The 2009 Court Technology Conference is right around the corner and the court technology community is abuzz with anticipation. This year, the confab will be held September 22-24 at the Denver, CO Convention Center. This is the 11th conference and the first to abandon the numerical title (in 2007 it was CTC10). There is so much to cover with this event, but let’s at least hit the highlights …

PREP

An event this big requires a lot of preparation. Attendance is expected to hit 1,500 and despite the economic downturn, pre-registration figures indicate this will be a popular event. Those planning to attend can visit CTC 2009’s cool blog for previews of the program and browse education sessions on the conference website. The event is expected to attract 125 vendors of technology-related products and services, and these guys are scurrying to outfit floor space with displays, wares and furnishings. I’ll be there in Booth #409, and I can assure you that the planning and set up is no small feat.

EDUCATION

This is a premier education opportunity for everything related to court technology. Plenary sessions feature National Public Radio justice and tech guru Ari Shapiro on how courts can leverage all manner of technology including blogs and social networks; VP for the Center for Applied Research Mal O’Connor will address the leadership challenges and business dilemmas unique to (courts), and outline ways in which court leaders can improve performance and lead change, even during times of economic constraint. Breakout sessions cover every tech-related subject under the sun, and include a handy matrix to decide whether you prefer technical or tactical content.

WEBSITES

I join the National Center for State Court’s Pam Burton and Free Range Studio’s Susan Sobel Finkelpearl for A Process for Web Design Success education session #E-14 on the opening day (Tuesday, September 22, 2:30-3:45pm). Pam will cover the process that NCSC went through for a massive redesign of their content rich site, I will discuss the Justice Served® Top 10 Court Website Awards and Susan will not only reveal the best strategies to decide what to put online, but she’ll actually do on the spot critiques of several existing court websites. To nominate a site for critique, click here.

PAPER-ON-DEMAND

Court View’s Paul Wieser and I tackle Paper-on-Demand on the last day of the conference (Thursday, September 24, 1:45-3:00pm) in education session #E-36. This is a FACT-sponsored session that will look at what POD is, its strengths and weaknesses, and short showcases featuring existing products and services to help courts with implementation. The end game is to engage the private sector to improve research and development so that courts will have the right products and services available when emerging technologies are ready for operational use.

VENDORS, SHOWCASES, AND KICK-THE-TECH-TIRES

Aside from all the education, attendees will spend hours combing the trade show floor seeing first hand all the terrific court technology on the market today. The vendor show includes showcase theaters where demos and presentations run almost non-stop. Even the education sessions set aside several Kick-the-Tech-Tires sessions where viewers can see a mock courtroom set-up with what-if software and hardware installations.

So come to Denver this month and drop by to see me at one of the education sessions or at booth #409 during the trade show. These Court Technology Conferences only happen once every two years, and even in bad economic times, upgrading service delivery using the right tech tools is not optional.

Photo credit = CTC 2009

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 5th, 2009 at 2:43 pm and is filed under Court Management, Forum on the Advancement of Court Technology, Technology.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.