Dennis Kennedy

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September 17, 2007

Matt Homann Interview in Law Practice Magazine

There's a great interview with Matt Homann in the current issue of the ABA's Law Practice Magazine. Matt talks about many things: innovation, big thinking, his views on the practice of law, LexThink and his recent move to Xplane, the visual thinking company. The article also includes two sets of helpful tips from Matt for lawyers and their clients.

The money quote:

What’s driving innovation in law firms now?

MH: That’s a particularly difficult question to answer because the forces driving innovation in firms (if innovation is happening at all) are varied. In large firms, big clients have wised up and begun to demand businesslike efficiency, accountability and technology from their counsel of record. Midsize firms have recognized that innovation allows them to compete for previously unattainable clients and work.

For their part, small firms have always innovated out of necessity—and that’s never been more true than today. The lack of institutional friction inside a nimble small firm gives that firm a tremendous advantage in trying new things. What’s driving much of the innovation in small firms now, however, is that a much more educated and Internet-savvy clientele is not only expecting better service, better technology and better pricing, but is also not afraid to find a lawyer who will deliver it.

If you are in St. Louis this evening, I see that there are (as of now) a few openings left for Matt's latest Idea Market event tonight. Check it out if you have the chance.

In any event, read the interview with Matt. But read it quickly, because, despite my suggestions to change this policy over the past few years, this article will disappear behind the magazine's members' only firewall and not be available over the Internet in a few weeks. That might be a good reminder to join the Law Practice Management Section and get the print version of the magazine (with a nice picture of Matt), but I've always preferred the open, always available on the Internet approach. We might see a change in that policy soon, but it hasn't happened yet. Lots of other great articles in this issue too.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Upcoming webinar: On September 27 at 12:00 Central, Aspen Knowledge will present Frank Gillman and Dennis Kennedy on "Winning the Battle for Legal Talent with Technology." Information and registration information here. Please mention that you heard about the webinar on DennisKennedy.Blog.

Technorati tags: LexThink! innovation unconference Law2.0 homann

Posted by dmk at 07:10 AM | Comments (1)

October 26, 2006

CityTech's Global Tech Leaders Top 100

Karen Jones, editor of London's CityTech, has posted the Global Tech Top 100 Leaders list for 2006 (pdf here). The focus is on technology in the legal industry, and it's a list determined by the choices of 2,000 people involved in legal technology. It's an impressive list determined by peers and I'm quite honored to be on the list, along with so many people whose work I admire.

I'm pleased to be singled out for three things that are important to me - blogging, innovation and "for talking about Law 2.0."

Today, JoAnna Forshee, Matt Homann and I were talking about the next LexThink event, which we are calling Litigation 2.0. Matt's also on the Top 100 list and JoAnna has been on the list as well (she helped with it this year). To me, Litigation 2.0 is a piece of Law 2.0, and perhaps the piece of it that will arrive the earliest. (By the way, nothing official yet, but we're thinking of early spring 2007 in New York City for the Litigation 2.0 event.)

As I think about Law 2.0, the one thing I know for sure is that if you took the 100 people on this list, brought them together to brainstorm, and turned them loose on the question of what Law 2.0 would look like, you'd get something pretty amazing. And that would be one heck of a LexThink conference. Matt and JoAnna, there's an idea for our next conference call.

Thank you to Karen and CityTech for putting together this great list and recognizing the people and their contributions.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

LexThink!(R) - The Legal Unconference. Ask us about private LexThink retreats and conferences for your firm, business or organization. In 2007 - Litigation 2.0.

Technorati tags: legal technology litigation 2.0 LexThink! electronic discovery unconference Law2.0 citytech

Posted by dmk at 09:43 PM | Comments (2)

October 19, 2006

Litigation 2.0

Litigation 2.0. So it begins.

I told the audience at my presentation on electronic discovery trends last June at the Legal Tech West Coast conference that on the morning of my presentation I had a bit of an epiphany about where electronic discovery was going as it moved toward its next evolutionary stage. I sketched out a few notes that morning on where I saw it going. Then I had a near "Jerry Maguire" moment and, until my better judgment prevailed, nearly scrapped my prepared presentation and rewrote something new called "Electronic Discovery 2.0."

I set aside the notes and haven't yet returned to them, although you will pick up some of the ideas here and there in my recent writings on electronic discovery. They are, to me, some of the most interesting ideas on legal tech that I've had, but haven't yet written about.

Litigation 2.0

In the last few days, however, these ideas have come back to me with renewed life. In part, that's because of a conversation I had with John Thickett of the Tusker Group about their approach to outsourcing electronic discovery work and processes, and the implications of that outsourcing. In part, it comes from podcasts I've listened to featuring Andy Kessler, the author of The End of Medicine (podcast link), and C.K. Prahalad (podcast link).

But, mainly, it's from the recent conversations Matt Homann, JoAnna Forshee and I have had about the next public LexThink! conference, which have focused on the topic of a new kind of conference on electronic discovery.

Litigation 2.0

In keeping with the LexThink approach, we wanted a conference that was innovative and different, that was both intensely practical and allowed people to consider the big picture and deeper implications. Ideas moving to action.

I kept pushing us to look at what was happening in the trenches. Let's face it, the most interesting things happen at the points where different fields intersect and with the people working at those intersections. To me, that's the world of litigation support and litigation support managers – right at the point of intersection of IT, client concerns and the practice of law.

So, we've been turning over that idea and working it into form.

Litigation 2.0

Yesterday, we decided that this area would be the focus of the next public LexThink conference in early Spring 2007.

We absolutely did not want to do another electronic discovery conference that academically covered Zubulake and the new amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. There's plenty of room for those and many of them are quite good. But that's not our territory.

We want to explore what the changing environment means for people who need to make decisions and get things done in the real world and have excellent insight into where all of this is taking us. It's best to focus on these topics in ways that help people do their work better, make their lives easier, and help them learn together and form communities with people facing the same issues.

That's a discussion that has to happen. And it needs to involve lit support managers (in law firms and corporations), lit support and electronic discovery vendors (the tool makers), the helpers and consultants, the clients, judges, and lawyers too. I've long wanted to participate in that discussion, but now I believe that we can facilitate it as well.

Litigation 2.0

As usual, the discussion came down to deciding on a name that was big enough and broad enough (and short enough) to hold what we wanted. Using "electronic discovery" or "lit support" is too limiting. We've always had the idea of "summit" floating around this project, but, yesterday, even that didn't feel right.

It's a big change in the process of happening – not necessarily moving into new territory but recognizing that the territory we inhabit has already begun to change. Think of "paradigm shift" in the classic Thomas Kuhn sense of the term.

Announcing Litigation 2.0 – the conference, the concept and the conversation.

