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It’s time to get caught up on recent episodes of the Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast on the Legal talk Network.

In our most recent episode, Allison Shields was our guest to talk about LinkedIn for Legal Professionals.

Remember that you can subscribe to the podcast in iTunes and receive new episodes automatically. The show notes site for the podcast is at TKMReport.com.

If you have topics you’d like us to cover or questions we can answer on the podcast, let us know by leaving a comment or sending me an email.

RECENT EPISODES (#86 – #90)

#90. LinkedIn for Legal Professionals

Lawyers consistently tell us that LinkedIn is the social media platform that makes the most sense for lawyers and other legal professionals. They like the professional and business focus of LinkedIn as compared to the “personal” focus of Facebook and other platforms. However, lawyers also always tell us that they wish they could use LinkedIn better than they do now. In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell and special guest Allison Shields discuss the new book, LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers, how lawyers can make better use of LinkedIn, and some practical tips lawyers and others can implement right away with LinkedIn. Podcast here

#89. Technology-enhanced Television

As rumors of a game-changing new Apple TV begin to swirl, we wonder whether technology will start to change the way we watch television. Or maybe it already has. Does technology always need to have “productive” uses? In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell turn to a “non-serious” technology topic for the end of summer, explore ways technology, especially tablets, can enhance your TV viewing experience, and find some surprisingly serious conclusions about where technology is taking us. Podcast here

#88. Putting the Web to Work for You

Have you ever wanted one action on the Web automatically trigger another action? For example, if you post a tweet, it automatically becomes a LinkedIn or Facebook update or if you star a blog post in Google Reader, it automatically gets added to your Evernote account. IFTTT (If This, Than That) is a web service does exactly that. In this episode of the Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss web automation and IFTTT, how it might make your life a little easier, and the role this type of service might play for the busy lawyer. Podcast here

#87. I’ll Tumblr for Ya

While Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter draw the lion’s share of social media attention, there are many other social media platforms available to lawyers. Tumblr, Pinterest and Foursquare are just a few of the alternatives. How can you evaluate which of these tools might be worthy of your time and effort? On The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell survey the lesser-traveled landscapes of the social media world, identify some tools that might make sense to some lawyers in some scenarios, and speculate about the future of specialized social media tools. Podcast here

#86. The Lost Art of the Online Discussion

For many years, we used email and listservs for private and public discussions. Today, the last thing we want to do is add a high-volume email list to our overloaded email inboxes. Yet, we still have the need for discussions of all kinds. What are good ways to have discussions using technology today? In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss today’s options for discussions, how to select the right forum for discussions, and whether we can improve the quality of the discussions we have with others. Podcast here

If you haven’t listened to the podcast before or haven’t listened for a while, give one or more of these a listen and then subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

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

View Dennis Kennedy's profile on LinkedIn

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

Facebook in One Hour for Lawyers, the new book from Allison Shields and me, is now available. Our previous book, LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers is also available and also can be downloaded as an iBook. Also still available, The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.

Lucas Boling of the Missouri Bar called me a few months ago to discuss an idea he had to put on a low-cost continuing legal education seminar on legal technology topics inspired by the ABA TECHSHOW. I thought it was a great experiment to try and Lucas and the great people at the Missouri Bar have outdone themselves in putting together a conference called Lex Port 2012.

I understand that the registrations have already exceeded expectations, but there’s plenty of room for more to attend. So, if you happen to be in the St. Louis area September 13 – 15, I invite you to join us at the Ameristar in St. Charles, MO for what looks to be a great set of educational sessions and a chance to meet other St. Louis area lawyers interested in the application of technology to the practice of law. The value is excellent – up to 10+ CLE credit hours (including 1.5 ethics hours) for $179.

The agenda is also excellent with a great variety of topics and local and national speakers, including speakers and sessions from TECHSHOW 2012. Attendees have a lot to choose from.

I’ll be speaking at three sessions.

On Friday, September 14, at 3:40 PM, Marc Matheny and I will present:

YOU CAN TAKE IT WITH YOU: YOUR MOBILE OFFICE

Would you like to practice law from the beach or while on an extended trip overseas? Is it safe and ethical to do that? Two practicing attorneys who’ve done just that describe the mobile office technology they use including tablets, SmartPhones, and the essential hardware and software to comfortably conduct business remotely in a solo/small firm environment. The approaches they’ve used can be implemented in a virtual or home office setting or almost anywhere outside of a traditional office setting.

