The 12th Clio Cloud Conference, Starting Monday, Will Be the Largest Yet, with A Heavy Emphasis on AI

Monday marks the beginning of the twelfth Clio Cloud Convention, and because the firm that produces it, Clio, continues to develop and increase, so too does the convention, with its largest-ever variety of attendees and its transfer from a single host lodge to the Austin, Texas, conference heart with attendees unfold throughout a lot of close by resorts.

With 2,600 individuals attending in particular person and a pair of,000 attending nearly, the 4,600 registrations signify a 20-fold improve over the 230 individuals who attended the very first ClioCon in 2013. (And, sure, I used to be there.)

(In case you have been on the fence about registering, there’s a low cost code on the finish of this publish.)

Main Deal with AI

On the convention, anticipate lots of time and power to be spent speaking about generative AI, Clio CEO and founder Jack Newton informed me throughout an advance briefing earlier right this moment.

As we close to the second anniversary of the launch of ChatGPT, AI has introduced us to an necessary second in authorized tech, Newton stated, and, reflective of that, Clio shall be making thrilling bulletins on the convention about AI, he stated, as will most of the 83 companion firms that shall be exhibiting there (additionally a document quantity).

“We’ve discovered quite a bit over the past yr and we’ve seen a expertise adoption cycle and a studying cycle that sometimes takes a decade-plus occur inside a yr with AI, which has been actually thrilling to see,” Newton stated. “It’s definitely the zeitgeist in authorized tech, and we’ll be spending lots of time and power at ClioCon speaking about AI.”

At ClioCon final yr, the corporate introduced its plans to launch Clio Duo, a proprietary generative AI that shall be constructed natively into all Clio merchandise. Though Clio has not but confirmed whether or not that launch shall be introduced on Monday, it’s prone to be the case.

Newton stated that the mix of AI inside Clio’s personal merchandise and the AI options coming from its integration companions may unlock “exponential worth” for authorized professionals and amplify the ability of a unified follow administration platform.

“We’ll have a lot of thrilling bulletins on that entrance to share on the keynote stage on Monday, after which we now have a lot of integration companions which might be bringing actually distinctive and highly effective AI capabilities to the desk in Clio as properly,” he stated.

For the primary time, the convention will embrace an “AI lounge,” the place attendees will be capable of sit down with AI consultants and be taught concerning the capabilities of AI inside Clio.

‘Large Sense of Momentum’

The theme of this yr’s convention is “momentum,” and Newton stated that’s acceptable given the accelerating adoption curve round AI and the truth that legal professionals are literally starting to combine AI into their day by day workflows.

He stated that this yr’s Authorized Developments Report, which shall be launched on the convention, will embrace noteworthy findings that present how aggressively legal professionals are adopting AI.

The report will present that the advantages of AI for legal professionals compound and have a flywheel impact, constructing momentum, decreasing the friction legal professionals expertise in their very own inner workflows, and decreasing the friction that purchasers expertise in working with them.

“One in all our objectives with ClioCon this yr goes to be leaving each attendee feeling like they’re leaving this convention with an enormous sense of power, an enormous sense of momentum, an enormous quantity of optimism round their potential to maneuver ahead and rework the way in which they follow legislation, rework the way in which they ship authorized providers to their purchasers.”

Tracks for Completely different Corporations

In July, Clio introduced a record-setting increase of $900 million, the biggest ever for a authorized tech firm, and stated on the time that the spherical would, amongst different issues, allow it to speed up its enlargement into extra mid-sized companies. Already, it counts greater than 1,000 mid-sized companies within the U.S. alone as prospects.

That enlargement of its market shall be mirrored within the programming at subsequent week’s convention, which is able to embrace a observe for mid-sized companies, together with tracks for solo and small companies.

Newton calls them “birds of a feather” tracks, the place companies that share widespread pursuits will be capable of come collectively, share concepts, community, and be taught from each other.

As Clio expands into the larger-firm market and in addition provides modules for extra specialised areas of follow, similar to its module for private damage legal professionals, that has led the corporate to evolve the way it thinks about delivering program and creating group at ClioCon, Newton stated.

“I believe all attendees share a ardour for innovation, a ardour for considering creatively about how they will evolve their follow, considering creatively about how the way forward for legislation seems to be,” Newton stated. “However then we see attendees more and more leveraging some specialised capabilities in Clio, … they usually can be taught quite a bit from one another if we put them in a room with each other.”

A Bigger Venue

Till this yr, ClioCon has all the time been held inside a single lodge venue, similar to for the final two years, when it was on the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville.

However with the expansion within the convention’s attendance, this yr it is going to be held in a convention heart. That implies that the attendees won’t all be in the identical lodge, and everybody must go away their lodge to attend packages.

Once I requested Newton if he was in any respect involved that this may have a detrimental impression on the sense of group that has characterised previous conferences, he stated that he believes the convention will nonetheless have the identical sense of group and place.

“That is within the good-problem-to-have class,’ he stated, in that the convention’s success has brought on it to outgrow the capability of most lodge venues.

He’s assured that the sense of group will carry by and stated ClioCon’s planners have been very deliberate about the right way to preserve that sense of area and group.

It even makes the convention extra inclusive, he stated, in that attendees have selections of resorts and value factors.

‘Summit on AI’

In a yr during which abuse and harassment points have been raised in reference to authorized tech conferences, I requested Newton what Clio is doing to safeguard attendees.

Though there has by no means been an incident at a ClioCon, he stated, the convention has a zero-tolerance coverage prohibiting abuse or harassment, and each attendee and vendor is required to comply with it.

“We really feel grateful that we’ve by no means seen an issue like that within the 12 years we’ve been doing ClioCon, and intend to maintain it that means by a really clear code of conduct and a really swift plan of action we’ll take if we do see any misbehavior on that entrance.”

With AI, Newton stated, the authorized career goes by an “explosive cycle of innovation,” much like the early days of the web, the place persons are discovering the artwork of the potential.

“Now we’re seeing in 2024, I believe, a chance to replicate on among the advances we’ve made, among the missteps we’ve had, and begin to actually chart a course for what the following 5 years will appear like with AI.

“I’m actually wanting on the convention as virtually a summit round AI and the way forward for authorized, and a uncommon alternative to get so many thought leaders in a single room.”

By the way in which, if you wish to be amongst these in that room, there’s nonetheless time to register, and when you use this low cost code, you will get half off the registration value.

LawNext readers can use the code “LAWNEXT” for a $49 digital move, or use this hyperlink: www.eventbrite.ca/e/715586407207/?low cost=LAWNEXT.

I hope to see you there.