Wheels up! Legalweek 2024 starts today with afternoon sessions! Here are the Monday Legalweek 2024 sessions and events to check out!

Legalweek 2024 will be conducted today through Thursday. As always, it will be held at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York City. Here’s the detailed agenda for the conference (on which I generated a word cloud of topics last week).

You can still register for Legalweek 2024 here and the pricing is here. Each day, I’ll cover what’s going on at the conference in terms of sessions related to eDiscovery, information governance, cybersecurity, data privacy and artificial intelligence – so much so, I’d have to clone myself to catch them all! Of course, it’s also a BIG announcement day, so expect to see several announcements covered later today, and (possibly) into the week.

Sessions

With that in mind, here’s a list of the Monday Legalweek 2024 sessions of note you may want to check out, along with the location (all times ET):

1:30 PM – 2:30 PM

AI IRL–Practical and Effective AI Use Cases for Legal (Sutton South)

We’ll begin the 2024 AI Workshop exploring current, practical applications of AI in the legal sector, emphasizing real-world effectiveness over theoretical potential. Panelists will provide tips and insights on distinguishing between AI tools that offer genuine value and those that are merely overhyped solutions in search of a problem.

Speakers: Danielle Benecke, Founder, Baker McKenzie Machine Learning, Baker McKenzie; Jeff Reihl, Chief Technology Officer, LexisNexis; Julian Tsisin, Director, Legal Technology Solutions, Meta Platforms; Léo Murgel, Senior Vice President & COO, Legal & Corporate Affairs, Salesforce; Steve Gong, Patent Counsel, Head of Data Science, PMO, Technology and Operations, Google.

Information Governance and Office Productivity Platforms: Microsoft 365 (Sutton Center)

This is part one of a three-part series of sessions hosted by ARMA International and Legalweek. These sessions examine the Information Governance capabilities of each of the most popular computing platforms in use today and the techniques organizations are using to take advantage of, or enhance, those capabilities. Discussion topics include:

How to use Microsoft Purview to create a unified approach to Information Governance across in-house and cloud-based Microsoft environments

• Records Management and eDiscovery strategies across Teams and other M365 platforms
• Information Security in the Microsoft Cloud
• Data Privacy and Microsoft 365
• Information Governance and Microsoft Co-Pilot

Speakers: Rich Medina, Co-Founder, Doculabs; Julie Heller, VP, Legal Knowledge Management & Information Governance, AIG.

Talking with Lawyers about AI (Beekman)

We are hearing from legal technologists across the globe that the level of interest in AI among lawyers is unprecedented when compared with other technologies. Join us to discuss conversations you need to be having now with lawyers so when the corner office lawyer calls, you know what that conversation looks like. What is the common vocabulary that needs to be established? We are going to discuss the most important business conversation you will be having in 2024. 

Speakers: Jack Thompson, Director of Legal Operations, Argenx; Brian Clarke, Cybersecurity Manager, Porzio Bromberg & Newman; Julia Montgomery, Senior Director, Solution Adoption, Intapp; Deanna Fowler, Senior Innovation Manager, Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP.

2:45 PM – 3:45 PM

Controlling the Rise of the Machines: Strategies for Safe AI Implementation and Mitigating Shadow IT Risks in Legal (Sutton South)

This discussion will engage participants in developing concrete strategies for drafting, implementing and enforcing AI use policies within their organizations. Panelists will touch on the evolving nature of governance in the face of AI advancements and how governance is changing in reaction to AI, the conversations that need to be had, and anticipated future governance trends. The session will also tackle the challenge of ‘shadow IT’ — the use of unauthorized or unmanaged tech by employees — and offer practical solutions to manage these risks.

Speakers: Alesya Nasimova, Director, Associate General Counsel, Product & Privacy, Brex; Jeff Reihl, Chief Technology Officer, LexisNexis; Steve Gong, Patent Counsel, Head of Data Science, PMO, Technology and Operations, Google; Jordan Thompson, General Counsel, Penn Foster Group.

Information Governance and Office Productivity Platforms: Google Workspace (Sutton Center)

This is part two of a three-part series of sessions hosted by ARMA International and Legalweek. These sessions examine the Information Governance capabilities of each of the most popular computing platforms in use today and the techniques organizations are using to take advantage of, or enhance, those capabilities. Discussion topics inlcude:

• Information Governance capabilities within Google Workspace
• Records Management and eDiscovery strategies across Google Workspace and Google Docs
• Information Security and Data Privacy in the Google Workspace
• Compliance frameworks and Google (e.g., FedRamp, etc.)

Speakers: Tim Hood, Managing Director, Redgrave LLP; K Royal, PhD, Global Chief Privacy Officer, Crawford and Company.

AI Empowering Your Law Practice: From Selecting a Tool to Partnering with a Vendor (Sutton North)

AI is having its moment this year with the arrival of the user-friendly ChatGPT interface and it seems that everyone is racing to adopt AI solutions. Confronting this AI tidal wave can be daunting. This program examines how to evaluate AI-enabled solutions, including the large language models of Generative AI to ensure optimal investment.