On Saturday, September 15, at 8:50 AM, I’ll present:

LINKEDIN FOR LAWYERS IN 50 MINUTES

Do you have a profile on LinkedIn? Do you know how to effectively harness the power of the largest online professional network to boost your practice? This practical program will show how to use features of LinkedIn that go beyond simply adding connections. Learn how to make this social media tool work for you in your practice.

And, on Saturday at 11:00 AM, I’ll join Melissa Glauber and Lucas Boling for:

60 APPS IN 60 MINUTES

Over 700,000 iPhone and iPad apps, more than 600,000 Android apps, and 100,000+ Windows Phone apps — with so many choices, how do you find apps relevant to your practice and your busy life? You will not want to miss this fast paced session that highlights 60 of the best apps for the legal professional.

There’ll be exhibitors, giveaways (including Facebook in One Hour for Lawyers and LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers books), networking opportunities and a great chance to meet other lawyers in the St. Louis area who are also interested in legal technology.

Help us make Lucas’s idea into a successful experiment (and experience). Hope to see you there!

Registration and other information can be found here.

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

View Dennis Kennedy's profile on LinkedIn

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

Facebook in One Hour for Lawyers, the new book from Allison Shields and me, is now available. Our previous book, LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers is also available and also can be downloaded as an iBook. Also still available, The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.

Allison Shields and I are grateful for the overwhelmingly positive response we gotten to our book, LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers. A big thank you to everyone who has purchased the book.

I’m pleased to announce that the book is now available as an iBook in the iTunes store. The price of the iBook is $17.99, a nice discount from the price of the traditional paperback version.

Allison and I have also started a LinkedIn Group in connection with the book (and the upcoming Facebook in One Hour for Lawyers book that we anticipate being published in August) called “Social Networking for Lawyers. Please consider joining the group to continue the conversation about the use of LinkedIn by lawyers.

We have been (welcomely) surprised by the interest by law firms in using the book as part of their internal LinkedIn training efforts. If your firm might be interested in exploring that route, we can help you get in touch with ABA Publishing about volume discounts. And, if you are an ABA Law Practice Management Section member (and, if you read this blog, you should be), it looks like there’s still a great discount available on the paperback version for LPM members.

iBook link

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

View Dennis Kennedy's profile on LinkedIn

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

The new book Allison Shields and I have written called “LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers” is now available *and as an iBook. Also still available, The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.

As you might already know, Allison Shields and I have written a new book called “LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers,” published by the American Bar Association’s Law Practice Management Section.

We’re quite pleased with the initial reaction to the book (see comments here). Probably the most interesting response has been the inquiries from large law firms about bulk orders to bring their lawyers up to speed on LinkedIn. If you want more information on bulk orders, let Allison or me know and we can get you to the right person.

We’ve also had three articles on LinkedIn published in the last month. Again, each has gotten more interest than we expected.

1. The Chain: LinkedIn Is More than Social Media for Lawyers

This article was my monthly legal technology column for the ABA Journal in the April 2012 issue. It is a short entry-level article about LinkedIn, with three suggestions to quickly improve your experience with LinkedIn.

2. Ten Tips to Get the Most Out of LinkedIn

In this article for the ABA’s GPSolo eReport April newsletter, we cover ten of our favorite LinkedIn tips to help you increase the benefit you get from LinkedIn.

3. LinkedIn: How to grow, nurture your network and obtain results

In this interview for the YourABA newsletter, Allison and I discuss several aspects about how lawyers (and others inside and outside the legal professions) use LinkedIn, how than can improve their effectiveness with LinkedIn, and our LinkedIn book. It’s a very thorough interview, with lots of great, practical information.

If you like what you read int he articles, then, of course, I’d like to consider buying the book, either for yourself or your firm or organization. Remember that our LinkedIn book is part of the re-launch of the reasonably-priced “In One Hour” series of books from the ABA’s Law Practice Management Section.

