The return of Legalweek to New York next week brings to mind some interesting discussions I have been involved in about how a company or firm should evaluate new legal technology. Some have advocated following the “standard” IT approach of first developing a list of requirements, and then looking for products that best fit those requirements.  That may work to address specific needs, but there can also be great value in following the opposite approach of starting with a survey of what products are available. There may be existing technology tools of great value to you, that you would never even think of looking for if you did not first learn about the products and what they can do.  Once you develop a greater awareness of the latest legal technology products and their capabilities, you are in a much better position to consider which may be helpful to you, what similar or competing products you should evaluate, and what features and capabilities are most important for you.

That is one reason why I find it valuable to attend Legalweek, and always reserve time each year to tour the exhibit floor and see what interesting new products (or interesting new features on existing products) are available.  This year, you can also get a jumpstart on that process by attending the ILTA session I am co-presenting (in a fun game show format!) looking at “30 Tech Tools in 60 minutes.”  That program is scheduled for Tuesday, March 8 from 2:15-3:15 pm.