LTO Spotlight: ABA Legal Technology Resource Center (LTRC)

19
Jun
2012

Christy Burke

Featuring Josh Poje, Program Specialist at the ABA LTRC

Legal technology can seem obscure, confusing and remote for lawyers – and yet their lack of access to information means their practices unnecessarily suffer from inefficiency.  Fortunately the ABA provides a Legal Technology Resource Center (LTRC) for lawyers and other legal professionals to gather useful information.  Since the mid-80s, the LTRC has helped lawyers learn about the benefits of technology and how they can better use it in their practices.  LTO had the opportunity to have a Q & A with Josh Poje, Program Specialist at the Center. – Christy Burke

LTO: What is the history of the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center (LTRC) and what is its mission?

Josh: The LTRC’s core mission is to help lawyers find ways to implement technology in their practices efficiently, effectively, and ethically.  We’ve been doing that since the mid-1980s.  The Center developed ABA/net, which was the precursor to the ABA website, and we ran the ABA Technology Clearinghouse, where members could get printed packets of information on technology topics like case management, document assembly, and so forth.  We also hosted the Law Tech Center, a technology lab at the ABA’s Chicago headquarters where ABA members could test out all of the latest and greatest technology, hardware and software.

Most of our work transitioned to our website in the later 1990s and 2000s, but the mission has remained the same.  The big news recently is that we’ve joined the ABA Law Practice Management Section, best known in the legal tech community for hosting the annual ABA TECHSHOW conference.  Between TECHSHOW and LPM’s excellent technology books, we’re now working directly with some of the most prominent people in legal technology and practice management.

LTO:  What resources does the Center offer and how people can access them?

Josh: Our primary resource is the LTRC website.  Most everything we do eventually finds its way there.  We’ve recently launched a legal technology blog called Law Technology Today where we’re busy posting substantive content about a variety of topics—cloud computing, data security, metadata, and more.  We’re also in the process of putting together a monthly free webinar series that we hope will introduce lawyers and legal professionals to a lot of great technology and practical tips.

We’ve produced the annual ABA Legal Technology Survey Report for more than 20 years.  It’s one of the most comprehensive surveys of legal technology used by lawyers in private practice.  It differs from some of the other surveys out there in that we target lawyers directly, not their IT staff.  In 2012, we sent out our questionnaires to 75,000 ABA members in private practice, and we’re publishing the results in six topical volumes.  The survey is available in law libraries around the country, and it’s sold through the ABA web store.

LTO: Are you open to new suggestions of programs?  If so, in what areas?

Josh: Absolutely, we’re always interested in feedback and suggestions—both in terms of the topics we cover and the way we cover them.  I’m particularly interested in expanding some of our offerings for litigation support and e-discovery.  Those are daunting subjects for a lot of the solo and small firm practitioners we work with, and we’d welcome any way to make the subjects more approachable.

LTO: How can lawyers (and legal staff) participate?

Josh: We do limit some of our materials and programs to ABA members, but most are available to the full legal community via our website and our blog.  We recognize that non-lawyer staff members (i.e. paralegals, legal assistants, legal administrators, etc.) are often the ones handling firm technology, so we try make our content broadly applicable and accessible.  If lawyers or staff are interested in working actively with the Center, we welcome guest posts for the blog.  Members of the ABA’s Law Practice Management Section have the opportunity to work directly with the Center through our oversight board.  Following us on Twitter (@ltrc) is also a good way of staying on top of the latest LTRC work, and we’re always reachable at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

LTO: How can vendors participate?

Josh: One of the simplest ways vendors can work with us is to keep us informed about their products.  The more we know, the better we can understand how the products could work for our members and the lawyers who come to us with questions about legal technology.  Vendors are welcome to email product information to us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , and if time permits, I’m always happy to check out a demo or test out a product myself.  And, of course, there are a number of sponsorship opportunities available for our outreach programs.  For more information vendors should reach out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .