40 years of ABA Techshow: Past chairs reflect on evolution of technology
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
As the landmark 40th annual ABA Techshow wrapped up in Chicago on Saturday morning, 14 former Techshow chairs reflected on how much technology has changed and evolved over the years—and how much it has not.
Using a format similar to the popular “60 in 60” session, the various former chairs looked back at the last 40 years, waxing poetic about bygone devices once loved and/or relied on by lawyers (Blackberry, fax machines, AOL, CDs and floppy disks), pointing out their prescience (the rise of AI, for instance, was first discussed at Techshow 2005) and expressing amazement at how far things have progressed (one of the first portable document scanners purported to be able to scan up to 50 pages—not per minute).
“We once did a presentation on online dispute resolution and we were labeled as heretics,” said David Bilinsky, former law practice management advisor to the Law Society of British Columbia, who served as chair in 1998 and 1999.
Some tips and suggestions have remained timeless. Tom Mighell, chief operating officer at Contoural Inc., who chaired in 2008 and co-chaired in 2018, pointed out that the need for a password manager remains as important today as it was when they became readily available in the ’00s. “I don’t care what it is you use, you should be using something for security,” he said. “Hacking is not an ‘if,’ it’s a ‘when.’”
Fourteen former chairs of ABA Techshow gathered to commemorate the 40th annual event. (Photo by Victor Li/ABA Journal)The session also underscored how technology is always improving and changing, and vendors, manufacturers and even users must keep up with the breakneck pace of innovation. Reid Trautz, senior director of the Practice and Professionalism Center at the American Immigration Lawyers Association, pointed to the much-loved Blackberry as an example of a company that made a great product and had lots of loyal fans, but it stood pat when it should not have.
“They did not innovate even though they were still outselling Apple as of 2011,” Trautz, who chaired in 2012, said. “Tech is always evolving and getting better. It will never be as primitive as it is today.”
It’s the rare thing that manages to catch lightning in a bottle and never have to change or evolve. Trautz pointed out three such websites that he highlighted during his “60 in 60” session from 2012: Awkward Family Photos, Kitten Cannon and Poop Senders. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” he said with a laugh.
Follow along with the ABA Journal’s coverage of the ABA Techshow 2025 here.
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