LegalTech 2012 Wrapup

We finished our three days at LegalTech and have safely returned to Toronto. Our general impression was that there have not been any monumental changes in the e-Discovery technology industry since last year.  While there was some consolidation of products and vendors, the software systems available to litigators to deal with electronic records are pretty much the same as last year.  We did see some refinements and improvements in previous year’s new innovations, but nothing stood out to us as the next e-discovery solution.

While products were not much changed, we did note a change in the way the products were promoted.  Many vendors began their sales pitch by telling us why their competitors’ products did not work, and only their own products could meet our requirements. Perhaps this was due to it being a primaries year in the U.S., or it was a result of the lack of progress in software design since last year. Whatever the reason, it did somewhat dampen our overall experience. We most appreciated the vendors who proudly demonstrated their own wares without slamming the product next door.

​The lack of real innovation may be due to a maturing e-Discovery industry. But, we are still optimistic as both products and processes continue to improve.  The goal remains to develop solutions to reduce  the cost and effort to identify, collect, review and produce electronic information.