changer” and a battle for the best people. He highlighted key technology trends such as cloud computing, mobility and portable content, “self-service” IT, and the business use of social media. His glimpse of a future world of reliable and “connected” technology and seamless collaboration with clients was engaging. 98 www.iltanet.org Peer to Peer he day began with a keynote address by David Morley, a senior partner at Allen & Overy LLP. David offered a thought-provoking look at the power of information technology to radically change the legal profession. The premise: IT David sparked our imaginations with the example of chess king Kasparov losing to the computer “Big Blue.” Kasparov later embraced technology, partnering with a computer to provide an ideal mix of both computer analysis and human instinct. He offered that “a weak human and a computer” can win at chess every time. It made us ponder what could be achieved if we had a strong, smart human partnered with a computer? The remainder of the day offered a choice of sessions across two tracks. “Traversing the Divide: Tools and Techniques for the Facebook Generation” offered tips on how to attract, retain and manage the “Gen Y” employees that are now regularly sighted in our business environments. It was insightful to learn the difference between the “wants” and “needs” of this so called “over-supervised” generation. The premise: While they might be the most difficult generation to recruit, retain, motivate, and manage than any