Also, Allison and I have started a LinkedIn Group as a companion group for the book. It’s called “Social Networking for Lawyers.” Click on the link in the previous sentence or simply search for the name fo the Group when you log into LinkedIn. We welcome you to join the Group to discuss LinkedIn, the book and other issues, as well as to get a sense of how LinkedIn Groups work and might work for you.

Details on the book and how to purchase it may be found here.

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

View Dennis Kennedy's profile on LinkedIn

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

The new book Allison Shields and I have written called “LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers” is now available. Also still available, The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.

As you might already know, Allison Shields and I have written a new book called “LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers,” published by the American Bar Association’s Law Practice Management Section.

For Allison and me, the target date for the “official” launch of the book has always been ABA TECHSHOW, and, more specifically, the Meet the Authors session for the book tomorrow (March 29) at 10:00 at TECHSHOW. Unfortunately, I’m not able to join Allison for that session (at least I have a medical excuse for that), but I know that she will do a great fantastic job in introducing the book and answering questions.

The book grew out of the very successful “LinkedIn for Lawyers” webinar Allison, Michelle Golden and I presented last summer. Allison and I took on the book project and some highly-ambitious deadlines to get the book ready for publication at TECHSHOW. It was a great writing collaboration and we already have another book project in the works. Here’s a hint about the topic of that book.

Our LinkedIn book is part of the re-launch of the reasonably-priced “In One Hour” series of books the LPM Section has done in the past. My friend and longtime collaborator Tom Mighell helped successfully re-launch this line with his highly-praised “iPad in One Hour for Lawyers” book. Tom’s excellent (I’ve already read it) new “iPad Apps in One Hour for Lawyers” and Ben Schorr’s Microsoft OneNote in One Hour for Lawyers” are new books in the series, with more in the pipeline.

Allison and I noticed that when we speak about social media and LinkedIn to lawyers, we consistently hear lawyers saying that while they’ve joined LinkedIn, they really don’t use it or even know how to use it. Interesting, many of them also say that one of their clients invited them to join LinkedIn and connect. That’s an interesting disconnect, when you think about it.

Our book tries to show lawyers how to get started with LinkedIn (the social media platform most commonly used by lawyers and certainly the social media platform lawyers find most comfortable), how to use it better, and, most important, how to integrate LinkedIn with your real world networking efforts in effective ways. The focus is on the practical, with lots of color screen shots, step-by-step instructions and our best practical tips on using LinkedIn.

The book is 128 pages long, divided into two main sections. The core of the book (which you should be able to read in about an hour) is a series of ten “Lessons” designed to walk you through opening an account, putting together an effective profile, adding connections, participating in LinkedIn and monitoring what’s happening in your network. We pack a lot of information into the lessons and have been told that even long-time LinkedIn users have learned some new things to implement right away. You can also think of the Lessons section as something to have at your side while you use LinkedIn. The second section is a group of essays on “Advanced Topics” – ethics, apps, advanced search, 60 tips, resources and more.

The early reaction to the book has been great, as you will see from the comments on the order page. My daughter, Grace, who helped with proofreading and editing, also thought the book would be very valuable to people who aren’t lawyers.

We’d be happy if you would take a look at the book and consider buying a copy. There are some discounts available for the book at TECHSHOW. If you are attending TECHSHOW, please stop by Allison’s Meet the Author session.

I know that there will also be an iBook version, but I don’t have the details on its availability at the moment.

If you haven’t started using LinkedIn or feel that you are using LinkedIn only to a fraction of its potential, this book might be just what you need.

Allison and I have started a LinkedIn Group as a companion group for the book. It’s called “Social Networking for Lawyers.” Simply search for the name fo the Group when you log into LinkedIn. We welcome you to join the Group to discuss LinkedIn, the book and other issues, as well as to get a sense of how LinkedIn Groups work and might work for you.

Details on the book and how to purchase it may be found here.

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

View Dennis Kennedy's profile on LinkedIn

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

The new book Allison Shields and I have written called “LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers” is now available. Also still available, The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.

As you might already know, Allison Shields and I have written a new book called “LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers,” published by the American Bar Association’s Law Practice Management Section.

For Allison and me, the target date for the “official” launch of the book has always been ABA TECHSHOW, and, more specifically, the Meet the Authors session for the book tomorrow (March 29) at 10:00 at TECHSHOW. Unfortunately, I’m not able to join Allison for that session (at least I have a medical excuse for that), but I know that she will do a great fantastic job in introducing the book and answering questions.

