The 2024 CLOC Global Institute conference in Las Vegas starts Monday! If you’re attending, here are five sessions to watch next week.

The 2024 CLOC Global Institute (CGI) conference is being conducted from May 6 through May 9, at the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, after being held at the Bellagio the last several years.

There are going to be several excellent educational sessions next week, so picking only five sessions to watch isn’t easy! Nonetheless, here are five sessions to watch at next week’s CGI conference:

Tuesday, May 7: 12:00 PM-12:30 PM PT – Pinyon Ballroom 1

Solution Lab: Cracking the Trust Code: The Key to Partnering for Legal Ops Success

Trust is the bedrock upon which enduring and mutually beneficial relationships are built and maintained. It is not only paramount within the organization across key stakeholders, but also with outside partners.

Join us for a compelling panel discussion, “Cracking the Trust Code: The Key to Partnering for Legal Ops Success,” where industry experts will unravel the intricacies of trust, communication, and transparency in fostering prosperous partnerships both within an organization and with vendors from RFP to Renewal. The panel will delve into the fundamental role that trust plays in organizational success, the partnership ecosystem, and how focusing on transparent and open communication is the linchpin that holds it all together.

Through real-world examples and insightful strategies, attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how trust is cultivated, nurtured, and sustained to help achieve legal operations success and ultimately meet your business goals.

Speakers: Michael Maul, Manager I/S Project & RIM & eDiscovery Supervisor, NuStar Energy, Oliver Silva, Director of Enterprise Accounts, Casepoint.

Tuesday, May 7: 1:00 PM-1:30 PM PT – Pinyon Ballroom 8

Solution Lab: Automating Excellence: Navigating the Future of Legal Operations

This thought-provoking session explores the dynamic intersection of technology and legal operations. We’ll do a deep dive into the profound impact of automation on the legal landscape. Discover how cutting-edge solutions (AI) are reshaping legal operations, streamlining processes, and enhancing overall efficiency. Gain insights into the transformative power of automation and unlock the potential to revolutionize your legal workflows.

Speakers: Brad Blickstein, CEO, Blickstein Group, David Delker, Director of Sales, NetDocuments, Kimberly “KB” Bell, Director of Technology & Innovation General Counsel’s Organization, American Express.

Wednesday, May 8: 10:30 AM-11:20 AM PT – Starvine 10/11

It’s Time: Meet the Legal Data Intelligence (LDI) Model and Learn How To Turbocharge Your Role

Be among the first to see the Legal Data Intelligence (LDI) model as it debuts at the 2024 CLOC Global Institute! The LDI model presents a new framework for expressing the value that legal teams can bring to their organizations through the power of data analysis – is the culmination of months of work by a volunteer team of industry leaders who deeply understand and have experienced the dynamic nature of our industry.

The LDI model tackles one of the fundamental challenges facing the legal industry today: the explosion of data volumes, variety, and sources. Lawyers are currently forced to spend inordinate amounts of time navigating data challenges instead of focusing on their core areas of expertise. Indeed, legal professionals are engaged in a constant struggle to contain escalating costs from rising data volumes, along with building consistent and defensible processes for their legal teams.   

Today, this glut of raw data has escalated from a nuisance to a universal problem across almost every practice area and legal task: from litigations and investigations to corporate deals and contract analytics, to DSARs, data breach responses, regulatory requests, and many others. Despite the ubiquity of these data challenges, we have yet to see a strategic, unified, and process-oriented approach to solving them. Until now. 

In this session, legal operations professionals can expect to learn about:

• A new process framework and vocabulary to proactively tackle common legal data challenges and express the value that their teams bring to the table.   
• New types of roles that this model creates, the skills essential to performing these emergent roles, and the changes in legal team structures that will best enable the model’s success.  
• The role that technology — particularly Generative AI and LLMs — plays in this new paradigm.  
• Inspirational stories of how the panelists are using this model to expand the scope of their role and reinvent themselves.

*Eligible for General CLE credit and Technology CLE credit where applicable.

Speakers: Omar Haroun, Founder & CEO, Stealth Startup, Farrah Pepper, Chief Legal Innovation Counsel, Marsh McLennan, Ashley Christakis, Senior Manager eDiscovery and Legal Operations, CrowdStrike, Jeremiah Weasenforth, AGC- Legal Analytics Director, Edward Jones.

Wednesday, May 8: 1:55 PM-2:45 PM PT – Juniper Ballroom 4

Don’t Just Collect It – Use It!  A Primer on Outside Counsel Data for In-House Teams

Legal Operations teams love to collect data, especially about their outside counsel and service providers. But are teams collecting the right data? And once they have it, are they doing anything useful with it?  As the sources of data continue to multiply — including e-billing platforms, compliance software, internal knowledge silos, and publicly available data sources, oh my!

Designing a sound data strategy is more critical than ever for both the in-house evaluators and their partner providers being evaluated.  How can the legal ecosystem work together to take our most shared valuable asset — data — and make it actionable? And for law firms and providers, how can you leap ahead in this area to quickly become your client’s favorite partner? 

In this discussion, you’ll peek behind the curtain and hear from legal operations leaders who are tackling this problem. They’ll share their strategies for bringing these sometimes disparate sources of data together and using the results to improve decision-making and save time and money for their legal teams.

Find out how legal departments and their law firms and providers can: 

• Connect different sources of data using legal technology
• Track and retain institutional data over time
• Ensure you’re using the right sources and scoping the right questions
• Implement and act on performance reviews and other performance-based metrics
• Create law firm hiring guardrails that help achieve key department goals
• Enhance panel management with scorecarding.

*Eligible for General CLE credit

Speakers: Wendy Butler Curtis, Chief Innovation Officer, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, Mirra Levitt, Chief Product Officer & General Counsel, Priori Legal, Farrah Pepper, Chief Legal Innovation Counsel, Marsh McLennan, An Trotter, Sr. Director of Operations, Office of the General Counsel / HearstLab Scout, Hearst Corporation.

Thursday, May 9: 11:00 AM-12:00 PM PT – Ironwood Ballroom

General Session: Recharged & Experimenting with Our Future

Join us for the grand finale of the CLOC Global Institute, where a prominent legal thought-leader will kick off the session, exploring the transformative impact of future trends within the legal ecosystem. Following this presentation, our keynote speaker will join a panel onstage, featuring a diverse line-up of legal thought leaders. Together, they will ignite a dynamic discussion, sharing varied perspectives and insights drawn from diverse backgrounds. This captivating session promises to be a thought-provoking conclusion, fostering collaboration and innovation within the community. Don’t miss the chance to be part of this insightful and inspiring wrap-up to the Institute!

Speakers: Andrew Perlman, Dean, Suffolk University Law School, Jenn McCarron, CLOC President, Allison Silver, Global Head of Strategic Operations, Zoom, Wendy Butler Curtis, Chief Innovaton Officer, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

There are a lot more than just five sessions to watch, so check out the detailed agenda here!

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas – except when I’m reporting on it! 😉 Look for previews and highlights each day next week!

So, what do you think? Are you attending the 2024 CLOC Global Institute conference? If so and you see me, say hi! 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.