Details to come.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

This post brought to you by LexThink!(R) - The Legal Unconference. Ask us about private LexThink retreats and conferences for your firm, business or organization. Coming soon – a new public LexThink event. Watch for details.

Technorati tags: legal technology Litigation 2.0 LexThink! electronic discovery unconference Law 2.0 litigation support management

Posted by dmk at 07:24 PM | Comments (1)

October 18, 2006

St. Louis Idea Market II - Redux

I had a great time and met some cool people at the second St. Louis Idea Market last night.

I'm fascinated each time I see Open Space (and the other creativity exercises Matt Homann like to try) in action.

I was tired when I got there and planned to lie low and keep quiet. However, there was a great energy in this group and Dave Gray of Xplane managed to get me thinking and talking about creativity.

It was funny to find myself talking about my recent thinking about the iPod shuffle feature (what I now think of as my iPod shuffle trilogy), and then to see how the group discussion brought me back to thinking about Twyla Tharp's book, The Creative Habit, which always gets my highest recommendation. I ended the evening by re-reading a chapter of the book.

That may or may not have led to something I'll post tomorrow, which I consider among my more creative efforts in a while.

A great time - hope to see you at the next one.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

LexThink!(R) - The Legal Unconference. Ask us about private LexThink retreats and conferences for your firm, business or organization. Coming soon - a new LexThink public conference.

Technorati tags: idea market shuffle LexThink! creativity unconference twyla tharp

Posted by dmk at 08:58 PM

October 11, 2006

St. Louis Idea Market II

I wanted to remind readers in St. Louis that there's still time to sign up for the second St. Louis Idea Market. Details at Matt Homann's new Idea Surplus Disorder blog. Hope to see you there.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 08:27 PM | Comments (1)

September 28, 2006

St. Louis Idea Market #2

Matt Homann has announced the second St. Louis Idea Market. Details here. Hope to see you there.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

This post brought to you by LexThink!(R) - The Legal Unconference. Ask us about private LexThink retreats and conferences for your firm, business or organization. Coming soon - a new public LexThink conference - watch for details.

Technorati tags: innovation LexThink! idea market

Posted by dmk at 08:39 PM | Comments (0)

August 16, 2006

Innovation + Action = InnovAction

Here's a must-read PDF download for anyone interested in innovation in the legal profession:

The College of Law Practice Management has just released the Inaugural issue of its e-publication called InnovAction, which celebrates innovation in the legal profession.

I'm pleased to be part of a stellar cast of authors featured in this first issue.

In fact, I highly recommend that you read the wide-ranging Roundtable on innovation topics in which I participated with Merrilyn Astin Tarlton, Simon Chester, Matt Homann and Dan Pinnington. Some of the learning Matt and I have had over the past year or so in our LexThink venture made their way into this article.

You'll also find great articles from Gerry Riskin, Patrick McKenna, David Maister, Silvia Coulter, and Bruce MacEwen, and other great stuff. Kudos to Jordan Furlong for bringing this project to a successful launch.

Download the article here.

While you are downloading great e-publications, be sure to check out Patrick McKenna's highly-regarded new publication called First 100 Days: Transitioning a New Managing Partner.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

This post brought to you by LexThink!(R) - The Legal Unconference. Ask us about private LexThink retreats and conferences for your firm, business or organization.

Technorati tags: innovation innovaction LexThink!

Posted by dmk at 10:43 PM | Comments (2)

August 02, 2006

Soulard Idea Market Next Week

Matt Homann reminds me that the first Soulard Idea Market will debut on August 8 in St. Louis. I hope to see you there.

If you would like an invitation, please contact Matt.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

This post brought to you by LexThink!(R) - The Legal Unconference. Ask us about private LexThink retreats and conferences for your firm, business or organization.

Technorati tags: soulard idea market LexThink! innovation unconference

Posted by dmk at 07:05 AM | Comments (0)

July 13, 2006

Let a Diverse Group of Smart People Talk

A fascinating blog post on the Anecdote blog callled "Hire a diverse bunch of smart people and let them talk" is well worth your reading time, both for what it says and the underlying article, audio and study it references.

The key idea is "knowledge bridging."

The money quote:

The article elaborates on Hsu and Lim’s research describing the ways Silicon Valley biotech companies created new patents and using this information to map the lineage of invention in the valley. Knowledge bridging was a noticeable trait of the successful companies and remarkably the only factor they could find that led to knowledge bridging was the act of hiring a variety of researchers. This reminds me of the Larry Prusak quip, when asked what someone should include in a knowledge strategy Larry suggested: hire smart people and let them talk. Perhaps we need to modify this to: hire a diverse bunch of smart people and let them talk.

Bring together a diverse bunch of smart people and let them talk. That's a great description of what we try to do with LexThink. It's also a great benefit of being part of the Between Lawyers blog. It's a great idea in many, many ways.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Like what you are reading? Check out the other blogs where I post - Between Lawyers (feed) and the LexThink Blog (feed).

Technorati tags: knowledge bridging LexThink!

Posted by dmk at 09:10 PM | Comments (0)

April 21, 2006

LexThink Lounge Photos

A big thank you to Lynn and Rob Robinson for posting on Flickr a collection of photos from the LexThink Lounge event on Wednesday evening. We had a great time!

[Originallly posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

This post brought to you by LexThink!(R) - The Legal Unconference. Ask us about private LexThink retreats and conferences for your firm, business or organization.

Technorati tags: LexThink! Lounge LexThink!

Posted by dmk at 09:01 AM | Comments (2)

February 21, 2006

More Details on the LexThink! Lounge Event Released

Matt Homann posted some details on the upcoming LexThink! Lounge event today.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

This post brought to you by LexThink!(R) - The Conference, Re-imagined. LexThink! - Think big thoughts, do cool things, change the world. Ask us about private LexThink retreats and conferences for your firm, business or organization. Coming soon - LexThink! Lounge - April 19, 2006.

Technorati tags: LexThink! LexThink! Lounge unconference

Posted by dmk at 07:56 PM | Comments (0)

February 03, 2006

What's the LexThink! Lounge and How Can You Be Part of It?

Matt Homann has announced the next of our public LexThink! events - the LexThink! Lounge on April 19. Matt has all the details in his post, but here are some highlights:

When: April 19, 2006

Where: Chicago

Presented by: Dennis Kennedy, Matt Homann and JoAnna Forshee.

What: A salon-like gathering of some of the brightest minds in legal technology today (100 invited guests).

Beginning at 4:00 pm, and continuing into the evening, the LexThink! Lounge will combine LexThink! collaborative brainstorming techniques, Open Space facilitation, and small discussion groups with fine food and drink to create an amazing atmosphere for in-depth discussions about the future of legal technology, with a special "5 by 5" panel discussion featuring some people you will really want to hear. And bowling.

