Techshow's '60 in 60' features mix of tips and tools for lawyers
What busy lawyers wouldn’t want apps and advice that improve both their personal and professional lives?
That was a common theme during “60 in 60,” the final fast-paced event at ABA Techshow on Saturday that featured the latest tips, technologies and tools in 60 minutes or less.
Among many multi-purpose tools, ABA Techshow co-chair Patrick Wright highlighted Vasco Translator Q1, which allows you to translate calls, texts and images.
“I love traveling, but I also have cases where I have documents from other countries,” said Wright, the managing partner of the Wright Firm in the Dallas-Fort Worth area who referred to one involving a lot of Japanese and Chinese texts. “I wish I would’ve had this then.”
“It also has a photo translator, so you can translate menus, timetables—it’s a really neat product,” he added.
The slides for the full presentation are available here.
Brett Burney, the other Techshow co-chair, highlighted another product that benefits lawyers on the go: gallium nitride power chargers. They’re not silicon-based like older chargers, which means they’re more efficient and don’t get as hot, he said. Many options, including the PlugBug from Twelve South, allow you to charge multiple devices at one time.
“So, instead of carrying four different adapters, I have one I carry that I plug all four [devices] into,” said Burney, the founder of Burney Consultants in Ohio. “It gives you more power.”
Artificial intelligence tools were the talk of Techshow, and the same held true at “60 in 60.”
Follow along with the ABA Journal’s coverage of the ABA Techshow 2026 here.
Ruby Powers, a member of the Techshow board, introduced several AI-powered options for increasing work productivity. Candle AI, which was this year’s second-place Startup Alley finisher, can read your case data to draft professional emails that sound like you, she said.
Other tools Powers found helpful are DraftyAI, which generates drafts of complex immigration motions, petitions and contracts; and Google NotebookLM, which can turn a complex file into an AI-generated “podcast” with its new audio overview feature.
“It could be a file or an article, and what I’ll do is I’ll upload it so when I’m driving somewhere, I can be listening, learning and getting to where I need to go at the same time,” said Powers, an immigration attorney from Houston, Texas.
Skribe.AI, a digital court reporting platform; Plaud, an AI note taker; and Trellis, an AI-powered legal research platform for state trial courts, were a few of the other tools discussed by the panelists.
Tools that don’t rely on AI but boost productivity just the same also made the list of 60 recommendations.
Burney offered several tips involving the iPhone, including how to use it to scan documents and add Face ID to specific apps to boost security. He also provided advice on how to more efficiently use Microsoft Word. For instance, he demonstrated how to narrow changes made in a document to one specific person.
Shawn Holahan, the fourth panelist who is also a member of the Techshow Board, brought up several tangible assets lawyers could use in their daily lives. Among these were a travel printer, a portable monitor and an airplane-worthy phone mount.
“This allows you to hook it to a tray table,” Holahan, practice management and loss prevention counsel for the Louisiana State Bar Association, said of the phone mount. “It can also act as an impromptu podium if you need it for a Zoom call.”
Judging by the audience’s reaction, Holahan also highlighted one of the event’s most intriguing products: Al Dente Red, a floating timer that sings in different tunes, including “That’s Amore!” and the theme from The Godfather when pasta is ready.
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