The Cloud Descends on ABA TECHSHOW 2012

One needs to do little else than glance at the ABA TECHSHOW 2012 conference schedule and exhibitor list to get a sense of how quickly and dramatically cloud computing is reshaping the legal technology industry.

Four years ago at my first ABA TECHSHOW, there was one or two companies doing what we today call “cloud computing” on the exhibit hall floor (I remember this fondly because this is where we launched Clio). This year I count over 30 companies on the exhibit floor that either provide cloud-based software or cloud-enabled applications.

In 2008 there were no conference tracks on the cloud, or, as we called it then, “Software as a Service.” Thankfully, the breadth and depth of sessions on cloud computing at the conference has increased every year since. We’ve grown from a smattering of talks on the topic in 2009 to a full TECHSHOW conference tracks on cloud computing in 2012. This year featured four talks on cloud computing:

• How to Stay Safe in the Cloud by Natalie Kelly, Dan Siegel
• Is It All or Nothing? Popular Cloud Services and SaaS vs. Hosted Infrastructure by Debbie Foster, Ben Stevens
• Cloud Tools for Solos and Firms: What’s Out There? by Chad Burton, Nerino Petro, Bryan Sims
• Running Your Practice Entirely in the Cloud: From Start Up to a Large Virtual Firm by Chad Burton, Dennis Kennedy

Lawyers are often perceived as being slow to adopt new technology, but the ABA TECHSHOW shows there’s a committed group of technology-loving lawyers keen to prove otherwise.