We're working on both the sponsors and the invitation list. If you want to attend or become a sponsor, let Matt know - matt @ lexthink.com. (You can contact me, too.)

Many of the attendees will be alumni/ae of the previous LexThink events, like the wonderful and generous Yvonne Divita, who has written recently about what she liked about the LexThink approach to conferences and events.

While LexThink is best known for the public events, we also do private retreats and unconferences for organizations. Contact us for more details about out private conference options.

I hope to see you at LexThink! Lounge.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

This post brought to you by LexThink!(TM) - The Conference, Re-imagined. LexThink! - Think big thoughts, do cool things, change the world. Ask us about private LexThink retreats and conferences for your firm, business or organization. Coming soon - LexThink! Lounge - April 19, 2006.

Technorati tags: LexThink! LexThink! Lounge unconference

Posted by dmk at 07:43 PM | Comments (0)

November 13, 2005

BlawgThink - Initial Post-conference Results

I'm tired, but it's that good kind of tired.

Let me point to a few other bloggers:

Dave Gulbransen's excellent work at live-blogging sessions on his Preaching to the Perverted blog. Thanks - I really enjoyed getting the chance to meet you.

Fellow St. Louis bloggers George Lenard and Michelle Golden offer some reflections. Let's get that St. Louis lunch scheduled.

Today - some wind-up, some continuing discussions, some rest and getting back to be with my wife and daughter, who I very much wish could be here with me.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 09:41 AM | Comments (1)

November 12, 2005

BlawgThink - Day 1

A few observations:

I find myself saying "thank you" so many times at BlawgThink. I'm so pleased with the job our presenters have done. Question: Does blogging, as a communications tool, also help make people great presenters?

As we hoped, we have as engaged and active an audience as I've seen at a conference lately. There has been a really good exchange of ideas and information. A number of attendees and speakers have posted from BlawgThink and I encourage you to search them out.

I learned tons of things today - from the sessions, from the attendees and just from hanging out with everyone here.

My biggest smile and "thank you" was for the moment when we got Ernie, Tom, Marty and me together for the first time (and Ernie and Marty met in person for the first time). It was also the first time we've ever had four of the five of us at Between Lawyers together in person. Thankfully for Denise, we considered, but decided against, making a late night call to her from all of us.

I'm looking forward to a full day today of talking with this great group of people here at BlawgThink using the Open Space method.

Back to work on the event.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 07:38 AM | Comments (0)

November 10, 2005

If You Get a Last-minute Craving to Attend BlawgThink . . .

(and I can see how you might), Matt has the details on what to do here.

Posted by dmk at 09:09 AM | Comments (0)

November 08, 2005

Thinking About BlawgThink

[Note: On what I'm sure will be the last eighty degree day of the year in St. Louis, I took a long bike ride. As long-time readers of this blog have learned, my long bike rides often lead to long blog posts. I think that this one is worth your time investment in reading it, but wanted to give you warning that it's kind of long.]

One of the smartest moves Matt and I made when putting BlawgThink together was to bring in event planner JoAnna Forshee to handle many of the details for us. If you are ever planning an event, JoAnna should be on your short list of people to talk to.

Matt, JoAnna and I had our last conference call today before BlawgThink. When we hung up, I decided to take a long bike ride, like a long exhale after a period of really hard work.

My wife always tells me to take more pleasure in what I have accomplished and not focus so much on things I haven't gotten done. I thought I'd try that exercise on the bike ride.

It always seems that when you work on a big project, there are really two projects – the one you initially envisioned and the one that you really have produced.

I wanted to leave the fantasy project behind and get more fully focused on the reality.

The initial vision, or the fantasy, of course, is vital to the process. It gives you the motivation, the vision, the goals.

I took a quick look at some of my early notes on BlawgThink and set off on my ride.

What struck me, as I rode, was that the reality of the BlawgThink we have created is far more like the initial vision than I thought. In several important ways (speakers, sponsors and quality of attendees), it exceeds what we mapped out initially.

As I rode, I decided this was good. I also owned up to the fact that both Matt and I could fill a whole stadium for an event and still be thinking about "the ones that got away." As I rode, I laughed about that and decided that my wife was right – I could let the fantasy event blow away with the wind and focus on what we have accomplished.

As people who know us can see, Matt and I really like working with each other on these things. I appreciate greatly Matt's enthusiasm, passion, endless great ideas, boundless energy and capacity for hard work, and his ability to live on the telephone. Together, we've developed a knack for bringing people together, for making things happen, and getting people to think seriously about ideas, innovation and action.

As I rode, I then started to think more specifically about the actual BlawgThink and I allowed myself, finally, to get excited about the event.

My focus of BlawgThink has always been Day 2. It will be my third experience with Open Space Technology. Open Space is like HTML was for me when I first learned it – I want to do everything in Open Space. I'm so intrigued by the approach and what it accomplishes. The fact that we have a leading Open Space facilitator, Michael Herman, to run Day 2 is one of the coolest things we have put together. Personally, I'd consider going to an Open Space event on any topics, but to go to one on blogging-related topics is a can't miss for me.

There is a core notion of Open Space that the people who are there are the right people to be there. It's an amazing group we've put together for Day 2. As Mick Jagger might say, wild horses couldn't drag me away from the opportunity to be part of that session. This is a unique chance to take part in a discussion of legal blogging with a group of legal bloggers at a point where most of us agree the world of legal blogging is about to change and move into a new direction. Everyone has to make their own choices in life, but, if you are passionate and care about what you are doing in blogging, it has to be hard to stay away. I couldn't do it.

As I rode, I realized that my experiences at BlogWalk 6 and LexThink 1.0 with Open Space give me a different perspective on Day 2 than others.

So, I turned to Day 1. Here, it struck me that we had really accomplished something. I've been saying lately that we have an amazing set of speakers. Hyperbole? Perhaps. But, it seems like a good adjective. I'm not sure where the future of blogging will lead, but I don't know that you'll ever again get a set of speakers comparable to this group on this comprehensive set of topics.

Here's what I see.

You start the day with a choice of (1) long-time legal blogger Brandy Karl giving a blogging 101 talk; (2) leading blog advocate and designer Kevin O'Keefe talking about using blogs for marketing; or (3) long-time blogger and now FeedBurner executive Rick Klau talking about RSS feeds.

Take a break and your choice becomes: (1) one of the acknowledged best writers among legal bloggers, Evan Schaeffer discussing writing great blog posts, (2) Matt Homann talking about using blogs to create a professional impression and build reputation, and (3) a great teacher and one of the first education podcasters, Steve Dembo, teaching about podcasting.

