Last day! Legalweek 2024 continues today with the last day of sessions! Here are the Thursday Legalweek 2024 sessions to check out!

Legalweek 2024 has been conducted Monday through today. As always, it has been 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).

Each day, I’ve been covering 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!

Sessions

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

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM

Keynote Presentation: Bet On Yourself And You’ll Always Win: Overcoming Setbacks (Grand Ballroom)

Speaker: Molly Bloom, Inspirational Entrepreneur & Bestselling Author of Molly’s Game

10:15 AM – 11:15 AM

It’s Not a Tech Problem: Understanding Lawyer Competence in the Age of Technology (Trianon Ballroom)

This session is a must-attend for all legal professionals seeking to bolster their technical competence and understand the role of technology in their professional responsibilities. It will provide a comprehensive understanding of the intersection of law, ethics, and technology in the modern legal landscape. It’s designed to help legal professionals navigate their ever-changing professional and ethical obligations in the digital world. Discussion topics include:

• Technological competence in today’s legal profession, the need for technical skills, and the impact of technology on ethical and legal responsibilities
• How legal tech can potentially create ethical dilemmas and the measures lawyers can take to ensure they stay within the boundaries of their professional obligations
• How neglecting ethical and professional obligations can have serious legal repercussions and practical tips will be provided on how to avoid common pitfalls

Speakers: Ilona Logvinova, Associate General Counsel, Head of Innovation for McKinsey Legal, McKinsey & Company, Inc.; Derrick Maultsby Jr., Senior Associate Attorney, Frost Brown Todd LLP; Stephanie Wilkins, Editor-in-Chief, Legaltech News, ALM; Farrah Pepper, Chief Legal Innovation Counsel, Marsh McLennan.

Smart Tech, Smarter Practice: The Impact of AI on Legal Services (Mercury Ballroom)

Learn how to leverage AI to improve legal processes from managed review to contract operations. In this session we’ll discuss the implications of AI for corporate and firm legal services and how to mitigate risks around the technology.

Speakers: Umair Muhajir, Vice President of Managed Review, DISCO; Laura Kibbe, VP, Deputy General Counsel, Global Head of Legal Operations and Chief of Staff to General Counsel, Unisys; Jessica Block, EVP, Head of Growth and Transformation, Factor; Christian Hakim, Project Attorney, Global Operations & Innovation Center, Orrick.

The Bleeding Edge of Contract AI: What to Expect in 2024 (Sutton Notth)

ChatGPT is so 2023. An entirely new wave of AI capabilities is coming this year, changing how corporate and commercial lawyers work… again. Scott Stevenson, CEO & engineer at Spellbook, will demonstrate a number of recent breakthroughs in AI and what they will mean for corporate & commercial lawyers: mimicking your style and preferences, accessing your knowledge-base, seamlessly connecting between email and Word, stopping hallucinations and more.

Speaker: Scott Stevenson, Co-founder & CEO, Spellbook.

11:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Walking the Legal Privilege Tightrope – Managing the Risk of Breaking Privilege (Beekman)

Join us for this session as we discuss safeguarding the cornerstone of the attorney-client relationship in an increasingly digital world. This conference session aims to show how legal professionals can effectively use technology to manage the risk of breaking privilege and operationalize measures to protect it.

• Unique risks posed by cloud computing and cutting-edge approaches to secure privileged information in the cloud, including encryption, access controls, and multi-factor authentication
• Risk assessment methodologies and best practices to identify potential pitfalls, ranging from inadvertent disclosures to inadvertent waiver during litigation or investigations
• How to foster a culture of privilege consciousness and ethical responsibility within their organizations with practical training and education programs

New York attorneys can earn 1 credit in Cybersecurity, Privacy & Data Protection.

Speakers: Michele Slachetka, Associate General Counsel, Jenner & Block LLP; Tracey Vinson, Sr. Assistant General Counsel and Director of eDiscovery, Bayer US LLC; Todd Presnell, Partner, Bradley; Zack Needles, Editor-in-Chief, Law.com, ALM Global; Jeremiah Wikler, Partner, Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P.

