The Legal X Conference takes place this week in Park City, Utah, running from Thursday, September 14 through Friday, September 15. Legal X focuses on issues in Plaintiff Law, and takes place at the Treasure Mountain Inn at the top of Park City’s Main Street
I’ll be speaking this year. My topic is “Set Your Practice on Auto-Pilot,” and I’ll be talking about automation tools to up your personal productivity game. Other topics will cover how to hire and train your staff, effective case management strategies, facilitating the intake process, and more.
I believe there are still a few openings, so you can register for the conference.
I’ve mentioned this already on Twitter, but realized I’ve never discussed it here – back in October, I put Han Solo on trial, and I have the video to prove it. I acted as the prosecutor and Edward Paskey, Esquire acted as defense counsel in a mock trial before the Honorable Joseph C. Adams, President Judge of the York County Court of Common Pleas. The name of the case was The Galactic Empire v. Han Solo, and it was presented before approximately 60 “jurors” who were on hand to get a CLE credit.
The point of the “trial” was to demonstrate the use of the iPad and other technology in the courtroom. After making our closing arguments, Attorney Paskey and I deconstructed how we used technology in our respective cases, including the use of timelines, medical exhibits and models, exhibit annotations, maps, transcript call outs, and more. The main tools we used were TrialPad and Keynote.
Judge Adams recorded the trial, and edited it into a final product that is quite slick:
I don’t practice criminal law, which is probably obvious from the video. In preparation, I also worked backwards – I started with the technology and videos I wanted to demonstrate, and tried to craft a somewhat coherent argument around them. While this isn’t how you would want to handle a real case, I think the “trial” went off well for its intended purpose.
I’ve uploaded a digital version of the information we gave to attendees at the trial/seminar.
I want to give a special thank you to Mark Metzger, from whom we stole the idea. He did something similar at the MacTrack Legal Conference (then called MILOfest) in Orlando in 2015.1 Mark was also kind enough to send me many of the Star Wars assets we used in the trial.
If you use a Mac, this conference is a must-attend. ↩
If you’re a lawyer interested in technology, ABA TECHSHOW should be right up your alley. I’m excited to announce that I’ll be presenting at the conference this year. The conference and expo takes place from March 15-18 at the Hilton Chicago. TECHSHOW regularly draws over 2000 attendees and 100 exhibitors. Whether it be the conference sessions, the massive EXPO hall, or just rubbing elbows with fellow geeks, this is a really fun and educational few days.
I’ll be co-presenting at two sessions on March 17:
Set Your Mac on Auto-Pilot, with Katie Floyd, at 9 a.m.
Your Office, Don’t Leave Home Without It, with Channa Loyd, at 3:45 p.m.
Registration is open now, with early bird pricing through January 30UPDATE: Early bird pricing has been extended through February 13. You can find pricing and registration here:
The MacTrack Legal conference, formerly known as Milofest, takes place at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club in Orlando, Florida from October 6 to 8. If you’re a lawyer who uses a Mac or other Apple devices, this is the best conference of the year. I attended last year, and the sessions were fantastic. While the conference is tech-focused, there are other practical and substantive topics as well.
Beyond the sessions, though, the conference is worth attending just to mix with other Mac lawyers. I have yet to attend a conference with a friendlier group of people from all over the country. It’s a bonus that much of the banter among attendees covers Macs, other tech topics, and practice-related matters.
I’m going to attend and speak at the conference again this year (my bio isn’t on the site yet, but I’ll be there). My topic will be “Workflows and Tools for Mobile Lawyers.” I’ll also be part of “The Ultimate Gear Off” panel with Katie Floyd (Mac Power Users Podcast), Brett Burney, and Mark Metzger.
I hope to see some of you there. Come early or stay late, and take in Disney.
I’ve been using an iPad Pro for more than three months, and while my MacBook Pro is my workhouse, the iPad Pro has found an essential place in my workflow. Since I’m a couple of years overdue on posting a numbered list, here are a ten examples of how I use it.
