Thomson Reuters VANTAGE EMEA 2013

22
Sep
2013

Joanna Goodman

Legal IT Professionals and Legal IT Today attended Thomson Reuters Elite VANTAGE EMEA regional user conference at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel in London. Notwithstanding a busy week for legal IT events, it was well attended by representatives of law firms from across the UK, with standing room only in some sessions. The programme included keynotes from Thomson Reuters senior executives, discussion roundtables on trends, challenges and best practices, and user group meetings covering specific product lines as well as celebrating Thompson Reuters' 14-year partnership with the Williams F1® Team.

The opening keynotes focused on three hot topics: mobility, cloud and business intelligence, with particular emphasis on data management, visualisation and distribution. Allison Guidette, senior vice president and managing director large law firms segment, explained how different products work together to help law firms practice, manage and grow. Elisabet Hardy, vice president, product management and marketing, outlined new directions and developments. A central theme was integration - between Elite's various offerings and also between Elite and third-party products. The demonstrations that followed included mobile apps for existing and new offerings.

Of course VANTAGE had its own app too - a lot of conferences these days have excellent apps which are incredibly helpful provided the venue has good connectivity, which the Park Plaza does.

In terms of other sessions, the presentation by James Frost of Quorum Legal on the IT implications of law firm mergers was particularly apposite, given the continued convergence of the legal and legal IT markets. 

A special highlight was the inspiring keynote from Louise Evans, finance director of the Williams F1® Team. Thomson Reuters has partnered with the Williams F1® Team for 14 years and shares many of its core values.  At Williams F1® the challenges are intense as the product lifecycle is just 20 months from initial design to obsolescence. Therefore, speedy innovation and efficient processes are crucial. Success equates to winning the race. However, a genuine focus on innovation also means factoring in mistakes, which in Formula One is - literally - a car crash! Other shared challenges include increased regulation and the need to balance high-performance engineering with financial performance. Evans explained how Williams F1® leverages its creativity by applying its innovation to fuel efficiency and the development of hybrid vehicles - including trams and buses! 

Another critical success factor for the Williams F1® business model is attracting and retaining top creative talent. Looking ahead, Evans believes that the winning law firms will combine innovation, efficiency and transparency - in the sense that everyone in the business shares its strategic objectives and core values.

The exhibit hall networking event featured a broad selection of Elite's partner organisations which included some familiar names in legal IT from both sides of the Atlantic: DWReporting, eknow.net, Nuance, Professional Plus Solutions and Worldox - to mention just a few. Other exhibitors included Macmillan Cancer Support. Delegates were able to try a Williams Formula One simulator, which is an adaptation of the advanced immersive formula simulator used to train Williams F1® drivers.

VANTAGE is focused on informing and educating Elite users, but Thomson Reuters' range is so broad that it covers many major trends - and aspirations - across legal services generally and legal IT and it was a privilege to attend.

Thanks are due to Thomson Reuters Elite for an informative and inspiring event. It was great to have the opportunity to catch up with Elite's US and UK teams.