Techshow Report

If you aren't here and you're a lawyer - you don't know what you're missing! This has been a GREAT show, as it is every year. I've attended several very informative and USEFUL sessions. But really, my favorite part about all this is, of course, the people I meet and see. There are so many interesting and INTERESTED people. I think the best part about the show is being approached and feeling totally comfortable in approaching anyone to ask a question or just chat. 
Yesterday, I gave a presentation with Nancy Grekin on Word annoyances. I had the highest of hopes but I wasn't sure how a "training" session would  be attended; I had a feeling it would be popular but you never know considering all the other good sessions people had to choose from. Well, we had 100 people in the room! It was really cool - I'm telling you people, training can cure so many tech ailments. I truly believe that everyone left with AT LEAST 3 or 4 useful tips about Word. (I'll upload our materials for you next post).

I'll tell you the coolest kind of people I've met so far - the young lawyers here representing and looking to help propel their firms into a tech affair. Every firm needs a lawyer who gets it. I think this is a great space for a new or young lawyer who is interested in law, in tech and in helping their firm. If that's you - and you know who YOU are - get a move on it! Start small, with one technology that is easy to adopt and  train (something simple like thumb drives). Throw a tip or two out via email in a "hey-look-what-I-just-figured-out!" kind of way. You don't want to scare them away (easy to do with lawyers and technology) - so you just sort of sneak it up on them. Small successes lead to bigger opportunities. So many firms invest in practice-specific software to have just one or two people end up using it and then only using about 10% of it. This is another great opportunity for an enthusiastic new member of a firm to take a resource already available and make it shine - along with yourself. Of course, coming to an event like Techshow is the perfect place to learn about all the tools, solutions and softwares available - so start planning this year to attend next year. I'll be there!

Comments

[Rob Robinson]

Adriana and a frustrated Microsoft Word user?

http://infogovernance.blogspot.com/2006/04/adriana-and-frustrated-microsoft-word.html

In the halls of the ABA TECHSHOW in Chicago, I had a chance to meet Adriana today.

As a reader of her blog and a fan of her teaching tips, it was great to have a chance to meet this professional and dynamic lady in person.

Nice meeting you Adriana!

Rob (Cool Tools For Online Fools)