Move on to your choice of: (1) Henry Copeland of BlogAds giving his highly-regarded talk on the "Zen of Blogging"; (2) highly-respected patent Blogger talking about how to put together a practice-specific blog; and (3) in the session Matt and I most wanted to put together for BlawgThink, leading KM experts and bloggers Jack Vinson and Jim McGee discussing collaboration, internal blogging and KM implications (wow!).

Then break for lunch and talk with other attendees and speakers and learn about our sponsors and the great attendance prizes our attendees get – free licenses to MindManager Pro and ResultsManager (yes, you have done the math correctly – the retail value of these licenses exceeds your registration fee).

Then jump back into it with your choice of (1) noted law librarian bloggers Dianne Murley and Bonnie Shucha introducing you to the world of RSS feeds and news aggregators; (2) search engine optimization expert Tim Stanley explaining why Google loves blogs and other issues; and (3) highly-regarded web designer Peter Flashner showing you why blog design matters.

Catch your breath and then choose between: (1) learning about the new world of group blogs and witnessing the first live performance of the RethinkIP group, Matt Buchanan, Steve Nipper and Doug Sorocco; (2) gaining Ernest "Ernie the Attorney" Svensen's observations from his years of blogging and his recent journey through Hurricane Katrina; and (3) law tech guru Jeff Beard and I discussing some of the advanced blogging tools you can use to improve your blog for you and your audience.

But, there's more. Move on to choose between: (1) learning about blawgs for firms of every size from Carolyn Elefant, Patrick Lamb, Cathy Kirkman and David Bowerman; (2) ethics experts Ben Cowgill and Will Hornsby discussing the current state of ethical rules for blogs; and (3) ABA webmaster Fred Faulkner leading a discussion on "how did they do that?" about features of blogs that you have seen.

Then, we do something that I think will work really well. Michael Herman will lead a session using Open Space that will help us pull together what we learned today and get us thinking about Day 2.

On Friday evening, we focus on helping build new friendships and learn from each other by putting together small dinner groups led by our speakers.

I may be biased, but that's a great program.

We'll kick off Day 2 with a tribute to the feature that helped Matt Homann develop his reputation – a Five by Five, in which Matt and I will moderate a discussion with some of the most-respected of all of the legal bloggers – Sabrina Pacifici, Carolyn Elefant, Ernie Svensen, Tom Mighell and Marty Schwimmer to help us gain some insights and kick off the discussions on Day 2.

As with any event I get involved in, I want you to be tired at the end, but that good kind of tired.

As I rode on (to continue the bike ride metaphor), I then thought about where we are in legal blogging today. In the conversations I have with bloggers, there seems to be a sense that we are definitely reaching a turning point where we move into a second generation of legal blogging. It's perhaps hard to pin down what this transition will be, but I suspect it will involve some of the following: (1) group blogs and other collaborations (for example, RethinkIP and Between Lawyers), (2) a much greater focus on RSS and use of RSS feeds, (3) loose networking of various kinds (the Law.com blog network; the Law Profs network and other future networks); (4) combinations that cross legal blogging categories (expect to see law librarians, lawyers, law students and, I hope but am somewhat pessimistic, law professors putting together efforts based initially on blog combinations); and (5) the adoption and creation of the web tools known under the category of "Web 2.0" and other experiments with technologies that might be considered "e-lawyering" (the PatentMojo experiment is the first and best example – the jury is still out on that Lawyer X experiment at Between Lawyers).

Although I'm reluctantly to saddle these trends with a moniker, you can think of these developments as Blawg 2.0. In many different ways, these developments will be the subject of discussion at BlawgThink by some of the people who are moving these trends forward.

If you think simply in terms of blog collaborations, I'm looking forward to having the RethinkIP group, LexThink and four out of the five of the Between Lawyers group meeting face-to-face for the first time and getting the chance to talk about our experiences in collaboration with Jack Vinson, Jim McGee and others.

There will be a lot of energy there.

Here’s what I think. If you have read all the way to this point, are a blogger or planning to be a blogger or are greatly interested in the blogging world, I suspect that you are now wishing you could be there. If that's the case, let Matt and me know. We're happy with where we are, but we do want to enable the people who are meant to be there to be there.

And, as I finished my ride, I realized that, once again, long bike rides lead to long blog posts.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

This post brought to you by LexThink!™ - The Conference, Re-imagined. LexThink! - Think big thoughts, do cool things, change the world. November 11 & 12 - LexThink's BlawgThink 2005.

Posted by dmk at 08:36 PM | Comments (1)

BlawgThink 2005 - Sponsor Update

Matt and I are so pleased with the response to BlawgThink 2005 both inside and outside the "blogosphere." We are amazed by our speaker list, have a stellar list of attendees and anticipate two truly valuable days for everyone who will be there.

We are also grateful for the generous support we've gotten from sponsors, who are making this event possible. We're happy to have attracted support from a great mix of blogging, innovation and technology companies who are enthused about hte world of legal blogging.

We've posted information about our sponsors on the LexThink blog, but I'd like to give a shout-out, as they say these days, to our BlawgThink sponsors: Intel (our platinum sponsor - see the resource center for lawyers accessible at http://www.intel.com/business/smallbusiness/wireless/benefits.htm) and, in alphabetical order, Box.Net, CasePost, Gyronix, LegalZoom, MindJet, Netcentrics and Six Apart.

As you may know, MindJet and Gyronix are providing attendees with licenses to their great software products, MindManager Pro and ResultsManager, respectively.

A number of other companies are providing giveaway items and prizes for drawing.

As I've mentioned, Matt and I have turned our focus to the event itself, but would be happy to make time for inquiries from new sponsors and your request for an invitation to attend.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

This post brought to you by LexThink(TM) - The Conference, Re-imagined. LexThink! - Think big thoughts, do cool things, change the world. November 11 & 12 - LexThink's BlawgThink 2005.

Posted by dmk at 08:56 AM | Comments (0)

November 04, 2005

BlawgThink 2005: Looking for a Few Chicago Area Law Student Bloggers

We would like to find three or four Chicago area law student bloggers who would be willing to act as note-takers for BlawgThink sessions and otherwise help out with BlawgThink in exchange for the ability to attend BlawgThink for free.

If that describes you, please let me know as soon as you can (email me at dmk @ denniskennedy . com) and we can make the arrangements.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (htttp://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

This post brought to you by LexThink!(TM) - The Conference, Re-imagined. LexThink! - Think big thoughts, do cool things, change the world. November 11 & 12 - LexThink's BlawgThink 2005.

Posted by dmk at 08:59 AM | Comments (0)

November 03, 2005

Speaking at and about BlawgThink

I'm so pleased to be speaking with Jeff "Law Tech Guru" Beard at BlawgThink. Jeff and I first met when we co-presented at a session at the 1998 ABA TECHSHOW and immediately became good friends. Anyone who's ever attended a presentation by Jeff knows what a great presenter he is. I'm looking forward to working with him again.

