The last day of any big conference. I’m always a little sad to see things ending. Crowds thinning. Exhibitors breaking down booths. People with roller bags stacked in session rooms. A closing reception that somehow lacks the excitement of the opening one.
On days like this, I always think back to the opening day. The energy and excitement of not knowing what exactly would happen. The expectation of seeing old friends, learning new things. I can’t help thinking I wish it was just beginning instead of ending.
But last days of conferences are also a good time to reflect on the conference and what stood out. The most memorable takeaways. ILTACON 2026 was, by any and all estimations, a record-setting event. Which is not surprising since everyone is riding the AI tsunami. A tsunami which may be at its peak right now.
And while there are lots of things to talk about when it came to this year’s conference, five things stood out to me as the most meaningful. Here they are:
The 9/11 Tribute
At the beginning of one of the keynotes, ILTA presented a memorial and remembrance of that horrible day. That was fitting, of course, since this year is the 25th anniversary. But it’s impressive that in the midst of everything going on at the conference, ILTA thought enough to take the time to honor the victims and offer reflections on what happened. ILTA created a video of interviews with five well-known legal tech thought leaders all of whom were in the audience. Each of them talked about where they were, what happened to them that day, and what it meant to them.
After the video, the names of the victims were scrolled through on giant screens to the left and right of the stage. The five individuals who spoke on the video stood silhouetted on the stage with heads bowed. It was moving and a bittersweet reminder of how 9/11 impacted all of us, including those in the legal tech and ILTA communities.
ILTA touts itself as a peer-to-peer community. Sometimes, that kind of touting and use of labels don’t mean much. But the fact that ILTA created such a well thought out tribute says a lot about where ILTA is today. And its leadership. Which brings me to the second significant take away.
ILTA’s Relationships
I saw this same kind of attitude on display by ILTA elsewhere as well. In its relationships with its constituents and, most relevant for me, with the media.
It’s always indeed fascinating to watch an association transform itself for the better. When I first began attending the ILTACON, ILTA more or less treated members of the media with a stiff arm. Cold and aloof. It appeared secretive and perhaps a little paranoid. But in the past few years, that attitude has shifted to transparency and openness. It has gone from an approach of saying as little as possible to one of open discussion, candor, and dialogue. This year more than ever, ILTA made the media representatives actually feel a valuable part of its peer-to-peer network.
That transformation no doubt was due to the efforts of ILTA CEO Joy Heath Rush and its Chief Experience Officer, Dawn Hudgins. I can’t speak to ILTA’s relationship with all the members of its community or attendees, but my guess is that same openness and warmth carries through to those constituents as well. It’s a remarkable turnaround. It is so refreshing to see an organization take a good hard look at itself and commit to doing things better.
Size and Extravagance
It was not just the record number of attendees and exhibitors which made this conference feel over the top in so many ways. It was vendor parties with well-known, famous performers. It was massive exhibitor spaces that not just sales booths but attractions, in and of themselves. It was entertainment options galore, provided by vendors with more money than they know what to do with. In many ways, it was exhilarating, but that brings me to my next point.
Fear and Loathing
While everyone is basking in the light of the AI boom, many talked openly about their fear that the AI bubble may be about to burst. And what will happen If and when it does. What will happen when we all have to start paying for tokens at exorbiant prices. It’s a feeling while the party right now is really fun, there is going to come a time when we have to clean up the mess. There’s a palpable fear among many that there could be a lot of casualties when that day comes.
Some, like ILTA itself, wisely appear to be trying to foresee and prepare for that day. Others are either ignoring it, hoping it never happens or have convinced themselves it won’t. That’s a big mistake.
Context and Integration
At most every conference, you walk away feeling like you heard the same words over and over again. At ILTACON this year, there were two such words: context and integration. You couldn’t turn around without hearing some vendor or speaker drone on about these concepts as if they were the holy grail. How better and more context would inevitably lead to more accurate and better AI outputs. And even decrease the cost of those outputs.
And virtually every vendor shouted integration from the rooftop of every meeting and educational session. I got the feeling every vendor was trying to somehow integrate with every other vendor on the planet. All in hope of better position themselves with their customers and somehow making themselves indispensable.
But we all know that it’s never that simple. Context and integration may be important and do great things. But merely saying the words without more is just noise. And jumping on bandwagons for bandwagons sake doesn’t achieve much. So my guess is next year there will be some other du jour label that everybody just as enthusiastically embraces.
It’s a Wrap
So, there you have it. It was four exciting and valuable days. Of course there were some low points. Like trying to navigate the cavernous Gaylord Resort and Convention Center. And sharing space with some 5000 other people required patience at times.
But at the end of the day, I honestly came away energized and thankful for the opportunity to attend. For seeing old friends and for ILTA for putting on such a good conference. I’m glad I got to spend time there.
See you next year.