The Conference also included an exhibit hall with more than 150 vendor booths show casing their basic to cutting-edge technology products. The Conference's keynote address was delivered by ABA President Roberta Cooper Ramo. According to Cooper Ramo, a great deal of legal information is becoming increasingly easy to access - both by lawyers and by the clients themselves. Lay people with problems can increasingly find self-help information. Lawyers are skilled in selecting relevant information and then analysing and interpreting the information.
Lawyers can also provide creative solutions to problems.
Cooper Ramo predicted that within the next five to ten years, most lawyers will have video conferencing capabilities at the desktop along with document sharing facilities. Finally, the role of the librarian will transform into that of an information specialist. One interesting idea discussed at the Conference was the possible use of document assembly through a firm's Web site. Clients can fill out questions on a Web form that is then used to generate the first draft of a document. The document is routed to the appropriate lawyer in the firm for revision.