With technology evolving at an alarming rate it is increasingly important to continue to develop knowledge in an area of the law where the technology and practices are constantly evolving. Recently, LawTalk published an article of mine World’s largest legal technology event (a link to the article can be found here). The article detailed my visit back in February to New York for LegalTech.

The article outlined (mainly to a New Zealand audience), the significance of LegalTech and why I continually attend on an annual basis to ensure I keep abreast of the latest developments in an industry that continues to evolve year on year. The article looked in detail at

• What LegalTech is;
• Why it is increasingly important to attend;
• The common themes coming out of LegalTech; and
• How attending helps bring the latest developments back to the New Zealand market.

Industry importance of upfront investment

The article addressed how the challenges faced by those in New Zealand are similar to those practicing in most other jurisdictions.

Most jurisdictions have similar requirements to New Zealand, which all place greater importance on the upfront investment to ensure the discovery process can be carried out in a proportionate and reasonable manner, with the various technologies being the tools to help facilitate this.

Since the New Zealand discovery rules came into force in 2012, it is now essential to invest more time at the outset of a matter to strategically plan the best approach.

The focus is on moving away from manual processes of the past, especially when it comes to reviewing documents. There is now industry acceptance that solely human review is no longer possible if we want to reduce the burden and cost of the process. The focus is on technology that maximises the expertise of lawyers to make decisions better.

Providing clients with the latest advice

My attendance at events like LegalTech can assist in ensuring my clients in New Zealand can benefit from the most up-to-date advice and guidance around the most effective industry practices and tools available. 

The exposure to the latest developments and practices will provide greater options for New Zealand firms to help them reduce the burden and cost of eDiscovery. Often New Zealand law firms are isolated from the key developments in this fast changing industry, which can lead to many unnecessary costs. Embracing some of these options will help to simplify the exercise for New Zealand lawyers.

This is becoming increasingly important with the considerable changes now happening in the New Zealand market with many organisations now looking at the options to move away from their legacy in-house eDiscovery tools.

To assist the process, one significant trend is the annual software licences of many in-house products, which provide the opportunity for organisations to re-evaluate their options on an annual basis. To do this it is important to be aware of the latest developments as technology can evolve considerably in 12 months.

Many of the themes from LegalTech were discussed in further detail at the 2nd Annual New Zealand eDiscovery Conference last month. To manage electronic evidence in all its forms and successfully conduct electronic discovery under the New Zealand discovery rules, it is now essential for all involved in litigation to have a greater understanding of the entire electronic discovery process. Attending an event like LegalTech can help keep up to date with the best practices that can reduce the burden and cost of managing information electronically.

I will be back again at LegalTech in 2015 – I wonder if I will again be the sole representative from the New Zealand eDiscovery and legal technology industry.