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Sessions to attend at CLOC 2017: key themes at this year’s conference

Lauren Lee | April 28, 2017 | Articles

CLOC, the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium, recently released the session schedule for the upcoming CLOC Institute being held in Las Vegas. There are more than 70 informative sessions that tell the story of the changing dynamics in the legal operations industry.

Attending all isn’t likely, so how will you plan your agenda? We’ve broken down the agenda based on theme and called out a few top sessions to keep in mind. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Legal Tech and Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Companies of all sizes, from all industries, are starting to realize the importance of having a well-oiled, formal legal operations group to manage both internal and outside counsel spend. Often times, the efficiency of legal operations groups are further enhanced with technology.

That said, it’s no surprise that legal tech, specifically Artificial Intelligence (AI), is a hot topic at this year’s CLOC Institute. AI has started to make tangible improvements in the way in-house legal departments work, allowing these departments to make better informed decisions when it comes to outside spend and outside counsel management.

Sessions on AI and LegalTech:

  • KM+AI: Quick Wins through a Connected Ecosystem
    May 9th, 9:45am – 10:45am in the Monet Room
  • AI, LPM, and the Billable Hour
    May 10th, 9:45am – 10:45am in Monet 1
  • Using AI to Support Contract Management: Dirty Secrets and Best Practices
    May 11th, 9:00am – 10:00am in Monet 2

Managing Process & People

Mary O’Carroll, head of legal operations at Google and part of the executive leadership team at CLOC, was recently quoted in an interview encouraging legal ops professionals to leverage technology wherever and whenever possible. She also shared that “a successful [legal ops] solution has to be lightweight and built into the attorney’s current work process”.

As the adoption of legal tech grows, more emphasis is being placed on building technology into current legal ops processes; optimizing instead of replacing. As we look forward to the continued relationship between legal ops and technology, the next chapter is all about thoughtful planning, proper setup and implementation, expectation and people management, and reliable and ongoing support for new processes.

Sessions on Managing Process & People:

  • Best Practices in e-Billing System Implementations
    May 9th, 11:00am – 12:00pm in Grand Ballroom 8
  • Next Generation Enterprise Legal Management (ELM): People. Process. Automation.
    May 9th, 3:15pm – 4:15pm in Grand Ballroom 1
  • Let’s Not Talk about CLM Tools: Designing Contracting Solutions Around People and Processes
    May 10th, 11:00am – 12:00pm in Grand Ballroom 1

Working with Outside Counsel

The final piece of the story is how technology, knowledgeable in-house legal teams, and a wealth of data come together to enhance relationships with outside counsel. The idea goes beyond using data as a negotiation tool, instead focusing on how in-house legal and outside counsel can work jointly to achieve the same goal. It’s about building and creating lasting relationships that are mutually beneficial.

Sessions on Transparency and 3rd Party Relationships:

  • Outside Counsel Guidelines: The Why, What, and How
    May 9th, 1:15pm – 2:45pm in Grand Ballroom 1
  • Using Technology to Drive More Informed, Data-Driven Selection of Outside Counsel
    May 9th, 3:15pm – 4:15pm in Monet 4
  • Accruals Management: How to Work Smarter for More Accurate and Timely Estimates
    May 10th, 1:15pm – 2:15pm in Monet 4

Along with attending sessions, be sure to stop by the exhibit hall to meet with the sponsors that make the event possible. SimpleLegal will be at Booth 71 – come say hi and see a modern legal operations platform for matter management, spend management, accruals, and legal spend analytics. And be sure to enter your name for a chance to win a GoPro HERO5!

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