With technology continuing to drive massive disruption in the legal industry, anticipation for ILTACON 2026 is higher than ever.
Here’s what a few attendees are expecting in advance of the massive legal tech conference, set for the week of Aug. 23 in Nashville.
How has legal technology changed in the past year?
One of the biggest changes we’ve seen is lawyers have shifted from asking ‘can AI do this?’ to ‘can I trust it?’
That’s a different bar.
Our customers tell us they don’t want another tool that sounds confident. They want something grounded in real authority they can verify and defend.
That’s the standard the profession demands and what we build to: Fiduciary-Grade AI with reasoning you can see, sources you can check, and work you can stand behind.
— Rawia Ashraf, Head of Product, CoCounsel Transactional & GCO, Thomson Reuters
What do you expect to see at ILTACON?
What I hope we don’t see is more disconnected technology and standalone innovation.
Right now law firms need technology that works together. That’s exactly what we’re demonstrating at ILTACON.
From our partnership with Harvey to Agent Center and our new Collections and Appeals capabilities, every innovation we’re showcasing is designed to work in a connected Aderant ecosystem.
When firms have that kind of connectivity, they can get paid faster, make better financial decisions, reduce risk, and ultimately spend more time delivering exceptional service to their clients.
That’s the future we’re building, and we’re excited to share it.
— Aisling Fenelon, Chief Revenue Officer, Aderant
What can the legal industry do to better leverage technology in 2026?
The organizations that thrive will make essential tools available wherever legal work gets done, bringing purpose-built litigation technology to the platforms professionals already use.
Lawyers want workflows that connect evidence, work product, and research in one system.
Fragmentation carries a toggle-tax: duplicated work, disconnected data, and wasted time.
A year from now, the advantage belongs to legal professionals using MCPs and APIs to unify their systems, not those still juggling tabs.
— Chuck Kellner, Strategic Discovery Advisor, Everlaw
How has legal technology changed in the past year?
The distinction that matters now is between practice AI and firm AI.
Practice AI helps lawyers work more efficiently. Firm AI makes the whole enterprise more efficient: risk, compliance, time, business development, institutional knowledge.
The robust investment from both traditional legal providers and frontier models has opened new possibilities for how firms monetize their own proprietary knowledge and scale it across the enterprise, alongside compliance challenges that must be integrated from the start.
— Laura Saklad, Vice President, Intapp
What can the legal industry do to better leverage technology in 2026?
The organizations seeing the biggest returns aren’t using AI everywhere, they’re using it where it makes sense.
Success comes from understanding your workflows first, then choosing the right technology to support them.
I also think we’ll see more demand for independent guidance on AI strategy and implementation, not just software.
— Preethy Prakash, Vice President, eBrevia
What can the legal industry do to better leverage technology in 2026?
Technology is only as powerful as the people using it.
In 2026, the legal sector must prioritize change management, upskilling, and a strict “human-in-the-loop” approach.
Rather than fearing automation, legal professionals need training to critically evaluate AI outputs and integrate tech into everyday workflows.
True ROI relies on continuous education, bridging the gap between sophisticated tools and human expertise to drive smarter, client-centered delivery.
— Ahmed Shaaban, Founding Member, Fulcrum Global Technologies
How has legal technology changed in the past year?
AI has evolved from an emerging technology to a practical business tool.
Conversations have shifted from curiosity to implementation, with firms focused on using AI responsibly, securely, and effectively.
At the same time, clients have become more aware of how their information is stored and shared, increasing demand for solutions that combine strong security, seamless collaboration, and ease of use.
— Renzo Delvecchio, Marketing Director, TitanFile
What can the legal industry do to better leverage technology in 2026?
The legal industry has embraced AI faster than it has learned to trust it, and that gap puts firm reputations at risk.
Broader adoption starts with collective confidence in AI-generated outputs.
Firms should prioritize tools with built-in verification so attorneys can rely on what AI produces without second-guessing every result.
When lawyers trust the technology, they use it fully.
That is how the legal industry gets more out of the tools already at its disposal.
— Haydn Jones, Vice President, Benchly
What can the legal industry do to better leverage technology in 2026?
To fully realize the value of technology in 2026, law firms must move beyond siloed tools and instead build a coordinated, firm-wide digital backbone.
This starts with foundational work like data standardization, system consolidation, and proactive change management.
Firms that bring their technology into a cohesive environment will reduce friction and accelerate decision-making.
— Bianca Zavala, Product Management, SurePoint Technologies
What can the legal industry do to better leverage technology in 2026?
It isn’t counterintuitive to stop and reflect. Strong foundations unlock long term success.
Educate: Address education gaps now to ensure your workforce keep pace with advanced tech developments that are coming.
Operationalize: Identify opportunities to operationalize successful use cases and scale them to other areas with equivalent workflows.
Prepare: Understand emerging challenges and get ahead now — consumption-based pricing for AI and movement of data outside your single source of truth are two examples arising.
— Ivy Grey, Legal Solutions Adviser, iManage
The post ILTACON Preview: What These Tech Leaders Expect To See appeared first on Above the Law.
