The inaugural Knowledge Management & Innovation for Legal Conference (KM&I) may have been a new event, but it carried the legacy of the ARK Group’s annual KM conference in New York City. The previous conference was led for eight years by Patrick DiDomenico, president, and founder of InspireKM Consulting. Co-chairing with him was Joshua Fireman, president and founder of the strategic consulting firm Fireman & Company.
However, when ARK decided to move the conference to Chicago last year, the regular attendees, many of them located in New York, were discontented. This led DiDomenico and Fireman to organize a KM conference of their own in their preferred location, Manhattan.
The new event, christened KM&I, was a resounding success, selling out connected exhibit spaces and attendance slots. The conference was an enriching knowledge-wealth for attendees, providing substantive, engaging, and thought-provoking discussions related to legal practice innovations and trends.
The conference offered nine plenary sessions spanning a variety of KM and innovation topics, five breakout sessions focused on specific topics, and two keynotes delivered by Andrea Alliston and Mark Smolik.
The range of practical programs impressed many, with professionals and industry veterans sharing insights and experiences that attendees could implement in their roles. The discussions covered a wide range of themes: the construction of a firm-wide KM program, driving innovation within a law firm, getting buy-in for process automation and legal tech adoption, building cultures of innovation, using KM and innovation for business and client development, practical implementations of AI in law firms, enhancing relationships with KM and innovation vendors, and more.
The conference took place at 360 Madison Avenue. The well-designed venue offered spacious meeting and lobby areas along with private rooms for meetings and breakout groups.
The event commenced on a somber note as Joshua Fireman led a moment of silence in honor of the recent passing of Michael Mills, a prominent figure in the field of KM.
Summarizing the importance of this conference in a statement by keynote speaker Mark Smolik, “Knowledge is power.” This embodies the purpose of the inaugural event – to harness the power of collective knowledge and imagine new ways of using these tools for better access and utilization.
One of the conference goals, as expressed by DiDomenico, was to enable attendees to walk away with a list of things they could do better. It remains evident from the event’s turnout and execution that the organizers accomplished their aim.
The conference confirms the importance of such events, shedding light on emerging trends while promoting learning and collaboration among legal professionals from around the globe. Read more in the original article from "Above the Law".