The session we are doing is called "Tag, you're it. Using Flickr, OPML, De.licio.us, Rojo, and other cutting-edge tools to supercharge your blog." Matt and I conceived of this session as the "advanced blogging tools" session.

If you've seen me present, you know that the more technical and advanced the topic is, the more I try to focus on fundamental principles and how you can use the technology, rather than delving into the technical details.

So, although Jeff and I will be doing a survey of some advanced blogging tools, I want to focus on three fundamental concepts about these tools and why you might want to use them.

I see three categories of these tools:

1. Tools that allow you to improve your audience's experience through benefits or features that require little additional effort on the part of the blogger. An example would be Flickr, which lets you add pictures to your blog experience by means of a simple to use service rather than by learning coding, programming or FTP-ing.

2. Tools that make your blog and your posts more findable and accessible with little additional effort on the part of the blogger. Examples would be Del.icio.us and Technorati tagging.

3. Tools that allow you to collaborate and help create a useful collection of valuable resources with little additional effort on the part of the blogger. Using OPML to share your RSS feed subscriptions, Rojo (and other RSS sharing services) and Rollyo custom search engines are examples in this category.

I think that this set of three categories is a helpful way to think about the various tools out there. I welcome any comments on this approach and suggestions of your favorite tools in each categories and/or useful tips for these tools.

Matt and I were talking, as we do every day, about BlawgThink and we are happy with where things stand. We're ready to focus on making the event experience as good as we can make it and ready to bring the invitation, registration and sponsor solicitation process to a close. It does look like we' ll able to accommodate some more attendees and we'll do everything we can to include others who want to attend - just let us know - but our focus is turning to the event, the sessions, and what I'm sure will be an amazing and unforgettable Day 2 of BlawgThink. I can't wait to see everyone there.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

This post brought to you by LexThink!(TM) - The Conference, Re-imagined. LexThink! - Think big thoughts, do cool things, change the world. November 11 & 12 - LexThink BlawgThink - the legal blogger unconference.

Posted by dmk at 07:13 PM | Comments (0)

October 21, 2005

BlawgThink Speakers

While I've been on the road, Matt has been posting a lot of updates on BlawgThink 2005 on the LexThink blog and The Nonbillable Hour. Take a look.

We're thrilled with the speaker slate that we have put together for BlawgThink.

Via Matt, here are some of the recent additions to the list:

"Tim Stanley of Justia (former CEO and founder of Findlaw) is talking about search engine optimization in his session “Why Google Loves Blogs.”

Carolyn Elefant of My Shingle fame (and in my opinion, the single greatest source for practical information on small firm practice) is giving her take on Small Firm Blogging.

We have a pair of tremendous law librarians, Bonnie Schucha and Diane Murley of WisBlawg and Law Dawg Blawg, respectively.

Patrick Lamb will be talking about blogging in a medium size firm.

Henry Copeland, Founder and CEO of BlogAds will talk about the Zen of Blogging.

Steve Dembo, teacher, technologist, and podcasting pioneer.

Tom Mighell, legal technologist and blogger extraordinaire will be involved in our Five by Five, which we have moved to lead off the day on Saturday. (The Five by Five will feature 5 (or more) of the best-known bloggers giving quick comments and tips on 5 topical issues.)

And Ernie the Attorney. Enough said."

If you still want to come, there is a bit of time to let Matt know at Matt@LexThink.com or contact me directly.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

This post brought to you by LexThink!(TM) - The Conference, Re-imagined. LexThink! - Think big thoughts, do cool things, change the world. November 11 & 12 - BlawgThink 2005 - the legal blogging unconference.

Posted by dmk at 09:51 AM | Comments (0)

October 13, 2005

BlawgThink Updates

Matt has posted a number of updates on the BlawgThink 2005 conference over at The Nonbillable Hour.

One that I want to highlight is that we have decided to make available a one-day option. If you are interested in a more traditional seminar approach with specific sessions, you'll like Friday's set of structured sessions. If you want to spend a day having conversations with other bloggers on subjects that interest you and the group in a more free-form style (or you can't take Friday off work), Saturday's session will be just the ticket for you.

Of course, I recommend the two-day option, but the one-day option makes sense if, well, you only have one day.

Coming soon: more speaker announcements and more details.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

This post brought to you by LexThink!(TM) - The Conference, Re-imagined. LexThink! - Think big thoughts, do cool things, change the world. November 11 & 12 - LexThink's BlawgThink 2005.

Posted by dmk at 09:29 PM | Comments (0)

October 11, 2005

Some BlawgThink Updates

Matt has posted some updates on the BlawgThink 2005 legal blogging conference over on the LexThink blog, including some speaker anouncements. I'm thrilled by the speakers that we have in place and will be announcing soon.

Here's a preview.

I read an article tonight on legal ethics issues for lawyers using online marketing techniques, including blogs, in the current issue of the ABA Journal (unfortunately, the ABA Journal does not make the articles in the print version of the magazine available on its website).

The article quotes Ben Cowgill and Will Hornsby, two authorities on the ethical treatment of legal blogs and other online ethics issues. They will be speaking at and leading our session on ethics at BlawgThink.

That's an example of the level of sessions we're trying to put together for BlawgThink. Think about it. For more information on BlawgThink, visit the LexThink website. We want to see you there, whether you are a current blogger or whether you just want to learn more about where blogging is moving the legal profession and the practice of law and where it make take your practice.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

This post brought to you by LexThink!(TM) - The Conference, Re-imagined. LexThink! - Think big thoughts, do cool things, change the world. November 11 & 12 - BlawgThink 2005

Posted by dmk at 10:04 PM | Comments (1)

September 22, 2005

LexThink BlawgThink Invitations

Here's an update on LexThink BlawgThink, the legal blogging conference Matt Homann and I are are putting together on November 11 - 12 at the Catalyst Ranch in Chicago.

As with the first LexThink conference, BlawgThink is an invitation-only event. The first round of invitations went out today. We recognize that it is inevitable that we will, much to our embarrassment, overlook some people we want to have on the list, so we've held some invitations in reserve. So, if you want to attend BlawgThink, please let us know as soon as you can, so we can get you on the invitation list. We do have a limit on the number of attendees because of the space we have selected, but we want to have as many people who woould like to attend be able to attend.

We're also working on finalizing speakers and sessions. My preference is to select the speakers we want and give them a fair amount of freedomm to present what they want on their topics.

We'll gradually announce the speakers and agenda. For now, we're very excited to have Ben Cowgill as a speaker on legal ethics and blogging (and tell the story of his work on Kentucky ethics regulation of blogs), Kevin O'Keefe on marketing through blogs, and the RethinkIP guys on either practice-specific blogs or group blogs. BlawgThink will also feature the first appearance by Matt and I on the same stage for a presentation.

