Well it's Day 2 of the Legal IT Exhibition at the Design Centre in Islington (London) and although we were not present this year, two very reliable resources sent in these impressions of the first day of the event...

From an exhibitor: "Day One in the Big Brother Exhibition... The housemates have spent the day gossiping with each other, occasionally interspersed with the odd prospect/customer. Definitely a lot quieter than previous years and a lot of people suggesting they may not book again for next year."

From an former exhibitor: "Visiting Legal I in Islington yesterday was like what I imagine a Friends Reunited gathering might be like... Lots of time for suppliers to catch up with close partners but not many new clients around. At least we didn't fork out to exhibit this year! Think many suppliers will think twice about next year."

Funnily enough - says Insider editor Charles Christian - similar sentiments were being expressed at the LegalTech event in New York, with much muttering that the moment the first 'big' vendor (which in the US market means LexisNexis and Thomson Reuters) breaks ranks and drops out of the event, many more will follow. That said, some suppliers reported having a very good show - so possibly a bigger issue in New York is that in the current economic climate, the demand for some products has just flat-lined while others have become surprisingly hot.

* Readers are invited to guess how many international air safety regulations were breached when, on Charles Christian's return flight (with a European carrier) one of the flight crew had to leave the cockpit during the landing phase to make room for two women the pilot invited into the cabin. (And yes the airline does issue steel cutlery, including knives, with its meals.)