LTNY Thank-Yous & Shout-Outs

MP900227654 Stand by for the required disclaimer:  On the one hand, I'm a licensed attorney – creating unique ethical issues – on the other hand, I'm a member of the California State Bar's executive committee for the Law Practice Management and Technology section – creating additional unique ethical issues.  Although my site already has a disclaimer, I'd like to remind you that these are my personal comments alone and are not made in my capacity as an attorney; neither should they be construed as an endorsement by the California State Bar.  I also must remind you that the organizers provided me a complimentary all-access pass, based on my status as a "legitimate blogger" (I know, but it's subjective, isn't it…).

Paranoid, much?

Now for the dilemma.  Everything I just said is fine and good, but hey, vendors are people, too!  Some of them are friends, some of them are colleagues and some of them are just plain nice people.  And when they do good things, they deserve credit.  I'm, hoping to write you my full summary of the conference tomorrow (possibly in multiple parts), but yesterday was a 22-hour ordeal, I'm dead tired (even coffee won't save me) and I'd like to give you these highlights while the details are still fresh in my mind:

  • Monica Bay:  Unless you've attended a conference this large, it's impossible to describe the enormous amount of moving parts involved.  Yet, somehow Monica and her team get it done, year after year, both in NY and LA.  All I can say is, thanks and well done!
  • FTI Consulting:  I attended two sessions sponsored by FTI.  Both were heavy on the things I need; content and case law.  There's nothing wrong with sessions that provide a basic overview – plenty of the newer players in this space need this badly and get a lot out of it – but personally, I'm more interested in the future.  Both FTI sessions were outstanding.
  • Kroll Ontrack:  Sandwiched in-between FTI's sessions was another outstanding session on Data Breach and Security Trends from my partners at Kroll.  As you know, I've severely limited my partnerships, but there's a reason I selected Kroll.  They may be huge, but they've got some very smart minds on their team and it shows.
  • Sarah Brown/exterro:  I knew Sarah prior to the conference for her comments on this blog, but I met her in person and did a small interview with her (I had 10 minutes between appointments).  Sarah is a good example of where our space is heading in the future – from a human standpoint.  Check out their blog.
  • Ralph C. Losey:  If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that Ralph Losey is one of my favorites.  I was already scheduled to attend his session on predictive coding, but ran smack into him earlier in the day (more on that in my summary).  He has a new educational venture that he recently launched, so check it out.
  • Mary Mack/Zylab:  Mary is one of the heavy hitters and I was fortunate to attend Zylab's function the evening before leaving.  I've been following her work for years, but nothing substitutes for face-to-face conversation.
  • George Socha:  Poor George…every time I see him, I rib him mercilously, but he always takes it in good humor.  Along with his colleague, Tom Gelbmann, they've created a new e-discovery resource, Apersee.  I wish them luck!
  • Mr. Bow Tie Law:  I stopped by the D4 booth because I wanted to meet Joshua Gilliland, who writes the Bow Tie Law blog (link on my blogroll).  Obviously, he's an easy man to identify!

If I forgot anyone (which is likely), my apologies.  On top of that, there's a list of people I wanted to meet, but either time was simply not going to allow it, I couldn't locate them or I didn't find out they were there until it was too late.

All in all, it was a very successful conference for me and I'm glad I decided to attend.  I look forward to LTWC 2011 this coming May.