I also encourage you to check out the LexThink blog (feed), which will keep you updated on BlawgThink and is the home of a good number of posts Matt and I have done on innovation in the professional services industry.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

This post brought to you by LexThink!(TM) - The Conference, Re-imagined. LexThink! - Think big thoughts, do cool things, change the world. Coming soon - LexThink BlawgThink - the legal blogger unconference.

Posted by dmk at 08:24 PM | Comments (0)

September 02, 2005

LexThink BlawgThink

Matt Homann has pre-announced the upcoming LexThink BlawgThink Conference we will be holding in November in Chicago. More details will be forthcoming in an official announcement next week.

We have been surprised by the response we've already gotten to Matt's pre-announcement and I wanted to give you a bit more information.

The event will be invitation-only. Some readers of this blog are, of course, already on our list, but, even though we think that we have ample space for BlawgThink at Catalyst Ranch, it probably makes sense, given the initial response we've gotten, to let us know of your interest in receiving an invitation so we make sure that you are on the list.

This event will be the largest gathering of legal bloggers in history (since I organized the current record-holding event, I'm confident in making that statement.)

The basic agenda for the conference is:

Day 1 (November 11): A series of panel discussions featuring some of the best-known legal bloggers, with a focus on practical issues and lots of opportunity for question-and-answer sessions.

Day 2 (November 12): Now that you've learned about blogging, we'll spend a day in the LexThink collaborative discoussion and brainstorming style on the topics that most interest the attendees. It will be a unique opportunity to spend time with some of the legal bloggers you read on a regular basis and the other attendees.

Do you have to be currently blogging to attend? No, but you probably will want to have a strong interest in either blogging or finding out about what blogs can do for you and/or your organization.

Do you need to be a lawyer to attend? Lord, no! We'd like to put together a diverse group both inside legal blogging (law profs, law librarians, law students and others) and non-lawyer bloggers (marketing, business, consulting and professional services, to name a few).

In order to keep the registration fee as reasonable as possible, we are also looking for a limited number of sponsors for the event. If your marketing budget has room for a chance to get yourself involved with this type of audience (and, really, whose wouldn't?), please get in touch with us.

To let us know that you want to be on the invitation list or are interested in sponsor opportunities, email us at either matt @ lexthink.com or dennis @ lexthink.com.

As I indicated, more details will be forthcoming soon, but I wanted to give readers of my blog an early opportunity to get onto the invitation list.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

This post brought to you by LexThink!(TM) - The Conference, Re-imagined. LexThink! - Think big thoughts, do cool things, change the world. Watch for details on LexThink's BlawgThink.

Posted by dmk at 04:33 PM | Comments (0)

August 13, 2005

Preparing for Unconferences: An Open Space Technology Primer

Before the first public LexThink conference, I wrote an introduction to "Open Space Technology" (sometimes referred to simply as "Open Space"), which is the methodology and approach developed by Owen Harrison we use in LexThink conferences. This post is an update of that introduction and provides some good starter resources about Open Space Technology.

When I talk to people about LexThink, I notice that they are a little wary of the Open Space approach and don't quite see why I am so enthused about it. In part, that's because the approach seems so different than what we are all used to at conferences. It all but flips the tradition conference approach on its head. However, it also evokes memories of nearly every great learning session you've ever had - from sitting on the floor on a dorm hallway to a late night conversation in a hotel lobby at a conference.

I'm also intrigued by the way Open Space has found its way into the blog world. There's been a lot of discussion of conferences and the need for new kinds of conferences. In fact, I see the term "unconference" on a regular basis and it's gratifying to see how well LexThink fits into that discussion. For some examples of the "unconference" discussion, see Dave Winer, Johnny Moore, Doc Searls, Mary Hodder, Stowe Boyd, Steve Rubel, to name a few. There's a Technorati tag for unconference. Someone has parked the domain name for two years - without using it.

There's even been some discussion about having a "conference" about unconferences. I've started referring to that as "The Unconference Unconference."

You can't get more than a few sentences into a discussion of unconferences, alternatives to conferences or brainstorming without the topic of Open Space being raised. Having at least a working knowledge of Open Space seems to be a wise thing these days.

Think about this: The best "learning" you have at any conference takes place outside the sessions, in the conversations you have with others over a beer or sitting in a hotel lobby.

The radical concept of Open Space (and LexThink and some of the other "unconference" approaches) is that we eliminate the notion of lectures, speakers and topics set in concrete and, instead, replace them with flexibility, interaction, conversation and small communities of interest.

I was initially both fascinated and repelled by the idea of Open Space Technology. It was hard for me, both personally and as a creator of LexThink, to give up the control of the conference that Open Space Technology demands. No set agenda? What does that mean? Will people simply do what they want? What will that mean?

However, I was reading James Surowiecki's The Wisdom of Crowds at the same time we were thinking about using Open Space for LexThink. I decided not only as a general matter was the "crowd" going to be wiser about what topics mattered and what the conversation and conference agenda would be, but that I was nuts if I thought that I could come up with better ideas and a better agenda that this group of attendees could.

I also became very interested in the notion of "trust" in comparison to "control." I like the experiment of using Open Space. What happens if I, we, trust the attendees and resist the urge to control the event? In the case of LexThink 1.0, we had a great group with whom to try this experiment in both innovation and "trust."

While we were first thinking about using Open Space for LexThink, Matt and I went to BlogWalk 6 in Chicago, organized in large part by LexThink attendee and KM guru, Jack Vinson, we walked right in to a session that was using Open Space. Was it a sign? I took it that way.

We saw how Open Space worked that day and it felt just right for LexThink. However, many people have the same reservations and questions about this approach that I had.

Coleridge talked about the "willing suspension of disbelief." While I recommend a little of that when thinking about (or participating in) an Open Space event such as a LexThink conference, I highly recommend that you take a little time to read up on Open Space Technology (see the resources below) to get a better feel for the goals, the actual process and procedures (to the extent those terms make sense), and the few key "rules."

What I think you will want to consider are the ideas that (1) you need to make sure that you know what subjects you are most interested in and how it is your responsibility to make sure that they get addressed, (2) despite what you thought was most important when you started the day, you will be faced with an ongoing set of choices of which discussions are most important to you, and (3) there really is a notion of voting with your feet - you can and should leave a discussion if it no longer interests you or you notice a more interesting discussion going on elsewhere. Both you and the group as a whole will set the directions the day will take, even though we'll exercise some gentle guidance and set some flexible limits.

At the end of the day, the process is designed to pull together and make available to everyone all of what happened during the day. Both the process and, more importantly, our variations on it will also drive us toward reaching practical action steps and try to answer the "so what now" questions that are present by the end of any good conference.

