P2P

2 P E E R T O P E E R : I L T A ' S Q U A R T E R L Y M A G A Z I N E | W I N T E R 2 0 2 3 F R O M T H E C E O H appy New Year! It has been customary for the CEO Column at year-end/beginning to be retrospective. Our theme revolves around Legal 3.0. Given everything that has happened in the world and legal tech in the past several years, I think there may be an argument to be made that we are on Legal 12.0. But I digress. Let me begin by paraphrasing my friend Matt Homann of Filament. The rate of change is faster today than it has ever been, and it will never again be as slow as it is today. When I look ahead at the year for ILTA, I look at a year of leapfrog. We are catching up on initiatives originally planned before COVID-19 changed all our lives in March 2020. However, we want to do more than catch up – we want to leap ahead. For the ILTA predictions, I'll keep it short and sweet. 2024 will bring better tech and an enhanced local experience. This is in addition to the amazing peer-powered education for which we are known! We'll keep you posted as we progress with those key objectives! Now, how about the legal tech community and the practice of law overall? First, we will all be looking at talent and ways to find, develop, and retain it. During 2024, we will identify emerging areas that require new skills and determine the best way to obtain those skills – whether rent, buy, or build. (Why does legal tech always seem to come down to that choice????). We will see more roles focused on AI and an expansion in the scope of data- oriented roles. And let's not forget security! Finding and retaining talent in this area will remain challenging. Second – and related to the above – will be a focus on organizational structure. Do organizations need a dedicated group to focus on AI? What does this mean for organizations that already have Innovation teams? What is the right organizational and reporting structure? Third, by the end of the year, many, if not all, legal organizations will have adopted policies around and implemented governance structures to consider AI in their practices. They will be challenged by conflicting guidance from clients (in the case of law firms) and the continuing volatility of the regulatory climate. Surveys on the use of AI in the practice - akin to Joy Heath Rush joy@iltanet.org

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