I am often asked which conferences are worth attending on this side of the Atlantic. There used to be several to choose from, but they have been supplanted by the events like Relativity Fest London and the Nuix Insider Conference which, although primarily dedicated to specific software solutions, have always made a good job of covering topics broader than their own solutions.
ILTA has an event in November, this year extended to two days. ACEDS supports first-rate evening events which attract good audiences. The best broadly-based, product-neutral event in the calendar is, however, held in Dublin every November.
The eDiscovery and Legal Technology Conference 2019 is run by La Touche Training in Dublin on 29 November. I have been to all but one of the previous five such events, generally moderating the closing discussion panel. I was booked to go this year, but now cannot go, my wife having been offered a long-awaited knee operation shortly before that date.
The agenda is here, set out in a rather more informative way than you see for most events. The conference always invites a star speaker from the US, always chosen for having messages which travel well, with application beyond their home jurisdiction. Last year it was Maura Grossman. This year it is Mary Mack, Executive Director of ACEDS, whose keynote address has the title What’s next: global opportunities in eDiscovery and legal tech.
Among the other speakers are Andy Ward of Nuix, Louise Delahunty of McCann FitzGerald, and Susanna Blanck of NightOwl Discovery. I interviewed the eloquent Susanna Blancke earlier this year, when she talked about international cross-border discovery, which is also the subject of her session in Dublin.
I will be very sorry to miss this event, not least because it would have given me the opportunity to moderate the closing discussion with Mary Mack and Louise Delahunty.
Dublin has a new importance thanks to Brexit, and it is well worth the short hop across the Irish Sea to hear about new developments and new opportunities in Ireland.