By Monica Goyal
Lawyers are increasingly relying on technology to help them get their work done and improve the level of service they offer to their clients. Failure to adapt to new technologies and processes could spell the difference between success and failure for some in the legal profession.
Lawyers seeking a better understanding of how technology is changing their profession can check out the latest additon to the Toronto “unconference” scene: lawTechCamp. The morning of June 18th, 2011, legal and tech professionals are welcome to attend a first of its kind legal tech unconference.
“These are exciting times for a profession at a cross-road. The legal profession has only two choices: accept that the economic landscape has irreversibly shifted and adapt to new technology and processes, or keep its head fixed firmly in the sand where it will eventually die off as more nimble and efficient players enter the marketplace. How legal services are delivered in 2020 will be vastly different from how they are delivered today. ”, says Mitch Kowalski, lawyer, writer and entrepreneur, co-organizer of the event.
lawTechcamp is a BarCamp-style community for new media and technology enthusiasts, technology lawyers, technology developers in the legal space, legal information professionals, bloggers, tweeters, social networkers, and everyone else who is curious about new media technology and its intersection with the legal profession.
“The purpose of lawTechcamp is to encourage conversation between the legal and technology communities in a casual neutral setting. As the sessions show, each field greatly affects and influences developments in the other, and there is much to learn from each other”, says Sapna Mahboobani, Toronto IT lawyer and a co-organizer of the event.
A full schedule is posted on the website, and can be found at http://www.lawtechcamp.com.
The discussion style sessions appear to be geared towards technology companies, lawyers, and those interested in technology developments in the legal field. The types of sessions range from developments in the practice of law that are influenced by new technologies to those that explain how the law is applied to technology issues.
There is no charge to attend lawTechcamp, but prior registration is required to assist in planning.
lawTechcamp is hosted by the Center of Innovation Law and Policy at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law Building (78 Queen’s Park Circle) on Saturday, June 18, 2011 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.