Peer to Peer Magazine

September 2013

The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association

Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/163881

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IT Professional TIME IS ON MY SIDE by Maureen Babcock of Snell & Wilmer L.L.P. Communication tools facilitate my connection to my office computer and data stored on our networks. They connect me to my industry peers as well as to the world at large. I have enjoyed traveling less frequently with the use of Web and desktop conferencing tools. I am able to work firmwide with much less importance placed on my geographic location. How have communications technologies empowered me? Let me count the ways! I have multiple remote methods by which to access email, documents and databases via various devices. I can connect remotely to computers that are outside the office. Working with remote tools liberates the time I used to spend traveling to the office or other cities for use on other tasks. My voice data are more accessible than ever before. Voice-to-text transcription removes the manual chore of listening to voice messages. Although accuracy depends on the clarity with which the caller speaks and the connection, this has removed my need to work through my years-old aversion to manual voicemail retrieval. I record flashes of insight that too often come to me while I am outside my office to my smartphone. I also use its camera feature to collect snaps of whiteboard contents and screen captures during webinars. I file those for future reference or email snaps to others for use in collaboration. I am spoiled by the fast and easy access to the knowledge of my industry peers as well as to the world at large. Conferencing tools, listservs and a host of other collaboration options have all decreased the importance of geographic proximity and increased the effectiveness of my communications with others. As a result, my view of legal technology, regulatory issues, security concerns and economic challenges has expanded worldwide through those contacts. I also get rapid feedback on queries, both pro and con, from those contacts for use in decision-making. I have increased control of my information consumption. Thanks to several practical ILTA conference sessions over the last four to five years, I now use information-harvesting tools to save the time of surfing or searching the Internet for issues of interest. Setting up Internet content searches and organizing useful results give me a tailored information repository that I can use in my work on current firm and IT issues and initiatives. I scan ILTA's discussion forums for items of interest to others. I can then reach out to draw comments from contacts within or outside my firm. Without some of these options, information overkill would be a real threat to my professional sanity. With them, I am not only surviving but thriving. I can't wait to see what comes next! ILTA LEGAL & COMPLIANCE TRACK OCTOBER 28-29 VENETIAN HOTEL & CASINO LAS VEGAS You can experience ILTA education at ARMA LIVE! by attending the Legal & Compliance track during conference. Check out the sessions on Monday and Tuesday: • Data Privacy Laws – State of Play and Challenges for Legal Kate Lucente • IG and Predictive Coding & Analytics? It's Not Just for E-Discovery Leigh Isaacs • Information Governance in Legal – the Real Payoff Is Litigation, E-Discovery, and Audit Readiness Browning Marean • Legal Technology Future Horizons ILTA Panelists • The "Ins and Outs" of Lawyer Mobility Terry Coan, CRM • The "Funning" Up of Security Awareness- Get them to Pay Attention Scott Christensen www.arma.org/conference A 17-year legal technology veteran, Maureen is responsible for voice communications as well as business operations within IT, including policy and procedure development and improvement, for Snell & Wilmer L.L.P. She also serves as a senior project manager for new office openings, large-scale implementations and other firm initiatives. She is currently a member ILTA's Risk and Records Management Peer Group Steering Committee. Contact Maureen at mbabcock@swlaw.com. Peer to Peer 51

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