If you’re reading this article, you’re probably a legal technologist.
That’s the message from ILTA CEO Joy Heath Rush, as an ever-widening group of professionals attend events like ILTACON, her organization’s flagship legal technology conference. It’s a dynamic that blurs the definition of “technologist” in the industry.
“Who is a ‘legal technologist’ anymore? Everyone,” she says. “Is there anyone who works in legal who isn’t using technology? No.”
The 46th annual ILTACON is set to kick off next week. It has grown from a few lawyers in a meeting room to a major event. Joy jokes that she would need to build new hotel rooms to house the more than 5,300 attendees expected this year.
With dozens of sponsors, more than 80 panels and educational sessions, countless activities, and a stacked agenda, this year is sure to show just how the legal tech world is growing — and how the broadening definition of “legal technologist” may very well include you.
The conference has “more managing partners and COOs than we’ve ever seen,” Joy notes. “This demonstrates how central technology is becoming to the operation and strategy of these organizations.”
Here, Joy joins Above the Law to discuss all things ILTA, legal technology, and legal tech events in 2026.
A ‘Family Reunion’
Even as ILTACON continues to grow and feature cutting-edge technology, it has still “retained that family reunion type of feel,” Joy says.
This allows conference organizers “to give the ILTA experience to a lot of people in one place.”
There’s a “culture of trust and sharing” on display at ILTACON that isn’t possible in all industries. Joy draws a comparison between legal tech and other industries, recalling a conversation with a CIO from the oil and gas sector.
“Nothing like this exists in other industries,” she remembers the CIO saying. “You would never have Exxon and Shell in the same room talking about things that they’re doing, even though their problems are very much the same.”
ILTACON, by contrast, creates “a giant tent where there are a lot of really great conversations in an environment where people trust each other to have those conversations.” This trust is what Joy says sustains the culture of community — and sets ILTA apart.
Joy says three essential elements make up a successful event from the perspective of an attendee: Answering questions you needed to find the answers to, coming up with questions you never even knew you needed to ask, then asking them, and meeting someone who can help you.
“You should be able to say: ‘Yeah I’m not alone. Other people are having these issues. Other people have solved them, and we have a way to solve them together,’” she says.
‘What’s Next After What’s Next?’
If tech is everywhere in the legal industry, then so is AI. The emergence and development of this technology has been in the spotlight at events like ILTACON for several years now.
At ILTACON this year, the AI conversation will likely be more forward-looking than before.
“Two years ago, it was ‘Should we?’” Joy says. “Last year, it was ‘How do we?’ This year, it’s ‘Look what we’ve done,’ and ‘What’s next?’”
Joy points out that, in the big picture, we are only in the “first nanosecond of AI,” and much more is to come in the near and distant future.
These types of themes will be explored this year with masterclasses in new tech and speakers who are at the forefront of emerging legal technology.
And while AI has so many exciting new developments, Joy notes, there are still many essential legal technologies that don’t involve AI.
“We still have to get people computers and phones, we still have to help them use the tools that we give them,” she says. “It’s not all just about the shiny new toys.”
‘Solving Specific Problems’
While ILTACON favors its traditions, this year also promises a lot of new features.
One is Lessons in Leadership, a publication featuring essays and entries by ILTA members. A new edition will be offered at ILTACON this year, one which Joy laughingly says is “a lot funnier.” This edition will be available in the Author’s Corner, a place where attendees can go to book signings, browse books for sale, and give attendees opportunities to speak with authors.
The new edition boasts many new submissions, which Joy attributes to the success of the first edition. Joy stresses the importance of “short pointed stories” as vessels of communication in what she dubs our “attention economy,” our “attention world.”
“Storytelling is the most powerful way we have to teach,” she says.
There’s also the Startup Hub, where emerging companies can present their products and services to attendees.
This year’s hub will feature more service providers with an “emphasis on solving specific problems,” Joy says.
Her advice for attendees at the Startup Hub?
“People should be looking there for a lot of good thinking about places where AI can be placed for immediate benefit,” she says.
‘The Bigger Picture’
Joy is still surprised by some trends, especially the rate and amount of money infused by private equity into legal technology.
“We knew it was happening, but it’s accelerated,” she says, and this acceleration has “allowed people to bring things to market earlier.”
There are also some things that aren’t being talked about enough, like the regulatory environment. Individual states will increasingly regulate AI use, she says, creating a highly complex environment for organizations that use this technology.
“It’s volatile right now, it’s moving very quickly,” she says. “The U.S. government attempted to preclude states from independently regulating use of AI, and the Senate voted 99-1 to let the states do what they wanted. When has the U.S. Senate voted 99-1 on anything?”
There’s also the necessity for lawyers to become familiar with their clients’ business operations.
“Our lawyers are going to be increasingly working on problems that involve the use of AI in other businesses,” which means “they need to learn enough about the tech to be able to talk about those issues.”
It’s a situation that provides the opportunity for an organization like ILTACON to have far-reaching effects on the industry — particularly the legal industry, which has been a leader on AI adoption.
“Legal has been very early to adopt this technology,” Joy says. “We have such an opportunity to help people see this in the bigger picture.”
Claire Gallagher is an intern at Breaking Media and a student at Susquehanna University studying Journalism & Digital Media and Spanish. Connect on LinkedIn here.