I've probably reached what Kathy Sierra of the Creating Passionate Users blog calls the Koolaid Point on Open Space Technology. I see the benefits of using this approach everywhere I look these days. For example, I'd like to get some of my favorite bloggers and a few others together for a couple of days of Open Space time and see what incredible things would emerge out of those sessions.

I hope this introduction has piqued your interest in Open Space Technology. If it has, the following reading list will get you started. This is something I enjoy discussing, so I'm always pleased to hear about the experiences people have had with Open Space and ideas and questions they might have.

So, here's a starter set of resources on Open Source Technology -if you have time to read only one thing, I suggest Lisa Heft's article listed at the end of these resources.

Open Space World - http://www.openspaceworld.org/wiki/wiki/wiki.cgi? (especially the intro at http://www.openspaceworld.org/wiki/wiki/wiki.cgi?AboutOpenSpace)

GlobalChicago: OpenSpaceTech - http://www.globalchicago.net/wiki/wiki.cgi?OpenSpaceTech

Harrison Owen's Brief Introduction or User Guide - http://www.openspaceworld.com/users_guide.htm

If you become really serious (and I warn you that you might well do so), you might track down Harrison Owen's books on Open Space, the easiest to find of which will probably be Expanding Our Now: The Story of Open Space Technology, which was a follow-up work after the classic text, Open Space Technology: A User's Guide.

The Change Management Toolbox: Open Space - http://www.change-management-toolbook.com/tools/OpenSpace.html

Cornerstone Consulting's Resources on Open Space - http://www.ourfuture.com/osover.htm

Chris Corrigan on Open Space - http://www.chriscorrigan.com/openspace/

Wikipedia on Open Space Technology - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology

Lisa Heft's article on OpeningSpace.net - http://www.openingspace.net/papers_facilitation_OSCollaborationCommunication.shtml (If you read just one thing, I'd recommend that it be this article.)

I'll probably be writing more on this topic, as well as about innovation in general, on the LexThink Blog.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

This post brought to you by LexThink!(TM) - The Conference, Re-imagined. LexThink! - Think big thoughts, do cool things, change the world.

Posted by dmk at 10:44 AM | Comments (0)

August 02, 2005

Conference Idea Management at Lexthink

Matt Homann announced today one of the things that we'll be doing at LexThink - conference idea management. Take a look - you'll find it quite intriguing.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

This post brought to you by LexThink!(TM) - The Conference, Re-imagined. LexThink! - Think big thoughts, do cool things, change the world.

Posted by dmk at 08:04 PM | Comments (0)

July 05, 2005

The Rethink(ip) Tour - the Trifecta

I just had my third in-person meeting in the last few weeks with the three Rethink(ip) guys. This time I met with Matt Buchanan. As I did at the end of each of the other two meetings, I came away very impressed with these three guys, their abilities and their vision. These guys "get it." And they are a lot of fun to hang out with – they have tons of great ideas.

I encourage you to make a visit to Rethink(ip) and see what Doug, Matt and Steve are doing. I'll also let the cat out of the bag, slightly, to reveal that the Rethink(ip) group will be working with LexThink to create a LexThink IP conference that will probably take place this fall. It will be similar in approach to LexThink 1.0, except that the focus will be on intellectual property issues, both legal and practical. It will be an invitation-only event, so be sure to let me know if you would like to be put on the list of potential invitees.

I'm intrigued by how the LexThink approach reflects many of the ideas I've been seeing recently about "unconferences."

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

This post brought to you by LexThink!(tm) - The Conference, Re-imagined. LexThink! - Think big thoughts, do cool things, change the world.

Posted by dmk at 09:07 PM | Comments (0)

June 22, 2005

LexThink - The New Website and Blog

We'll have some more news coming out soon about the future of LexThink (or, perhaps more accurately, future LexThinks), but, for now, I can tell you LexThink website is live, complete with a blog that will focus on innovation in the professional services.

Please make a visit and check out the new digs.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com)]

Posted by dmk at 05:55 PM | Comments (0)

June 14, 2005

By Request Tuesday - Where are You Going with LexThink and When is the Next LexThink Conference?

Matt, Sherry and I have been putting our heads together about the future of LexThink. You might even argue that we've done too much thinking and not enough action on LexThink.

That's about to change.

What I'm writing here is not the official announcement, but I'll give you a preview. You'll see some of this at the new, not-quite-done, version of the LexThink website.

You will see three primary efforts from LexThink:

1. Follow-up and networking opportunities for the attendees of the first LexThink conference, including conference calls, blog content and other resources.

2. Private LexThink Conferences. We've tested the idea and it meet with great success. We'll provide these to professional services firms, associations and groups as a innovative and productive option to traditional firm retreat speakers and activities.

3. Public LexThink Conferences. We're close to having the details in place to announce a few more of these. We expect to have a series of LexThink Solo conferences in various locations- the first of which will probably be in late August. I would also expect to see one, two or all of LexThink Intellectual Property, LexThink Marketing, and LexThink Electronic Discovery conferences. We're looking for great spaces, like the Catalyst Ranch where we held the first LexThink, and sponsors for each event to help us keep attendee costs down. We got consistent feedback from LexThink 1.0 that the attendees would prefer a two-day event rather than a one-day event and at least one of the next few LexThinks will be a two-day event.

That's what's in the pipeline. Take a look at the new website and watch for official announcements and details in the near future.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 08:20 PM | Comments (0)

June 02, 2005

Courage as a Cultural Trait of Successful Firms?

I've been working on the notes from the LexThink 1.0 sessions in order to start releasing them in a public form on the LexThink website. The first installment will appear tomorrow.

This morning, I found the line, "a successful firm must have courage," in the notes about "creating a culture" from a session on what successful professional services firms have in common.

A successful firm must have courage.

This idea fascinates me, and brought me back to the energy and sense of purpose I found at LexThink 1.0. It also emphasized for me how essential it is to return to simple, fundamental questions.

What does it mean for a firm to have courage? How do you create a firm that has courage as a key cultural trait? Would you want to work at a firm that values courage? Or, perhaps a better question, why wouldn’t you always want to work at a firm that values courage? Then, what are the implications of working at a firm that either has courage or does not have courage? Is courage part of innovation?

We don't have this on the LexThink conference schedule (yet), but wouldn't it be cool to spend a day or two working on the question "How do you create a firm that has courage?"

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 11:43 AM | Comments (2)

May 05, 2005

Hey, It's Dennis Kennedy's First Podcast - Reflections on LexThink

With a big thank you Zane Safrit of ConferenceCalls Unlimited, I've made my podcasting debut.

Zane, who attended the first LexThink conference, enjoyed the conference so much that he did a series of podcast interviews with the LexThink founders, Matt Homann, Sherry Fowler and me.

