As I discussed last week, the International Legal Technology Association’s (ILTA) annual conference has gone virtual this year!  ILTA>ON starts today and runs throughout the week, with five full days of legal technology and professional education sessions, as well as several virtual social outings.  And, today is a FREE day for the conference, so you can register to attend today’s sessions for free!

Each day, eDiscovery Today will highlight notable sessions for the day – in most days, those sessions will relate to eDiscovery, cybersecurity, data privacy, information governance or artificial intelligence.  However, the two tracks today are Leadership and Professional Development and Award Nominees Presentations.  So, we will highlight the keynote and a couple of the Leadership and Professional Development sessions today that should be very interesting (at least I plan to attend them!).

9:00am-10:00am:

Welcome & Keynote – Leadership, Under Stress: Exploring Project Failure at NASA

Stephen Carver will take us on a journey through NASA’s intense organizational and project management challenges up to and beyond pivotal “Go/No Go” decisions the night before a space launch. He exposes NASA’s shortcomings in planning, procurement, leadership, and change management – connecting these failures and innovations to law firm technology projects.

Speakers: Stephen Carver, Cranfield University.

10:30am-11:15am:

Keep Calm and Lead On: Leadership in Times of Crisis

In times of crisis, leaders are forced to adapt and strategize in the face of constantly changing challenges. You need to be able to lead effectively and communicate clearly while understanding the needs of your team. What are the hallmarks of a great leader? How do you manage the critical tasks that needed to be done yesterday? How do you motivate your team while being sensitive to the emotional turmoil they may be experiencing? Hear from leaders who have survived emergency situations, learn techniques and best practices for crisis management, and learn how to keep calm and lead on.

Speakers: Skip Lohmeyer, Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP; Ray Meiring, Qorus Software Inc.; Kimberly Sully, Pivot Legal Solutions

2:00pm-3:15pm:

Say Anything and Fear No Evil: Public Speaking Tips, Tricks and Techniques to Help You Present Like a Pro!

Whether you look at public speaking as a necessary evil or an opportunity to show the world what you’ve got, there’s no doubt that improving your public speaking skills is both rewarding and challenging. Just think about the different scenarios we all encounter every day where exceptional public speaking skills play a role: meetings, interviews, presentations and introductions are just a handful that come to mind. In this session we will reframe the conversation to look closely at what we are really afraid of (hint: it’s not public speaking but how we will be perceived by our audience) and pivot from presentation mode to conversation mode to help calm our nerves. We will also provide tools, techniques, and practice exercises to help you give that killer presentation you are capable of.

Speakers: Glenn Hoxie, Paul Hastings LLP; Jeffrey Roach, Encore Tech, Inc.

3:30pm-4:30pm:

Diversity Now: Creating a Culture of Inclusion

More than merely a compliance exercise, diversity and inclusion measures are needed now more than ever to keep your organization in balance with the current social landscape. What initiatives are ILTA members undertaking? How do you create a plan for action? Why does diversity and inclusion make good business sense?

Speakers: Naomi Oforiokuma, Concep; Vanessa Vaughn West, Lathrop GPM LLP; Dove Nirvana, Thompson Hine LLP.

Member day passes for specific tracks are just $99 with full-week passes for only $350! ($199 and $599 for non-members.)  So, that’s one good thing – a lot less expensive than an in-person conference for plenty of activities and education!  And, as I said above, today’s sessions are FREE.  Click here to get tickets.

Also, as you may have noted by the graphic above, ACEDS is conducting several interviews with notable industry thought leaders this week.  In addition to their interview with me, Mike and ACEDS is interviewing David Horrigan of Relativity, Hal Brooks of HaystackID, Bill Piwonka of Exterro, Robert Hilson of Logikcull and Ian Campbell of iCONECT.  Should be an interesting set of interviews with eDiscovery thought leaders this week.

In addition to the ACEDS interview, I’ll also be speaking at one session in the Litigation Support track on Wednesday.  Clawbacks, Redactions, and Formats…Oh My! on Wednesday (August 26 at 12:45pm CT): I’ll be participating with Rachel McAdams, eDiscovery Technical Specialist with A&L Goodbody; Cristin Traylor, Discovery Counsel with McGuire Woods LLP and Cindy MacBean, Litigation Support Manager with Honigman LLP (who will be moderating).  We’ll be discussing latest trends and best practices with regard to “clawbacks” of ESI and redactions of privileged and sensitive information.  Hope you can tune in for that one!

I’m also working on a third speaking event, more to come once that’s official, hopefully as soon as tomorrow. :o)

Here is a detailed schedule of the sessions for the week.

So, what do you think?  Are you planning to attend this year’s virtual ILTA<ON?  Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.

*Apparently, WordPress doesn’t like “>” characters in blog post titles; hence the substitution to “-“.

Disclaimer: The views represented herein are exclusively the views of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views held by my employer, my partners or my clients. eDiscovery Today is made available solely for educational purposes to provide general information about general eDiscovery principles and not to provide specific legal advice applicable to any particular circumstance. eDiscovery Today should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a lawyer you have retained and who has agreed to represent you.