The book grew out of the very successful “LinkedIn for Lawyers” webinar Allison, Michelle Golden and I presented last summer. Allison and I took on the book project and some highly-ambitious deadlines to get the book ready for publication at TECHSHOW. It was a great writing collaboration and we already have another book project in the works. Here’s a hint about the topic of that book.

Our LinkedIn book is part of the re-launch of the reasonably-priced “In One Hour” series of books the LPM Section has done in the past. My friend and longtime collaborator Tom Mighell helped successfully re-launch this line with his highly-praised “iPad in One Hour for Lawyers” book. Tom’s excellent (I’ve already read it) new “iPad Apps in One Hour for Lawyers” and Ben Schorr’s Microsoft OneNote in One Hour for Lawyers” are new books in the series, with more in the pipeline.

Allison and I noticed that when we speak about social media and LinkedIn to lawyers, we consistently hear lawyers saying that while they’ve joined LinkedIn, they really don’t use it or even know how to use it. Interesting, many of them also say that one of their clients invited them to join LinkedIn and connect. That’s an interesting disconnect, when you think about it.

Our book tries to show lawyers how to get started with LinkedIn (the social media platform most commonly used by lawyers and certainly the social media platform lawyers find most comfortable), how to use it better, and, most important, how to integrate LinkedIn with your real world networking efforts in effective ways. The focus is on the practical, with lots of color screen shots, step-by-step instructions and our best practical tips on using LinkedIn.

The book is 128 pages long, divided into two main sections. The core of the book (which you should be able to read in about an hour) is a series of ten “Lessons” designed to walk you through opening an account, putting together an effective profile, adding connections, participating in LinkedIn and monitoring what’s happening in your network. We pack a lot of information into the lessons and have been told that even long-time LinkedIn users have learned some new things to implement right away. You can also think of the Lessons section as something to have at your side while you use LinkedIn. The second section is a group of essays on “Advanced Topics” – ethics, apps, advanced search, 60 tips, resources and more.

The early reaction to the book has been great, as you will see from the comments on the order page. My daughter, Grace, who helped with proofreading and editing, also thought the book would be very valuable to people who aren’t lawyers.

We’d be happy if you would take a look at the book and consider buying a copy. There are some discounts available for the book at TECHSHOW. If you are attending TECHSHOW, please stop by Allison’s Meet the Author session.

I know that there will also be an iBook version, but I don’t have the details on its availability at the moment.

If you haven’t started using LinkedIn or feel that you are using LinkedIn only to a fraction of its potential, this book might be just what you need.

Allison and I have started a LinkedIn Group as a companion group for the book. It’s called “Social Networking for Lawyers.” Simply search for the name fo the Group when you log into LinkedIn. We welcome you to join the Group to discuss LinkedIn, the book and other issues, as well as to get a sense of how LinkedIn Groups work and might work for you.

Details on the book and how to purchase it may be found here.

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

View Dennis Kennedy's profile on LinkedIn

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

The new book Allison Shields and I have written called “LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers” is now available. Also still available, The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.

As I’ve mentioned, my recent bout with a blood clot in my leg is preventing me from attending ABA TECHSHOW 2012, my favorite legal tech conference of the year, later this week. That made me think about ways to “attend” TECHSHOW without actually being there. In fact, Tom Mighell and I talked a bit about this idea in our latest podcast called “Turning TECHSHOW Topics into Technology Agenda.”

The great thing about blogs, social media and especially Twitter these days is that you really can keep up with what’s happening at conferences that interest you. TECHSHOW generates a lot of traffic along these lines, so it’s a great place to see how social media works in connection with a conference.

Blogs. There is a concept known as “live blogging” where bloggers take notes during sessions and post them on their blogs after each session they attend. Some bloggers do an excellent job of this, which I admire, because I simply can’t do this. Watch the blogs of your favorite legal tech bloggers to see what they post. I find that the best blog source for legal tech conferences is JoAnna Forshee’s daily summary posts at the InsideLegal blog. She has already posted “ABA TECHSHOW 2012: What You Need to Know.”