How Law Firms, Consultants and Other Providers are Supporting Clients by Embracing Advanced Tech (Rendezvous Trianon)

Law firms, consultants, and other providers are forced to invest in advanced technology to win new business and retain existing client bases that increasingly demand transparency, efficiency, and convenience. This session focuses on how law firms are embracing and investing in advanced technology to deliver top-tier services, better serve clients and streamline operations. Our panelists will discuss:

• Key components of their technology roadmaps for future investments and how they continually review and improve their roadmaps
• Types of technologies deployed, including AI-powered tools, blockchain-based smart contracts, case management software, and other cloud-based solutions
• How to evaluate your needs and choose the right tools to invest in

Speakers: Domenic Leo, Vice President & General Manager, Law Firms, Anaqua; William Garcia, Chief Practice Innovation Officer, Thompson Hine; Manfred Gabriel, Partner, Holland & Knight LLP; David Stanton, Litigation Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP; Jasmine Cruz, Director, Product Solutions, Anaqua.

The Ethical and Regulatory Impacts of Using Your Data to Train AI (Trianon Ballroom)

In the rapidly advancing field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the use of proprietary data to train sophisticated models has ignited a complex debate at the intersection of technology, law, and ethics. This thought-provoking session at the forefront of legal technology aims to unravel the intricate web of ethical and regulatory implications surrounding the utilization of owned data in AI development. Join us as we delve into the legal frameworks that govern data use, explore the ethical quandaries posed by data ownership, and examine the responsibilities of AI developers in this dynamic landscape. Discussion topics include:

• The complex regulatory environment and managing the risks associated with deploying AI models trained on proprietary data
• Intellectual property rights as they pertain to datasets and the implications of using proprietary data in AI training
• Strategies for maintaining transparency in AI training processes and ensuring accountability for the outcomes of AI systems
• Inherent biases in owned datasets and the ethical duty to mitigate discriminatory outcomes in AI applications

New York attorneys can earn 1 credit in Cybersecurity, Privacy & Data Protection.

Speakers: Christiana State, Senior Counsel, Crowell & Moring; Steven Kelts, Professor and AI Ethicist, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs; Bennett Borden, Partner, DLA Piper; Julie Strachan Haiber, Global Client Director, Global Large Law Firms, Thomson Reuters.

Law Firm Data Maturity Model: Is Your Firm Being Left Behind? (Sutton North)

Staying ahead of the competition is a constant refrain law firms hear, but how do they know if they are in front of the curve or falling behind when it comes to data maturity? This session will provide attendees with a copy of the Law Firm Data Maturity Model, as well as an assessment tool to determine their firm’s data maturity and the steps needed to reach the next level. Discussion topics include:

• An overview of the Law Firm Data Maturity Model and the corresponding data journey
• Insights from law firm leaders who have made progress toward achieving data maturity
• Perspectives from experts who have worked with law firms at different maturity stages
• Best practices and pitfalls to avoid throughout the law firm data journey

Speakers: Josh Blandi, CEO, UniCourt; Brad Blickstein, Partner and Co-Head, NewLaw Practice,, Baretz+Brunelle; Lisa Mayo, Director of Data and Analytics, Ballard Spahr.

12:45 PM – 1:45 PM

Improving Your Security Posture and Reducing Cyber Risk (Beekman)

A strong security posture helps organizations minimize the risk of cyber threats and data exfiltration. We will discuss the core components of a robust data protection program, including prevention and recovery strategies. Discussion topics include:

• How to optimize the balance between security and productivity
• Approaches for increasing the level of visibility into your asset inventory and attack surface
• Implementation of programs that support your data access and use policies
• Incident response planning and management strategies
• Cyber insurance acquisition strategies

New York attorneys can earn 1 credit in Cybersecurity, Privacy & Data Protection.

Speakers: Mark Knepshield, Executive Vice President, McGriff Insurance Services; Emily Garnett, Attorney, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP; Dondi West, Assistant General Counsel, Cybersecurity, GSK; Deb Bitzan, Senior Product Manager, Aware.

Disrupting the Legal Industry: How AI-Powered Consumer Legal Tech Startups are Going to Change Everything (Mercury Ballroom)

Lawyers want to see them solve the access to justice crisis. Regulators want to see them shut down. And Silicon Valley wants to invest. One thing everyone can agree on: the genie is out of the bottle, and it’s not going back in.

Speaker: Charlie Hernandez, Founder and CEO, MyPocketLawyer.ai.

So, what do you think of the Thursday 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.

Image created using GPT-4’s Image Creator Powered by DALL-E, using the term “robot lawyers leaving a hotel with bags packed after a conference”. Safe travels! 🙂

Disclaimer: The views represented herein are exclusively the views of the authors and speakers themselves, 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.