As one of my clients used to say when we discussed strategy for a case, “let’s be careful lest we find ourselves in a closet talking to ourselves too much”. Meaning, of course, you need to have divergent voices in the room from time to time to ensure the best outcomes.

Back To Basics

I thought about this when attending a recent national conference of litigation lawyers. Many of us who cover legal tech attend all sorts of tech conferences where, of late, the discussion have dominated by AI and its impact. That subject was certainly discussed at my lawyer conference. But lots of other topics were discussed as well. The presenters discussed and offered insights into what litigators do every day. Here’s a sample of what was talked about:

  • Winning strategies for court and arbitration.
  • How to effectively counter personal injury claims.
  • Selection and preparation of expert witnesses.
  • How to deal with disciplinary claims for young lawyers.
  • The path to lawyer wellness.
  • Handling cybersecurity issues and breaches as lawyers.
  • Cultivating future law firm leaders.
  • Discovery using public records, electrons and social media.
  • How to prepare for and deal with nuclear verdicts.

The discussions were practical, and nuts and bolts oriented. The conference reminded me that for all our interest in AI, it’s not necessarily top of the mind for many lawyers. Lawyers still have to practice law. They still have to take depositions. Some still have to try cases. This is their job and their profession. 

AI? It’s just a tool to these guys. Some understand and use these AI tools, but technology isn’t the center of their professional universe. All of us in the legal tech community need to pause and remember this particularly when we wonder about the slow of adoption of AI and tech in general. We need to perhaps focus more on how legal tech will be a better tool for what lawyers do everyday.

Diversity

This same principle for the need for outside perspectives and to my client’s good point was the subject of one other panel presentation that deserves mention. This presentation dealt with the issue of diversity and why it’s important to lawyers. The key point: lawyers are in the business of persuasion. But the people we persuade—judges, juries, clients even adversaries—are often diverse. They may be different than you, they come from different backgrounds and culture. Without teams composed of diverse members, you can’t hope to effectively persuade those who are different than you. Diverse team members help you see around corners and identify blind spots. The tell you things you don’t think of.

And diversity is not just about race. It’s about economic diversity; it’s about those who went to different schools than you did. It’s about making room for those who communicate and learn differently than you. We can’t be successful particularly in front of diverse juries if we don’t have diverse voices in our room.

The panel talked about all these things. But like many of the presenters, this panel also focused on nuts and bolts. How to attract diverse people. How to retain them. How to make them comfortable so they feel safe to offer their views and opinions.

The Bottom Line

Which brings me back to my client. The conference itself was a reminder to me not to spend all my time talking to people in legal tech without exposure to other audiences. And that last panel: it was a reminder to us all of the value of diversity. Diversity is not just the right thing to do; it’s should be at the core how we do our jobs of persuading and communicating with others.

So again, let’s be careful lest we find ourselves in a closet talking to ourselves too much: whether it’s about tech or building effective teams.