12.04.20: Vindication for Virtual Conferences, Plus the Panel's Top Stories

Virtual legal conferences have been a recurring topic on Legaltech Week, as we've debated the highs and lows of presenting conferences online. But panelist Niki Black has persisted in pushing the idea of virtual conferences. This week, the virtual conference concept got vindicated, as several panelists attended the virtual E-Discovery Day event produced by EDRM.net, complete with avatars. In this week's episode, we share our experiences and opinions with the virtual conference format.  Other stories our panel of legaltech journalists discuss this week include: Exterro's nine-figure acquisition of AccessData, the federal judiciary's surreptitious lobbying against making PACER free, the expansion of trial court research and analytics company Trellis into Illinois and Delaware, hackers targeting the COVID-19 distribution chain, law firms doing business cases on contingency, and a lawsuit reminder of why lawyers should use email encryption.  This week's panelists are: Nicole Black, legal technology columnist and legaltech evangelist at MyCase; Stephen Embry, author of TechLaw Crossroads; Victor Li, assistant managing editor of the ABA Journal; Molly McDonough, media consultant, former publisher and editor-in-chief of the ABA Journal; Joe Patrice, editor, Above the Law; and Zach Warren, editor in chief of Legaltech News. Bob Ambrogi of LawSites blog and LawNext podcast moderates.