With technology continuing to drive massive disruption in the legal industry, anticipation for ILTACON 2026 is higher than ever.
Here’s what a few attendees are expecting in advance of the massive legal tech conference, set for the week of Aug. 23 in Nashville.
How has legal technology changed in the past year?
One of the biggest changes we’ve seen is lawyers have shifted from asking ‘can AI do this?’ to ‘can I trust it?’
That’s a different bar.
Our customers tell us they don’t want another tool that sounds confident. They want something grounded in real authority they can verify and defend.
That’s the standard the profession demands and what we build to: Fiduciary-Grade AI with reasoning you can see, sources you can check, and work you can stand behind.
— Rawia Ashraf, Head of Product, CoCounsel Transactional & GCO, Thomson Reuters
What do you expect to see at ILTACON?
What I hope we don’t see is more disconnected technology and standalone innovation.
Right now law firms need technology that works together. That’s exactly what we’re demonstrating at ILTACON.
From our partnership with Harvey to Agent Center and our new Collections and Appeals capabilities, every innovation we’re showcasing is designed to work in a connected Aderant ecosystem.
When firms have that kind of connectivity, they can get paid faster, make better financial decisions, reduce risk, and ultimately spend more time delivering exceptional service to their clients.
That’s the future we’re building, and we’re excited to share it.
— Aisling Fenelon, Chief Revenue Officer, Aderant
What can the legal industry do to better leverage technology in 2026?
The organizations that thrive will make essential tools available wherever legal work gets done, bringing purpose-built litigation technology to the platforms professionals already use.
Lawyers want workflows that connect evidence, work product, and research in one system.
Fragmentation carries a toggle-tax: duplicated work, disconnected data, and wasted time.
A year from now, the advantage belongs to legal professionals using MCPs and APIs to unify their systems, not those still juggling tabs.
— Chuck Kellner, Strategic Discovery Advisor, Everlaw
How has legal technology changed in the past year?
The distinction that matters now is between practice AI and firm AI.
Practice AI helps lawyers work more efficiently. Firm AI makes the whole enterprise more efficient: risk, compliance, time, business development, institutional knowledge.
The robust investment from both traditional legal providers and frontier models has opened new possibilities for how firms monetize their own proprietary knowledge and scale it across the enterprise, alongside compliance challenges that must be integrated from the start.
— Laura Saklad, Vice President, Intapp
What can the legal industry do to better leverage technology in 2026?
The organizations seeing the biggest returns aren’t using AI everywhere, they’re using it where it makes sense.
Success comes from understanding your workflows first, then choosing the right technology to support them.
I also think we’ll see more demand for independent guidance on AI strategy and implementation, not just software.
— Preethy Prakash, Vice President, eBrevia
What can the legal industry do to better leverage technology in 2026?
Technology is only as powerful as the people using it.
In 2026, the legal sector must prioritize change management, upskilling, and a strict “human-in-the-loop” approach.
Rather than fearing automation, legal professionals need training to critically evaluate AI outputs and integrate tech into everyday workflows.
True ROI relies on continuous education, bridging the gap between sophisticated tools and human expertise to drive smarter, client-centered delivery.
— Ahmed Shaaban, Founding Member, Fulcrum Global Technologies
How has legal technology changed in the past year?
AI has evolved from an emerging technology to a practical business tool.
Conversations have shifted from curiosity to implementation, with firms focused on using AI responsibly, securely, and effectively.
At the same time, clients have become more aware of how their information is stored and shared, increasing demand for solutions that combine strong security, seamless collaboration, and ease of use.
— Renzo Delvecchio, Marketing Director, TitanFile
What can the legal industry do to better leverage technology in 2026?
The legal industry has embraced AI faster than it has learned to trust it, and that gap puts firm reputations at risk.
Broader adoption starts with collective confidence in AI-generated outputs.
Firms should prioritize tools with built-in verification so attorneys can rely on what AI produces without second-guessing every result.
When lawyers trust the technology, they use it fully.
That is how the legal industry gets more out of the tools already at its disposal.
— Haydn Jones, Vice President, Benchly
What can the legal industry do to better leverage technology in 2026?
To fully realize the value of technology in 2026, law firms must move beyond siloed tools and instead build a coordinated, firm-wide digital backbone.
This starts with foundational work like data standardization, system consolidation, and proactive change management.
Firms that bring their technology into a cohesive environment will reduce friction and accelerate decision-making.
— Bianca Zavala, Product Management, SurePoint Technologies
What can the legal industry do to better leverage technology in 2026?
It isn’t counterintuitive to stop and reflect. Strong foundations unlock long term success.
Educate: Address education gaps now to ensure your workforce keep pace with advanced tech developments that are coming.
Operationalize: Identify opportunities to operationalize successful use cases and scale them to other areas with equivalent workflows.
Prepare: Understand emerging challenges and get ahead now — consumption-based pricing for AI and movement of data outside your single source of truth are two examples arising.
— Ivy Grey, Legal Solutions Adviser, iManage