Twitter. TECHSHOW can really help you understand what Twitter is and how it might or might not be useful to you. If you haven’t used Twitter Search much yet, TECHSHOW is a great time to try it. You can search on “TECHSHOW” or the official “#abatechshow.” The latter is what is known as a hashtag. Anyone posting from TECHSHOW can include this hashtag in his or her tweet and everyone can easily find all TECHSHOW-related posts. You might see tweets summarizing key points from sessions and other info from the conference. At TECHSHOW, the volume of tweets can be high and repetitive, but you can get a good feel for what is happening at the conference and capture a fair amount of information content from the show. You can also follow the tweets of certain speakers or attendees. I always enjoy Gwynne Monahan’s high-volume tweets as @econwriter5 and Tom Mighell’s helpful tweets at @tommighell. You’ll be able to identify other quality tweeters to follow by monitoring the Twitter search results.

Other Social Media. Of course, what you will get depends on the connections you have in LinkedIn, Facebook, and other social media platforms, but these platforms can also bring you information from the conference.

Handouts. Tom also pointed out on the podcast that you can also purchase the TECHSHOW conference materials. TECHSHOW has always successfully encouraged speakers to submit quality handout materials.

Participation. Using social media, you can do more than just monitor the conference. You can actually participate in discussions on Twitter, comment on blog posts and the like. You can also invite people to connect on LinkedIn, friend people on Facebook and follow new people on Twitter.

Frankly, all of this is not really the same as being there, but it’s the next best thing and it’s getting better. I’m so disappointed I can’t in person, but I’m happy I have so many ways to be part of TECHSHOW virtually.

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

View Dennis Kennedy's profile on LinkedIn

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

The new book Allison Shields and I have written called “LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers” is now available. Also, The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.

As I’ve mentioned, my recent bout with a blood clot in my leg is preventing me from attending ABA TECHSHOW 2012, my favorite legal tech conference of the year, later this week. That made me think about ways to “attend” TECHSHOW without actually being there. In fact, Tom Mighell and I talked a bit about this idea in our latest podcast called “Turning TECHSHOW Topics into Technology Agenda.”

The great thing about blogs, social media and especially Twitter these days is that you really can keep up with what’s happening at conferences that interest you. TECHSHOW generates a lot of traffic along these lines, so it’s a great place to see how social media works in connection with a conference.

Blogs. There is a concept known as “live blogging” where bloggers take notes during sessions and post them on their blogs after each session they attend. Some bloggers do an excellent job of this, which I admire, because I simply can’t do this. Watch the blogs of your favorite legal tech bloggers to see what they post. I find that the best blog source for legal tech conferences is JoAnna Forshee’s daily summary posts at the InsideLegal blog. She has already posted “ABA TECHSHOW 2012: What You Need to Know.”

Twitter. TECHSHOW can really help you understand what Twitter is and how it might or might not be useful to you. If you haven’t used Twitter Search much yet, TECHSHOW is a great time to try it. You can search on “TECHSHOW” or the official “#abatechshow.” The latter is what is known as a hashtag. Anyone posting from TECHSHOW can include this hashtag in his or her tweet and everyone can easily find all TECHSHOW-related posts. You might see tweets summarizing key points from sessions and other info from the conference. At TECHSHOW, the volume of tweets can be high and repetitive, but you can get a good feel for what is happening at the conference and capture a fair amount of information content from the show. You can also follow the tweets of certain speakers or attendees. I always enjoy Gwynne Monahan’s high-volume tweets as @econwriter5 and Tom Mighell’s helpful tweets at @tommighell. You’ll be able to identify other quality tweeters to follow by monitoring the Twitter search results.

Other Social Media. Of course, what you will get depends on the connections you have in LinkedIn, Facebook, and other social media platforms, but these platforms can also bring you information from the conference.

Handouts. Tom also pointed out on the podcast that you can also purchase the TECHSHOW conference materials. TECHSHOW has always successfully encouraged speakers to submit quality handout materials.

Participation. Using social media, you can do more than just monitor the conference. You can actually participate in discussions on Twitter, comment on blog posts and the like. You can also invite people to connect on LinkedIn, friend people on Facebook and follow new people on Twitter.

Frankly, all of this is not really the same as being there, but it’s the next best thing and it’s getting better. I’m so disappointed I can’t in person, but I’m happy I have so many ways to be part of TECHSHOW virtually.

