Read All About It: How We Find LegalTech News
Whether it’s editorial, hard, or even just fake, news is all around us and is now a feature of most of the applications and platforms we use every day. Theoretically, it’s never been easier to keep up to date with what’s going on around us, and yet the task of wading through a never-ending stream of articles has also meant it’s never been harder.
News in the LegalTech world is no different. With technologies advancing at an unprecedented rate, keeping on top of how tech is being used in the sector can be tricky. But as a LegalTech research team, it’s vital that we not only understand the core elements of LegalTech, but also keep our finger on the pulse.
As such, our team of three takes it in turns to hunt around for the juiciest stories of the week and write a weekly news roundup for the rest of the team. As mentioned above, it can be difficult to know where to start navigating the world of LegalTech news, given that there’s always a story unfolding somewhere. So, what’s our process?
Firstly, if we hear about a LegalTech event, we’re probably attending. And luckily, with the rise of online and hybrid events, we’re able to attend events in Swansea and New York in the same afternoon. Attending events allows us to not only hear from professionals on a variety of subjects but to understand the bigger picture. After all, we rely on the stories and experiences of others to shape our understanding on a subject, and this helps us to later relay updates in industry.
One such event is the LegalTech week roundtable which is a free Zoom webinar in which the top news stories in LegalTech and innovation are discussed by a panel of journalists and bloggers. The webinar is hosted by lawyer and journalist, Bob Ambrogi who writes for Lawsites and Above the Law and hosts the LawNext podcast. Although the panel members vary from week to week, the panel usually includes LegalTech columnist at MyCase, Nicola Black, editor in chief of Legal IT Insider, Caroline Hill, and editor of Above the Law, Joe Patrice.
As a weekly news roundup, it is interesting to have the insight from panellists from different backgrounds and who are based in different locations around the US and the UK. The event takes place every Friday at 8pm. Maybe not how you imagined spending a Friday evening, but with a surprisingly relaxed atmosphere for an online event, it’s a good way to unwind at the end of a busy week.
Aside from events, our main go-to for information is social media. Why? Well, as a story unfolds, people are likely to turn to Twitter or LinkedIn to post an update or their own commentary on the story. It’s also much quicker to scan your newsfeed for posts and headlines than it is to read full articles. By attending a lot of events, you also start to recognise names of those who appear frequently within the space and following them on social media is a great way to keep up to date as well as understanding a bit more about where the experts themselves get their news.
Last but certainly not least, is visiting our reliable friend, Google. Resources such as Artificial Lawyer, legaltechnology.com and law.com are extremely useful to cover both new investments in industry, as well as any new technologies that are due to be introduced to the sector. Reviewing as many reliable sources as possible helps to fill in any gaps and highlight any stories that are consistently being talked about.
And that’s it! If you’d like to keep up to date with what we get up to in the Legal Innovation Lab Wales (LILW), make sure to follow us on social media and keep an eye on our website.