Zane has put together a way to create podcasts that is so simple that even Matt Homann was able to figure out how to do it. Seriously, though, we recorded the podcast via a phone call and then Zane's tech people processed it. Conference Calls Unlimited is also hosting the podcast and they sent me the original .wav file. It all was produced, performed and went live in about 24 hours. It could not have been easier. And Zane is a gracious host and interviewer.

Here's the best part for would-be podcasters like me - Zane will do the hosting for your podcasts, too! No more fears of the $3,000 web hosting bill for bandwidth usage the first month you launch a podcast. This is exactly the type of service I've been looking for since I first thought about podcasting.

I had a great time talking with Zane in the pre-interview and I hope that some of that feeling carries through in the podcast. I think that I covered the whole waterfront in terms of what we talked about, from LexThink to infinity and beyond. If you listen to the set of podcasts from Matt, Sherry and me, you'll get a great insider's view of LexThink, what it's like to collaborate on a big when people don't live in the same place, and the thought process involved in trying to decide what the next step should be after something like LexThink. And, if you do listen to these podcasts and have some ideas for where we can take LexThink, by all means send them to me.

I like Zane's post about the interview with me because it makes me seem so learned and erudite. Unfortunately, I think I trash that image in the first few minutes with a mention of the A-Team TV show.

Take a listen. I didn't hold much back and had a lot of fun, so I hope you enjoy it. If you are podcasting, or thinking about podcasting, get in touch with Zane to talk to him about the podcasting services he'll be providing.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 09:12 PM

May 02, 2005

New Blogs Begin to Bloom from LexThink

Pat Lamb, one of the attendees of our first LexThink conferences, has launched two new blogs inspired, he says, by the discussions of blogging at LexThink.

The first relates to his law practice and is called Legacy Liabilities (http://patricklamb.typepad.com/legacyliabilities/). It's a good example of using a blog to cover a niche area of practice.

The second blog is called Perfect Service (http://patricklamb.typepad.com/perfectservice/). It focuses on law practice issues. Pat's anecdotal style and wise counsel a must-subscribe addition to the 2005 bumper crop of blogs covering law practice issues.

Be sure to check out Pat's blogs. Maybe they'll inspire you to consider blogging.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 09:14 PM

April 10, 2005

LexThink Meets Metallica - Some Kind of Monster?

I wanted to take some time to process my thinking after LexThink - or more accurately, after BlawgConnect 2005, ABA TECHSHOW 2005 and LexThink, and I haven't yet started to write about it. I've also needed to tend to a few other projects and work on the launch of Between Lawyers.

From my email, I know that I'm taking a little more time than some people would like. I point you to Jack Vinson, Yvonne Divita and Matt Buchanon, among others who have very good posts about LexThink.

I finished another of Jack's reflections on LexThink this morning. He reflects on the way that "passion" emerged as a theme for the day. I've also been thinking a lot about that, and I've been thinking about some notes on a big sheet of paper that hung on the wall at LexThink that talked about "passion" and "trust." A companion sheet has the phrase "authentic voice."

Last night, VH1 showed the recent documentary film called Some Kind of Monster. The film follows Metallica through the period in which they recorded their last album, St. Anger, and sometimes labeled as the film in which "Metallica hires a therapist."

[By way of background: Many of my friends are surprised both by how few movies I watch or like these days and by the fact that there were years when I saw more than 300 movies. My glib, but more accurate than you might expect, answer is usually that after Kurosawa's Ran, there wasn't much else left to be said through film. I love great movies, and I can't stand to be in the same room with mediocre or bad movies.

The other answer is that because of Babylon 5, La Femme Nikita, 24 and other serial television shows, I've grown to like the extended story-telling form of "movies" better than the 2-hour format. Not to name drop, but seeing Fassbinder's "Berlin Alexanderplatz" over several days many years ago probably set off my interest in that extended format.

So, to my surprise, and probably the shock of people who know me, I've now seen two movies in 2005 that I really liked. One was "Some Kind of Monster." The other caught me totally off-guard and was "3," a made for TV ESPN movie on Dale Earnhart.

But, let me get back to Metallica, er, LexThink.]

I don't pretend to be a Metallica fan - I'm not all that familiar with their music and I didn't understand their story very well until last night. I especially didn't realize that as they started to hit big, they lost a band member in a tour bus crash that could have killed them all.

It becomes clear that this documentary shows, in part, the three core members of the group trying to come to terms with that event in a way they never had before. It's also the story of a fight for their art, their identity and whether they can stay together as a group.

It's riveting stuff, especially as what is happening reveals itself in the music. It's also clear that the group could have split apart at several points during the filming.

Interestingly, at the lowest point, in the turning point of the film, there is a funny scene that has them all laughing and realizing that by knowing what they aren't, they realize what they are and why it makes sense to go forward from that.

The music changes after that point, culminating in the video of the song St. Anger that they shot at San Quentin playing to a group of prisoners. The first time I saw that video, I put it into my top 10 of music videos before the video even finished. Now I understand why the video has the power and realness that it does for me.

Heck, I don't mind if you make fun of me for liking this movie, for making Metallica references on my blog, or whatever. I do mind if you aren't willing to set aside a couple of hours sometime and watch this movie with an open mind.

The movie (or at least my reading of it) focuses on three themes I took from Lexthink - Passion, Trust and Authentic Voice. That's stuff that matters.

You will see in Some Kind of Monster that the Metallica guys are very wealthy and can spend their money on anything they want. They chose to spend $40,000 a month (not always willingly) to bring in a coach/therapist to help them determine what Metallica was, where it was going and if they wanted it to go on.

In other words, they cared about what they had created and where it might go. They wanted to know whether they still had the trust, the passion and an authentic voice and whether they were willing to fight for it.

You might dismiss Metallica as just a heavy metal band, but they showed me more about commitment and caring about what they are doing, their audience and their art than I've seen at any law firm. Would you spend that kind of money or, more important, invest the amount of time and emotion, that they did? Why not? Why don't you care as much about what you are doing as they do?

When I encounter a lack of trust, I have to leave. When I find a lack of passion, like most of us, I tend to be willing to make compromises. Until blogging, I didn't place much emphasis on the authentic voice piece of the puzzle. Now, I think a lot about that.

So, here are my first action steps for you that grow out of LexThink.

1. Watch "Some Kind of Monster."

2. Ask yourself if you are willing to make the same kind of effort to work on your firm, business or orgaization.

3. If so, write down at least three reasons why you aren't making that kind of effort now.

4. If not, write down at least three reasons why you plan to stay there.

5. Rewrite your lists as questions and spend a few minutes every day thinking about your answers to those questions, until it becomes impossible for you not to take some action.

Passion. Trust. Authentic voice. Stuff that matters. Even if we can't get all the way there, the paths to get closer to them are ones to give serious thought to taking.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Posted by dmk at 01:01 PM