Forming a data strategy is critical to developing an AI enabled environment, and our program covers the main tenants to developing a data strategy in your organization. You will learn how to identify your “North Star” as you look to leverage data and what data initiative have the highest value proposition by using a structured framework for evaluating AI use cases.

This session also covers how to assess the potential risks and benefits, prioritize the best use cases to optimize value for your firm and how to develop an AI-driven innovation plan that aligns with your firm’s strategic plan and data strategy. We will also hear from 2 vendors on best practices for partnering with them and others.

Learning objectives:

• Learn how to evaluate AI solutions, including Generative AI solutions and their underlying models to ensure optimal investment
• Understand key tenants of forming a data strategy that are a critical foundation for successful AI application
• Learn best practices for finding a vendor to partner with and maximize your existing relationship

Learn more about AALL at: https://www.aallnet.org/

Speakers: Katherine Lowry, Chief Information Officer and Head of IncuBaker, BakerHostetler; Elaine Dick, Knowledge Management Manager, BakerHostetler; Joseph Breda, President, Bloomberg Law.

Survey Highlights: Lessons to be Learned in Tech, Litigation and Security (Beekman)

ILTA surveys are among our most sought-after deliverables and range from short, ad hoc surveys to year-long efforts. The annual Technology Survey, for example, reflects the technology choices and strategies of well over 500 law firms, representing thousands of end users. In 2023, ILTA developed and delivered a ‘deep dive’ security survey, and we conducted our Litigation and Practice Support Survey. In this session, we will look at key findings from all ILTA’s 2023 surveys.

Speakers: Brett Burney, Vice President, eDiscovery Consulting, Nextpoint Law Group; Skip Lohmeyer, Chief Information Officer, Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP; John Smith, Founder/Chief Security Officer, Conversant Group; Cindy MacBean, Litigation Support Manager, Honigman LLP.

4:00 PM – 5:00 PM

The Room Where it Happens: Identifying and Engaging the Essential Stakeholders in AI Initiatives (Sutton South)

Panelists will discuss the importance of collaborative dialogue in successfully implementing AI and identify the key stakeholders necessary to achieve organization-wide success with AI. This session will highlight how different perspectives can contribute to more effective and ethical AI solutions, explore how stakeholder buy-in impacts adoption, and provide a dynamic platform for attendees to identify and discuss the crucial stakeholders necessary for the success of AI initiatives in their organizations.

Speakers: Alesya Nasimova, Director, Associate General Counsel, Product & Privacy, Brex; Jeff Reihl, Chief Technology Officer, LexisNexis; Samantha Vaughan, Chief Privacy Officer, Verisk; Gina Rubel, CEO & General Counsel, Furia Rubel Communications; Ilona Logvinova, Associate General Counsel, Head of Innovation for McKinsey Legal, McKinsey & Company, Inc.

Information Governance and Office Productivity Platforms: Apple (Sutton Center)

This is part three of a three-part series of sessions hosted by ARMA International and Legalweek. These sessions examine the Information Governance capabilities of each of the most popular computing platforms in use today and the techniques organizations are using to take advantage of, or enhance, those capabilities. Discussion topics inlcude:

• Information Governance capabilities within Apple Business Manager
• Records Management and eDiscovery strategies across Apple devices and Apple iCloud
• Information Security and Data Privacy in the Apple environment
• Apple’s relationship with Google Workspace and Microsoft 365

Speaker: K Royal, PhD, Global Chief Privacy Officer, Crawford and Company.

Practical Implications of Generative AI in Law Firms (Sutton North)

Generative AI has taken the world and the legal industry by storm, even though law librarians and information professionals know that other types of AI have already been in use in databases for years. The panelists will review the current state of generative AI in legal research platforms, including candid comments from directors on the front lines of implementation and testing. The directors will share their experiences with some of these tools as well as talking about the overall AI roadmap, and specifically, what short and long term impact they think AI will have on legal research and the legal market generally. Generative AI is certainly a hop topic in 2023 and this program will ensure attendees get a preview of what is ahead for the rest of 2024.

Learn more about AALL at: https://www.aallnet.org/

Speakers: Emily Florio, Director of Knowledge Research, DLA Piper LLP (US); June Liebert, Director of Information Services, O’Melveny & Myers; Victor Chavez, Research Specialist, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP.

In addition to these Monday Legalweek 2024 sessions, there’s a General Counsel Workshop which is occurring from 1:30-4:30PM. There’s also the Legalweek Leaders in Tech Law Awards Cocktail Reception and Dinner (by invitation only). And, of course, the happy hours and events are gearing up as well. It’s a Legalweek tradition!

So, what do you think of the Monday Legalweek 2024 sessions?  Are you attending Legalweek 2024 this week? If so and if you see me, say hi!  And please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.

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