"They typically have little to any passing connection to legal world. I know the argument for having them: these celebrities will draw attendees who know the name and just want to see and hear the person. Indeed, most of these keynotes are well attended but the value is often questionable."
"To be fair, celebrity keynotes do occasionally offer inspirational talks that motivate the audience to apply the presenter's key points to every day work in an uplifting way. You walk out feeling energized and can see or maybe feel the points. But most of the time they are merely entertaining talks that somehow try to shoehorn in something marginally relevant to legal."
"These are less valuable and frankly feel contrived. Sometimes celebrity keynotes don't even do that. Either way, other than seeing a famous person, these presentations are mostly a waste and do little to contribute to what lawyers and legal professionals do and need."
"And since they don't offer CLE, it's pretty easy to see the real purpose: put butts in the seats. Some Examples For example, I recently attended a keynote where the presenter told his life story and about how he was seriously injured in a plane crash. It no doubt was interesting to him but it didn't seem to have much connection to the audience."
Celebrity keynote speakers at legal tech conferences are often actors, athletes, or professional for-hire speakers with little connection to legal work. They can increase attendance because recognizable names attract people who want to see and hear the celebrity. Some talks provide genuine inspiration that motivates attendees to apply ideas to everyday work, leaving participants energized. More commonly, the content is entertainment that only marginally connects to legal topics, or it offers no meaningful relevance at all. When the presentations do not provide CLE, their primary purpose appears to be increasing attendance rather than supporting lawyers’ professional needs. Examples include a plane-crash life story with limited audience connection and a former football player’s remarks that were engaging to sports fans but not relevant to legal practice.
#legal-tech-conferences #celebrity-keynotes #cle-and-professional-value #event-attendance-and-marketing #relevance-to-legal-practice
Read at Above the Law
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