8th ABA DR Section meeting wrap-up

I was fortunate to get to sit in on the class arbitration update yesterday, where we heard from Ballard Spahr Partner Alan Kaplinsky, UNLV Law Prof Jean Sternlight, and AAA General Counsel Eric Tuchmann on the latest developments in class arbitration proceedings. I finally had the opportunity to personally thank Mr. Kaplinsky and Prof. Sternlight for being such valuable resources while I was researching the impact of CAFA on class action and class arbitration waivers last year.

I also received an update from Jeffrey Aresty on his "reverse mentoring" program:

Basically, the idea is that most lawyers over the age of 40 are going to find the pace of technological change so fast that if they are interested in learning the technology to use it in their practice setting, new technology will replace what they've just learned just as fast. Up until now, this has not been a problem because today's 'legal complex' is still based on paper, places and people. Even with the internet, technology doesn't change the legal process as we know it. It is similar to e-filing in a court setting - all that e-filing does is expedite the filing process and your ability to receive information from the court about the docket - it doesn't change the fact that people still go to court for hearings, and it is paper based interactions that we are adjudicating.

Reverse mentoring is the opportunity young lawyers, law students, and people who are interested in technology and the law to work with lawyers and judges who have the caseloads, to help them adapt to the new technologies in their practice settings. So, for example, in my role as a practicing attorney, helping me adapt to using online tools for communications, collaboration, brainstorming, and so forth, gives a younger person the chance to 'mentor' me (reverse mentoring) and gain the benefit of working with me on my matters.

I think it's a great idea, but as with any mentoring relationship, the "reverse proteges" must be willing participants in the process. Overcoming the natural resistance to change may be easier said than done in a lot of cases and the change really needs to be initiated from the top-down to have a good chance of success. You also need to be prepared to run into even more resistance from support staff who feel threatened by the technological advances that may make a lot of their repetitive tasks obsolete.

For more information, Mr. Aresty also maintains a blog as President of the InternetBar.