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

View Dennis Kennedy's profile on LinkedIn

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

The new book Allison Shields and I have written called “LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers” is now available. Also, The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.

ABA TECHSHOW runs from Thursday to Saturday this week. It’s my favorite legal technology conference, although I might be a bit biased because I was on the TECHSHOW Board for a few years.

Unfortunately, as some readers already know, I’m not going to be able to attend this year because I’m in the process of recovering from a blood clot in my leg. I’m feeling better, but not enough. That’s very disappointing to me because I was scheduled to speak at two sessions, the book Allison Shields and I wrote, LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers, will debut at TECHSHOW, and I’ll miss see all of my friends in the legal technology world.

As I thought about this development, I decided that I’d write a blog post that was a little bit about what I’d do if I were at TECHSHOW and a little bit about what I’d recommend others do while at TECHSHOW.

My first recommendation would be to read Peter Bregman’s great Harvard Business Review article about attending conferences called “How to Attend a Conference as Yourself.”

The secret to attending TECHSHOW is to realize that it’s a great gathering of lawyers who want to use technology in their practices. In many firms, these lawyers can’t find other lawyers with the same interests and passion about technology. At TECHSHOW, lawyers often say that they didn’t realize that there were so many lawyers like them.

The best thing you can do is to introduce yourself to and talk to others at TECHSHOW – attendees, speaker, vendors. Especially speakers. TECHSHOW speakers enjoy talking to attendees about technology. See the speaker ribbon on an ID badge as an inviting to say hello, not as a barrier.

Pre-conference.

There’s a smartphone app for TECHSHOW. Download and install it in preparation. I’d also go over the agenda and identify the sessions you want to attend. TECHSHOW has always focused on education. It’s a conference where it makes sense to attend as many educational sessions as you can. The speakers always have a practical focus. Arrive at TECHSHOW with your list of the sessions you want to attend. Also, it’s OK to slip out of a session if it’s not what you want and move over to another session. The sessions are close to each other in location.

Wednesday Afternoon.

If you arrive on Wednesday, get yourself registered and get your name badge right away on Wednesday afternoon. Wear the badge so others know that you are attending TECHSHOW and introduce yourself to other attendees.

Wednesday Evening.

I’d recommend trying to get into the LexThink .1 event. It’ll be a fast, thought-provoking and fun session of twelve 6-minute presentations. Matt Homann and JoAnna Forshee know how to put on a great show. And it’s free. Make it your mission to talk to as many new people as you can.

There’s also an opening reception. I wouldn’t miss it.

Then take advantage of any opportunity to hang out with other attendees after the event in the hotel. A key point: you can’t really network from your hotel room.

Thursday.

Especially if you are a first-time attendee, but everyone should see TECHSHOW chair Reid Trautz’s intro address first thing in the morning. Reid is a great speaker and he’ll help you map our the highlights of TECHSHOW.

Then, make it your goal to wear yourself out by attending as many sessions as you can, visiting the exhibit floor and meeting as many people as you can. People are very welcoming at TECHSHOW. Find an empty seat at a table at lunch and invite yourself.

Also, take advantage of the Conference Concierge booth, Adrian Linares’s great contribution to the TECHSHOW. The Conference Concierge booth sits at the entrance to TECHSHOW is staffed by speakers and TECHSHOW Board members with the goal of answering all your questions. From directions to sessions and restrooms to signing up for Taste of TECHSHOW dinners to answering tech questions, this booth is the place for information. You’ll often find the speakers you want to meet at the booth helping out. It’s a great place to talk to speakers you’d like to meet. I always found the booth so much fun that I worked it even at times I hadn’t volunteered for.

If you’ve done your pre-work, you will have identified the sessions you want to attend and vendors you want to visit. I’ll recommend especially the two sessions I’ll be missing in action as a speaker. First, Allison Shields at 10:30 in the Meet the Authors session for our new book, LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers. Allison is so knowledgeable on LinkedIn and she’s planning to answer questions about how lawyers can best use LinkedIn. Then, at 2:00, check out the session called Coffee Shop Office: The Ethics of Mobile Computing, where Sharon Nelson and Tom Mighell will be speaking on the vital topic of mobile security. I’ve seen the slides and the session should be excellent.

