A Message From the Editor I’m really bad at cleaning up my work area. It’s always been an issue, but it’s gotten even worse since I’ve regularly been attending legal tech conferences. In a side drawer as I type this are two different ILTACON bags (2018 and oddly 2015), a software company-branded stress ball, a different software company-branded water bottle, an executive search firm’s notebook, and enough pens to write War and Peace. And I’ve looked at all of this stuff… once? Maybe? That’s why the Gag-the-Swag initiative that Frank Ready reported on earlier this week interests me. Of course companies want visitors to their booths at trade shows, but it would seem to me there has to be a better way than handing out random merchandise. I particularly enjoyed NSCP’s Lisa Crossley noting, “When you look at it a lot of it is just trash. It’s just like is somebody really going to use this squishy ball?” It remains to be seen whether the industry agrees. Indeed, some conference organizers in Frank’s article are skeptical. But to me, the thought is a good one. Inside that initiative and more in this week’s Editor’s Picks. – Zach Warren, editor-in-chief, Legaltech News |