As someone who has blawged for a while, I get quite a few press releases about conferences being held around the country in the hope that I might mention, maybe even promote, the conference.  Sometimes, I’m invited to attend as a member of the media, and am provided with the promotional packet, replete with all the really critical information that makes one desperately want to be there.

My first interest in a conference, if there’s any interest at all, is to see who’s presenting.  Much like CLEs, the value, if any, is in the quality of the presenters, much more so than the topic at hand.  No matter how fascinating the subject of the conference, the speakers make it or break it.

More often than not, I end up laughing when I read the list of speakers.  It’s not that I don’t appreciate that the people who are speaking are busily trying to promote themselves or their agenda, actively seeking out speaking opportunities and willing to fly anywhere for forty minutes in front of an audience.  I applaud their pluck. It’s definitely in their self-interest to be on the podium rather than the audience if they want to create a higher profile for themselves and their interests.

But it’s goofy.  More often than not, the speakers have nothing to offer.  They are wannabes, devoid of substance and hiding behind crafted personas.  They don’t realize that they have nothing substantive to offer, six month experts as they are, and feel no shame in standing up before an audience of accomplished people as if they have knowledge to impart.  I doubt they realize that they just don’t know a whole lot. I bet they believe they do.

I do, however, fault the people who are putting these conferences together. Do they not give any thought to the people they ask/allow to speak?  Is it just that these are the people who are desperately seeking the podium?  That these are the people who will to show up for free, no travel costs required?

Here’s the question: What were you doing six months ago?  If you are appearing as an expert based upon your being a lawyer, did you ever practice law?  For, like, a year or more?

There was once a time when one would not agree to speak before a group of any substance because it would have the potential for personal humiliation.  One did not feign expertise in front of a group of people who would immediately recognize you to be unqualified to teach them anything.  This is no longer the case.  People are no longer concerned at all about being exposed as frauds, and will happily expose themselves to ridicule for the chance to stand onstage.

Since these self-promoting speakers will no longer show any self-control, it’s left to the conference promoter to put in minimal due diligence to determine whether the names on the list are worthy.  This isn’t happening much these days either.

As I initially wrote this post, I was going to name names, both of speakers and conferences.  One, out in California, was so facially laughable that I thought it was a spoof at first, and told the promoter’s flack as much. His response made clear that it was no joke.  After some reflection, I’ve decided not to do any damage to the people who have gotten the speaking gigs, though I do not believe they are close to having qualifications to take the stage or are appropriate representatives of lawyers, legal thought, legal ethics, and the variety of other subtopics that will be uttered during their presentation.  But my purpose here isn’t to hurt any particular person who is trying to create an existence as an “expert”.  If people are foolish enough to sign them up to speak, then they’ve gotten what they asked for. 

They may well be dangerous speaking, giving non-lawyers the horrible misimpression that they reflect what lawyers think and believe, and they don’t.  They wouldn’t have a clue what real lawyers think, but they will never admit this truth to the audience because it would reveal them as frauds.

This phenomenon, the unqualified speaker, has become increasingly pervasive, and increasingly problematic.  It’s not that it turns conferences into jokes, but that it misleads attendees into thinking that these speakers are what they purport to be.  If the speakers won’t recognize their limitations, and the conference promoters don’t care whether their speakers have any qualifications, and attendees still come to hear people that have nothing worthwhile to offer, then we will be left with worthless conferences selling meaningless crap to wastrel attendees.  A total waste all around.