End up your first full day with the traditional opening reception.

Did I really say end your day? Not at all. One of the great thing at TECHSHOW is the Taste of TECHSHOW dinners. Arranged by topic, these dinners allow about ten people to sign up for dinners at nearby restaurants hosted by topic experts. Some are already sold out, so check out what’s available online. You can also sign up at the Conference Concierge desk. Here’s a little-known tip: there are usually some last-minute cancellations, so check at the Concierge booth to see if a spot will open up for you. Also, watch for places other attendees are hanging out in the hotel in the evening and join in.

Friday.

Get up early and dive right in. Repeat the overloaded schedule from Thursday (get your money’s worth). I’ll recommend what would have been my other session at 3:30 called Running Your Practice Entirely in the Cloud: From Start Up to a Large Virtual Firm, with Chad Burton and Catherine Sanders Reach. Again, I know what will be presented and it should be a great session.

Make sure you spend time on Friday visiting all the vendors whose products you want to learn more about.

End the day with the Beer and Bloggers event, another Taste of TECHSHOW dinner or have dinner with new friends you’ve met. My motto: If there’s an event on the schedule, try to attend it.

Extend your evening by finding where people are hanging out at the hotel. You can learn a lot in these evening conversations.

Saturday.

It’s the good kind of tired, believe me. The Saturday sessions are usually excellent. I especially recommend Jim Calloway’s plenary session on the future of law practice. TECHSHOW closes with the traditional 60 Sites in 60 Minutes session.

Follow-up.

Whether you use LinkedIn, email or phone, make sure you stay in contact with the new friends you made. Most importantly, if you are not already a member of the ABA’s Law Practice Management Section, give very serious thought to joining the Section.

As I like to say, technology is more about people than it is about technology. Nothing proves my point more than TECHSHOW. I’m so disappointed I won’t be able to attend, but I hope this guide helps you get the greatest benefit from your experience.

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

View Dennis Kennedy's profile on LinkedIn

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The new book Allison Shields and I have written called “LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers” is now available. Also, The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.

ABA TECHSHOW runs from Thursday to Saturday this week. It’s my favorite legal technology conference, although I might be a bit biased because I was on the TECHSHOW Board for a few years.

Unfortunately, as some readers already know, I’m not going to be able to attend this year because I’m in the process of recovering from a blood clot in my leg. I’m feeling better, but not enough. That’s very disappointing to me because I was scheduled to speak at two sessions, the book Allison Shields and I wrote, LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers, will debut at TECHSHOW, and I’ll miss see all of my friends in the legal technology world.

As I thought about this development, I decided that I’d write a blog post that was a little bit about what I’d do if I were at TECHSHOW and a little bit about what I’d recommend others do while at TECHSHOW.

My first recommendation would be to read Peter Bregman’s great Harvard Business Review article about attending conferences called “How to Attend a Conference as Yourself.”

The secret to attending TECHSHOW is to realize that it’s a great gathering of lawyers who want to use technology in their practices. In many firms, these lawyers can’t find other lawyers with the same interests and passion about technology. At TECHSHOW, lawyers often say that they didn’t realize that there were so many lawyers like them.

The best thing you can do is to introduce yourself to and talk to others at TECHSHOW – attendees, speaker, vendors. Especially speakers. TECHSHOW speakers enjoy talking to attendees about technology. See the speaker ribbon on an ID badge as an inviting to say hello, not as a barrier.

Pre-conference.

There’s a smartphone app for TECHSHOW. Download and install it in preparation. I’d also go over the agenda and identify the sessions you want to attend. TECHSHOW has always focused on education. It’s a conference where it makes sense to attend as many educational sessions as you can. The speakers always have a practical focus. Arrive at TECHSHOW with your list of the sessions you want to attend. Also, it’s OK to slip out of a session if it’s not what you want and move over to another session. The sessions are close to each other in location.

Wednesday Afternoon.

If you arrive on Wednesday, get yourself registered and get your name badge right away on Wednesday afternoon. Wear the badge so others know that you are attending TECHSHOW and introduce yourself to other attendees.

Wednesday Evening.

