Two legal IT events related stories…
• The first is a comment from a tech company COO who says “I feel like a curmudgeon but realize others must share my complaint. It’s about conference organizers. As a vendor, we sponsor a lot of these things. Many of these organizers give us attendee lists that have names, firms, titles, addresses, phone numbers – but no email address. WTF? Double WTF because they KNOW we are looking to contact them via email as it’s the least intrusive and most efficient method. So, what do we then do – that everyone does? We spend time and money to match email addresses – which are readily available now, anyhow, or, at least “guessable” to names so that we can send them email. So, what the heck was the point of giving us everything but for that address – especially after charging so much to line their pockets sponsor these things in the first place?
• Secondly, Jo Owen, who is organising the NextUp conference in London on 23 February (see details below) explains the thinking behind the event…
“Having previously worked for a small law firm outside of London, it wasn’t until I was given the title of CIO that I became aware of, and had the opportunity to attend the many conferences and networking opportunities run within legal technology.
“I was overwhelmed by the generosity of the people I met: experienced and successful IT professionals at the tops of their careers gladly shared their experiences and day to day challenges as well as offereing me mentoring and support. I had the opportunity to learn from them about leadership, commercial understanding and strategy as well as to keep up to date with new technology and discuss how advances in technology would impact the future of the legal industry. I started NextUp to offer the same opportunity to managers as I received. The first one day conference offers networking opportunities, round table discussions and thought leadership by from some of the UK’s most prominent experts.”
The event is being run on a not-for-profit basis with any proceeds going to Fredericks – http://www.fredericksfoundation.org – a charity helping underprivileged individuals who want to setup in business but have difficulty obtaining funds.
NextUp Legal Technology Conference 2016 – 23 February – London
Tanner Warehouse, London
An exclusive event targeted at the future leaders of legal technology. Hear from some of the UK’s most prominent leaders, network and build relationships with industry peers and leading technology providers. It’s free for attendees and run not-for-profit by fellow IT professionals. The sessions are all designed around opportunities for learning and development, with no exhibition stands, demos or hard sell from vendors.
http://www.wearenextup.com