Picking the Right Legal Tech Tools Ahead of ABA TECHSHOW

In this Law Practice Today podcast episode, recorded a week before ABA TECHSHOW, host Terrell interviews returning guest Alexander Paykin, a managing director of a commercial and real estate litigation/transactions firm and a leader on multiple bar and technology committees, including the ABA TECHSHOW planning. Paykin explains that legal tech choices are limited by category, so the key is identifying vendors that meet a firm’s needs, ethics, and security requirements and integrate with existing systems. He argues conferences like ABA TECHSHOW let lawyers quickly compare competing products, challenge vendor claims, and evaluate tools using their own scenarios rather than scripted demos. He shares examples of testing an automated process-service platform in a dummy case and benchmarking AI/legal research tools using questions whose answers are known, emphasizing training, prompt quality, and verifying outputs before relying on them.00:00 Vendor Showdown Teaser00:30 Podcast Intro Disclaimer01:09 Meet Alex Tech Insider03:08 Why Legal Tech Feels Small05:29 Why Conferences Beat Demos09:01 Tech Nutrition Label Checklist12:31 AI Research Reality Check15:18 Test Before You Trust18:42 Don’t Buy the Scripted Demo21:13 Wrap Up Links and Final TECHSHOW Pitch