I’d recommend trying to get into the LexThink .1 event. It’ll be a fast, thought-provoking and fun session of twelve 6-minute presentations. Matt Homann and JoAnna Forshee know how to put on a great show. And it’s free. Make it your mission to talk to as many new people as you can.

There’s also an opening reception. I wouldn’t miss it.

Then take advantage of any opportunity to hang out with other attendees after the event in the hotel. A key point: you can’t really network from your hotel room.

Thursday.

Especially if you are a first-time attendee, but everyone should see TECHSHOW chair Reid Trautz’s intro address first thing in the morning. Reid is a great speaker and he’ll help you map our the highlights of TECHSHOW.

Then, make it your goal to wear yourself out by attending as many sessions as you can, visiting the exhibit floor and meeting as many people as you can. People are very welcoming at TECHSHOW. Find an empty seat at a table at lunch and invite yourself.

Also, take advantage of the Conference Concierge booth, Adrian Linares’s great contribution to the TECHSHOW. The Conference Concierge booth sits at the entrance to TECHSHOW is staffed by speakers and TECHSHOW Board members with the goal of answering all your questions. From directions to sessions and restrooms to signing up for Taste of TECHSHOW dinners to answering tech questions, this booth is the place for information. You’ll often find the speakers you want to meet at the booth helping out. It’s a great place to talk to speakers you’d like to meet. I always found the booth so much fun that I worked it even at times I hadn’t volunteered for.

If you’ve done your pre-work, you will have identified the sessions you want to attend and vendors you want to visit. I’ll recommend especially the two sessions I’ll be missing in action as a speaker. First, Allison Shields at 10:30 in the Meet the Authors session for our new book, LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers. Allison is so knowledgeable on LinkedIn and she’s planning to answer questions about how lawyers can best use LinkedIn. Then, at 2:00, check out the session called Coffee Shop Office: The Ethics of Mobile Computing, where Sharon Nelson and Tom Mighell will be speaking on the vital topic of mobile security. I’ve seen the slides and the session should be excellent.

End up your first full day with the traditional opening reception.

Did I really say end your day? Not at all. One of the great thing at TECHSHOW is the Taste of TECHSHOW dinners. Arranged by topic, these dinners allow about ten people to sign up for dinners at nearby restaurants hosted by topic experts. Some are already sold out, so check out what’s available online. You can also sign up at the Conference Concierge desk. Here’s a little-known tip: there are usually some last-minute cancellations, so check at the Concierge booth to see if a spot will open up for you. Also, watch for places other attendees are hanging out in the hotel in the evening and join in.

Friday.

Get up early and dive right in. Repeat the overloaded schedule from Thursday (get your money’s worth). I’ll recommend what would have been my other session at 3:30 called Running Your Practice Entirely in the Cloud: From Start Up to a Large Virtual Firm, with Chad Burton and Catherine Sanders Reach. Again, I know what will be presented and it should be a great session.

Make sure you spend time on Friday visiting all the vendors whose products you want to learn more about.

End the day with the Beer and Bloggers event, another Taste of TECHSHOW dinner or have dinner with new friends you’ve met. My motto: If there’s an event on the schedule, try to attend it.

Extend your evening by finding where people are hanging out at the hotel. You can learn a lot in these evening conversations.

Saturday.

It’s the good kind of tired, believe me. The Saturday sessions are usually excellent. I especially recommend Jim Calloway’s plenary session on the future of law practice. TECHSHOW closes with the traditional 60 Sites in 60 Minutes session.

Follow-up.

Whether you use LinkedIn, email or phone, make sure you stay in contact with the new friends you made. Most importantly, if you are not already a member of the ABA’s Law Practice Management Section, give very serious thought to joining the Section.

As I like to say, technology is more about people than it is about technology. Nothing proves my point more than TECHSHOW. I’m so disappointed I won’t be able to attend, but I hope this guide helps you get the greatest benefit from your experience.

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

View Dennis Kennedy's profile on LinkedIn

Follow my microblog on Twitter – @dkennedyblog. Follow me – @denniskennedy

The new book Allison Shields and I have written called “LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers” is now available. Also, The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.

Kennedy-Mighell Report Podcast
Noted legal technologists Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell bring listeners an in-depth analysis of the latest advancements in legal technology, in addition to best practices for utilizing existing tools.