ICYMI: CLOC CGI 2023

I just returned from Las Vegas after a great few days with the LinkSquad sponsoring and speaking at the 2023 CLOC Global Institute conference (CGI 2023) in Las Vegas. This annual gathering brings together legal operations, GCs, technologists, and industry experts from across the globe to discuss innovative strategies and approaches to the legal profession. This year, I had the privilege of hearing from a wide variety of expert speakers, including Alisa De Dominicis, Celina Caprio, Ari Kaplan, Michelle Chuor, and our very own Tim Parilla. We connected with incredible customers and partners, exchanged ideas, and explored new opportunities. 

We hosted an epic party at the Picasso overlooking the famous Bellagio fountain to celebrate our latest addition to the legal technology platform, LinkSquares Prioritize. We spoke with the press. We spoke with industry analysts. We spoke with our competitors. We reconnected with colleagues. And yes, some of us may have done a little bit of gambling. Overall, it was an invaluable opportunity that left both in-house professionals and the technology vendors that serve them feeling inspired and motivated to keep pushing the boundaries of what's possible in legal today and in the future!

Here are a few central topics I tuned into at CGI 2023.

• Data-driven decision-making. In Tuesday’s roundtable session, Metrics that Matter: How to Get Ahead with Contract Analytics, we learned from legal operations leaders Ashlyn Donahue, Celina Caprio, and Michelle Chuor how legal teams can and should be using data to make decisions and measure their team’s impact and value. 
• Maximizing efficiency in tough times. Practical advice was shared on boosting efficiency while minimizing costs in legal operations management. Attendees heard from experts on process optimization, budgeting best practices, and legal technologists about the various solutions available for streamlining processes. Every little bit helps. 
• Build a cross-functional support group. In our panel led by CLO Tim Parilla called Making the Business Case for CLM, we heard from legal operations leader Dee Venello of Commvault on how critical it is for legal operations professionals to form connections across all key departments of the business, especially if you are seeking buy-in for things like new processes or technology implementations. How do you develop these connections in the first place? Start by helping out. Find out each team's pain point and where you may be able to assist. Helping one another out is often contagious.  
• The risks vs. rewards of generative AI. From new feature launches to the speakers on stage, it was clear that generative AI was the most popular and thought-provoking guest at the legal technology party. In one popular panel, I’m talking bodies on the floor, a group of in-house legal operators discussed practical and impactful AI use cases for legal teams, focusing on contracts, invoicing, and redlining examples. The panel highlighted how generative AI can automate mundane tasks - like redlining and content summaries - and free up time for more complex and creative work. However, the session ended with a deeper discussion on the potential challenges and legal implications around data privacy, security, and possible biases in AI-generated content. I have a feeling this conversation is just getting started. 

So, there you have it! The LinkSquad left the event feeling empowered, connected, and prepared to continue driving transformation across businesses around the world with our industry-leading legal technology. 

Bottom line: CGI 2023 is an excellent opportunity to learn about leading legal operations in today's fast-paced industry from some of the brightest minds in the field. We can’t wait to do it all again next year! 

PS - In case you missed it! We started the conference by sharing some exciting news you can learn about here.