With last week’s wonderful
Annual Conference still ringing in our ears, and the huge diversity of topics
and issues showcased during the day, I think that we can all agree that the
techlaw sector is increasingly central to all business
activity.
But how is the sector doing?
Not just in terms of our membership but in terms of the business (in its widest
sense) that we conduct? Is it growing, shrinking, expanding into new areas?
What do our members think are the most fertile areas of techlaw work? And what do
we think about some of the major techlaw issues of the day? We are uniquely
placed to provide the answers to these questions and if we do, then we will
better understand our position in the technology ecosystem and others will
better understand our role within it.
All of which explains why at
the Annual Conference last week I was delighted to announce a new initiative
for 2019: the SCL Barometer, a hopefully annual snapshot of SCL activity and
the thoughts of our members. More ambitiously we are also seeking to quantify
the size of our sector so that we can set a baseline for better understanding
our industry so we can assess how it evolves year on year.
So this email is a call for
your help. To make the Barometer work we need your input. The SCL team will be
sending out an online questionnaire this month to start the data gathering
process. They’ll be asking for your thoughts on where your work is coming from,
how technology is used in your own daily routines and for your opinions on some
of the current big issues. They’ll also be seeking suggestions for who to
contact in your organisation to discuss in more detail issues such as future
business planning, recruitment and cybersecurity.
Armed with the results the
plan is to publish the Barometer in Spring 2019 for distribution to members,
national and legal media and others in the legal industry. With luck, it will
generate a wider conversation about the issues we deal with, which can never be
a bad thing, and help cement our status as thought leaders for the techlaw
sector. But without your help it won’t happen – so when you get the email
please don’t be hasty with the delete button.
Mark O’Conor is Chair of SCL
and Partner and Chair of the London Client Group at DLAA Piper UK LLP.
