ILTACON 2024

With the excitement of AI, the industry has come to recognise the importance of data management, analysis, and transformation to be able to leverage innovative products like the ones found throughout the exhibit hall. Keynote speaker, Professor Hannah Fry dived into the topic of data algorithms, reporting, analysis, errors, and manipulation as part of an insightful (and comical) introduction session. The Data Reimagined session, led by Kate Cain, CIO of Sheppard Mullin, discussed some of these areas in further detail, with a key highlight of the discussion focused on aligning data strategy with knowledge management to ensure it is not only managed but leveraged effectively to drive strategy and firmwide objectives.

Data seems to be the area holding most firms back and given the opportunity for better informed decisions and thus growth, it has become a focal area for hiring. We expect talent to continue evolving across Data, with a heavy emphasis on forward-thinking data utilisation as the end goal. With the right talent behind them, we believe firms will be able to achieve this, increase their profits, and build on their revenue streams.

The final key topic across all 90+ sessions (whether directly or indirectly) was the importance of change management strategies to succeed. A session led by Encoretech Partner, Jeffrey Roach focused on the legal technology adoption curve, Cialdini’s 6 weapons of (change) influence, and strategies to target specific groups. It was abundantly clear that transformation across the industry is reliant on successful change management initiatives. This formed many key areas of conversations with C-level leaders over the preceding days.

Despite the industry’s reliance on change management, there is little demand to adopt a change-specific workforce. We think this reluctance is derived from firms wanting to spend in an area where process improvements are relatively immeasurable. Instead, firms have been hiring technology leaders who are passionate about change and have exemplary track records in doing so. With this in mind, we expect the industry to soon see the value in a change management function with the need for talent in this area to follow suit.  

Beyond the invaluable discussions at ILTACON, it also gave us the opportunity to catch up with our US network and have important conversations with our clients that are looking to level up two of their most important assets, their tech and talent. It’s truly such an exciting time in the legal tech space, and I’m looking forward to seeing how we at Qurated can best support during this time. If you’re keen to discuss in greater detail the key takeaways from this event, please feel free to reach out to me.