ILTACON 2022 is On! As I discussed here, here, here and here, the International Legal Technology Association’s (ILTA) annual conference ILTACON 2022 is being conducted this week at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, MD.  The conference has already started with the Opening Reception last night and today is the first day of sessions!

Each day at ILTACON 2022, eDiscovery Today will highlight notable sessions for the day – in most cases, those sessions will relate to eDiscovery, Information Governance, cybersecurity, or artificial intelligence (as well as a few other happenings during the week). All times ET.

9:00am-10:30am:

Welcome & Keynote – Think Bigger

Patrick Schwerdtfeger is a business futurist specializing in technology trends including big data, artificial intelligence, Fintech and blockchain. He’s the author of “Pandemic, Inc.: 8 Forces Driving Business Failure or Fortune in the Post-COVID-19 Economy” (2020, Authority Publishing) as well as five other books, and has lectured at numerous academic institutions including Purdue and Stanford Universities. He is also a regular speaker for Bloomberg TV, founder of Trend Mastery Inc., and host of the Strategic Business Insights video blog (with over 28,000 subscribers and six million views on YouTube). Patrick has spoken about business trends, technology and digital marketing at hundreds of conferences all around the world. Patrick discussed Learned Intuition at TEDx Sacramento.

Build a culture of innovation! Build a team of leaders! These are exciting times, and the next ten years will be nothing like the last ten! Patrick will review technology developments at a strategic level and identify the trends tying them all together to get you thinking more expansively about modern technology as well as the leadership opportunities you have in exploiting it.

Speakers: Patrick Schwerdtfeger, Strategic Business Consultant | Keynote Speaker | Author, Trend Mastery, Inc.

11:30am-12:30pm:

ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance): What Is It and How Can Your Firm Positively Impact Society?

Main Level, Maryland C

This session will provide an overview of the impact and implications of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and what it means for law firm technologists, leaders, and end users. ESG has become a topic of conversation not just when law departments are choosing outside counsel but increasingly when law students and attorneys are interviewing at law firms.  We’ll discuss the challenges, technology trends and potential roadmap for law firms as they make choices and decisions in keeping with their ESG goals.

Speakers: Nita Sanger, Cherry Bekaert; Ulysses Smith, Debevoise & Plimpton; Aragon St-Charles, Dentons; Laura Lazarczyk, Zurich American Insurance Co.

Learn how the Metaverse fits into the legal industry

Main Level, Maryland D

In this session, we introduce you to the metaverse and various concepts relating to this new area. We then will delve into how law firms will use the metaverse and discuss some legal implications of buying items or doing business in the metaverse.

Speakers: Jerry Bui, FTI Consulting; Cat Casey, Reveal; Alejandro Vallellanes, Baker McKenzie.

Turning Buzzwords into Action with Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Main Level, Woodrow Wilson A

What is RPA (Robotic Process Automation)?  Is it just another buzzword acronym?  No!  In fact, research shows that roughly up to 40% of organization have plans to implement this technology.  This session will cover the key factors required for successful planning and implementation of RPA in eDiscovery and the common misconceptions and pitfalls that hold many organizations back. We’ll walk through examples of successful implementations of RPA in the eDiscovery process, including how they were implemented and the significant benefits (including quantified ROI) that they provide.

Speakers: Laura Hunt, Meta; Emily McIntosh, EY.

2:30pm-3:30pm:

The Great Pivot – Leveraging eDiscovery Skills into New Career Paths

Main Level, Maryland C

eDiscovery sometimes gets viewed as a niche legal profession or as a branch of IT.  There are, however, all sorts of jobs and industries that could and do benefit from the knowledge, skills and experience of a litigation support/eDiscovery professional.  Come to this career-focused session to speak with peers who have leveraged their eDiscovery backgrounds into new roles that may or may not seem immediately obvious.  Hear why and how they did it, challenges they experienced, lessons and practical tips learned, and specific steps you may want to consider in forging your own path.

Speakers: Deeanna Fleener, Integreon; Michael Kearney, Redgrave Data; Vivian Liu-Somers, Liberty Mutual; Scott Milner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP; Rebecca Morrison, Untangle Happiness.

IG Staffing in Small, Medium, and Large Law Firms and Law Departments

Main Level, Maryland B

Join us for this interactive roundtable led by peers who will facilitate the discussion focused on Information Governance staffing models at their organizations.  We will discuss the following topics:

• Department demographics:  size of department, scope of responsibilities, and who they report to in the organization.
• How firms are successfully bridging the paper vs. digital divide.  Who is getting creative with this and how is it working out for them?
• What tools and training resources have they found helpful?
• Getting the staffing resources you need once it’s time to expand your Information Governance team.

Speakers: Leigh Isaacs, DLA Piper LLP; Carol Volle, Taft Stettinius and Hollister.

4:00pm-5:30pm:

Automate the Boring Stuff: 9 Ideas in 90 minutes for the Lit Support Superstar

Main Level, Woodrow Wilson A

A panel of litigation support gurus will share their hacks and automation tricks for common tasks we all have. By leveraging some really simple and accessible scripts or formulas to handle some our routine tasks, we free ourselves up for more interesting work.

Walk away from the session with practical examples you can start incorporating immediately. Wow colleagues and clients with your newfound efficiency!

Speakers: Stephanie Clerkin, Korein Tillery; Ann Halkett, Alexander, Holburn, Beaudin + Lang LLP; Philip Weldon, Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP.

Here’s a link to the detailed agenda for the week.

There is also a happy hour being hosted by ACEDS and ILTACON (and sponsored by Everlaw) at 5:30pm in Maryland Room 3 & 4 with “a fun night of networking, cocktails and games”! You can register for it here.

So, what do you think?  Are you attending ILTACON 2022?  If you’re here in person, look me up!  And please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.

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.