“GenAI workflow automation is coming—watch this space”: A recap of ALTACON 2024
“Law firms and legaltech companies showcased what GenAI can do for them now, not just what it might do in the future.”
It’s been five long years since the Australian legaltech community last hung out in person at ALTACON.
Hosted by the Australian Legal Technology Association, ALTACON is Australia’s leading legal tech conference. And last week in Brisbane, the wait finally came to an end! Attendees joined from across Australasia to reconnect and explore the latest in legaltech and legal AI.
Josef Co-founder and CEO Tom Dreyfus both opened and closed the conference, and delivered a keynote session on “Getting started with automation.”
Opening ALTACON, Tom said, “ALTA is all about connections both within the diverse community of Australian legaltech companies, collaborating with and supporting each other, and between those companies and the wider legal industry who buy their products.”
Here are the key takeaways from ALTACON 2024.
Josef Co-founder and CEO Tom Dreyfus speaking on the main stage at ALTACON.
“Getting started with automation”
Tom’s practical look at automation covered topics such as how to start incorporating automation into your practice, tips on choosing the right automation project for your team, common challenges and benefits of automation, and more.
He outlined top use cases for organizations of all shapes and sizes, showcasing community legal center Everyday Justice’s streamlined intake solution, mid-size law firm Tompkins Wake’s legal health check assessment tools, and the legal business On Your Terms’s suite of 80+ document automation tools.
“There’s so much untapped value out there. You just need to start small and stay solutions focused,” Tom shared.
GenAI continued to dominate conversations
18+ months into the legal industry’s journey with GenAI, ALTACON attendees were less concerned with what the technology is. Rather, they wanted to see what practical applications legal teams already have in the mix. And that’s exactly what they got!
Tom said, “Law firms and legaltech companies showcased what GenAI can do for them now, not just what it might do in the future.”
“After a sustained period of hype, this year’s conference felt like a re-grounding in highly practical outcomes and driven applications of GenAI. It was super exciting to see,” he added.
Tom took the Discovery stage to dive into "Getting started with automation."
The future looks like GenAI-powered workflows
“A real theme across all the vendors in attendance was taking GenAI and applying it to workflows,” Tom said.
“A lot of people have arrived at the next logical set of questions, like, ‘What are GenAI’s strengths and what are its weaknesses that other technologies have proven to be very good for?’ ‘How can we connect various forms of automation to create even more value?’
At Josef, customers already have their hands on the latest legal front door tools, now supercharged with GenAI Q&A. Next up: GenAI document tools that’ll cut drafting time from hours to mere minutes. “Watch this space,” Tom says.
“GenAI workflow automation isn’t going away, and with the Australian legaltech community constantly punching way above its weight, it’s only a matter of time that we see the next generation of automation tools come to the fore.”