Thought-provoking Things Worth Sharing - Issue #190
Back from EVOLVE and catching up
Last week, I was serving as the volunteer session coordinator at the ILTA Evolve Conference. The conference focuses on AI and Security, and is smaller than the giant ILTACON conference in August. (I’ll be there, as well!)
I’ve seen a couple of posts recapping and offering opinions on the conference that I wanted to share with you:
Welcome to this week’s collection of thought-provoking things. For each issue, I will share information on careers and workplace culture, workplace mental health, talent development, and key insights into privacy, security, and legal technology.
You can learn more about me here: Mike McBride Online.
As for my own opinion, it was a good conference, but I will be the first to admit that I have become jaded by the whole AI conversation. Being a coordinator for sessions in that track was sometimes a struggle. On the other hand, the sessions and speakers I worked with focused on the governance side of AI, which is right in my wheelhouse, and I thought they did a great job! (Obviously, I’m a little biased.)
On the other hand, I’ll agree with Steven’s assessment above; I don’t think, in 2026, you’re doing anyone any favors by trying to teach them how to prompt. I don’t think this was the audience for that. I would have liked more expert opinion on what this all means for the legal profession. The question I have, though, is whether anyone knows and whether we should trust anyone who claims to know?
I don’t know. I don’t think anyone knows where we are headed with AI, and people telling us how amazing it’s going to make our lives are selling you something.
That something is not the full truth.
Still, the conference left us with a lot to think about, helped us identify real risks and rewards out there, and, as many have said, was small enough not to feel as overwhelming for those of us on the more introverted side of the legal tech world. I’ll take that.
If you attended, what did you think? Where do you think this is all headed?
Careers and the Workplace
I know many of you are, or know someone who is, searching for work:
Students getting ready to graduate or who still have a few years left - start networking!
This is true, mostly because we place too much of our value on what we do for a paycheck:
Artificial Intelligence
Worth Reading - AI’s Economics Don’t Make Sense
I'm cherry-picking the Microsoft note, but the same is true of every AI company out there. Unlimited Copilot interactions cost much, much more than $30 per month in compute costs. Someday, Microsoft and all the other companies will have to change their entire model to show any profit.
Related - Will AI pricing become a charge-back cost to clients?
Maybe we can solve both of those issues this way? We’ll bill you fewer attorney hours by leveraging AI, but you need to foot the bill for its use? Right now, with a set price per seat, the cost of using AI on a given matter is nothing, but it won’t remain that way. It can’t.
Will the legal market make this adjustment to billing back the cost of AI compute? If not, how do firms justify the undefined cost for your firm?
This just makes sense, AI user or not, handing off poorly done work makes me trust you less, too:
Mental Health in the Workplace
Worth Reading - Workplace Abuse, PTSD, and Employer Duty of Care
Employees dealing with trauma outside of work often carry that trauma with them into work, and we need resources to help them navigate that. What do we offer people experiencing trauma at work who carry that trauma into the rest of their lives?
Maybe the better question is, what do we owe them?
This is a blind spot, for sure - Check your blind spot: Financial stress, mental health, and suicide risk at work
That was a direct quote from me last weekend as we attended JazzFest in New Orleans.
I’m not saying that simply going to concerts is a replacement for therapy. Let’s make that clear up front.
What I was referring to was the healing power not only of music but also of the shared experience with a crowd of similarly minded people.
Privacy, Security, and Legal Tech
It’s not enough to recognize the voice on the other end of an audio call. It might not even be enough to recognize them on a video call. Start two-factoring your work interactions. ;-)
Deepfake Voice Attacks are Outpacing Defenses: What Security Leaders Should Know
Craig Ball has refreshed his free book - A Refresh of the Annotated ESI Protocol.
Another helpful guide - The Comprehensive Guide to Second Requests
That’s all, folks. If you found something interesting in this week’s newsletter, please share it with your friends. It’s the best way to help support the effort I put into sharing this with you each week.