THE NUMBERS

ILTACON 2026 drew record-setting attendance with approximately 5,700+ attendees. The event completely took over the Gaylord Opryland, fully booking its 2,803 rooms. The exhibit hall experienced an unprecedented vendor expansion, with booth tonnage tripling compared to previous years. ILTA explicitly highlighted this year as having the largest exhibit hall ever, an expanded Startup Hub, and a record number of sponsoring vendors with booths.

With the massive vendor footprint came highly theatrical visual displays. Some attendees and commentators—including Bob Ambrogi during his weekly Legaltech Week live video panel—noted that the display of visual hype was “over the top,” even calling it “Peak Legal Tech.”

High-profile examples included Harvey’s massive, “Berlin Wall-like” structure and Legora’s towering, fortress-like booth. Lexis went for a full circus-themed layout featuring a large overhead arch and canopy designed to mimic a classic bright red-and-white circus tent with curved marquee-style framing and decorative carnival trim. Known by attendees as the “big-top booth” or “Lexis circus tent,” it featured performance-style demo staging, themed giveaways, and carnival-style signage.

The registration area itself was highly spacious, housing information desks, swag, food stations, recording areas, and from Matt Homann of Filament, what ILTA officially called the Wisdom Wall and I affectionately dubbed the Wonderwall (because I’m a fan of George Harrison, not Oasis)—a wonderful place to post answers to questions like “Why Did You Come” or “What Can We Do Better?”, then watch comments added to yours all week. I hope the ILTACON planning people were paying attention!

THE VENUE

While the Gaylord Opryland was a daunting and enormous venue, its size was highly beneficial for the exhibit hall. Its physical setup was designed with wide-open spaces and broader aisles.

Because the number of week-long attendees remained steady compared to last year, the increase in overall attendance was primarily driven by exhibit-hall vendors bringing more staff—making the spacious hall highly comfortable to navigate.

However, walking between sessions proved challenging due to poor directional signage and staff members who were often unfamiliar with specific wing names or locations.

Logistics were further complicated by ongoing construction. The back lobby closer to the Convention Center was closed, forcing taxi and Uber drop-offs to concentrate at the main front lobby. Uber drivers were generally disinclined to drop passengers off at the Delta lobby, and those attempting to call rides from the front drop-off were directed by doormen to a nearby covered pavilion which did, at least, provide shelter from the sun.

To escape the “biodome” of the Gaylord, I chose to stay downtown at the Margaritaville Hotel. This off-site stay offered several benefits:

• It provided a relaxing, Jimmy Buffett-themed change of pace at the end of long days.
• It was highly convenient for the vendor parties on Broadway, which were only a few blocks away, allowing me to easily shuttle to parties and walk back.
• I like Jimmy’s music more than C&W.
• They really DO make a great cheeseburger.

Despite the off-site location, my day still started smoothly with an early 7:00 AM meeting on-site, made possible by the accommodating ILTA staff. And the room was right next to the Press Center and two doors down from the Tranquility Room, which is a genuine treasure!

THE EDUCATIONAL FOCUS

Despite the visual theatricality, the overall sentiment of ILTACON 2026 signaled a major turning point. AI is moving beyond general hype and becoming deeply embedded in everyday firm operations.

Unlike previous years, where vendors pushed generic “AI is good” messaging, this year’s technical focus shifted to pragmatic back-office utility.

And let’s face it, this is the strength of ILTACON. Best educational sessions in our space IMO. I don’t go to the exhibit hall for education. I go for the Goo Goo clusters and the free espresso. And this year, the education was tremendous.

The core operational themes focused on:

• Unifying Divergent Systems: Rather than deploying AI as an isolated tool, demonstrations focused on using AI to tie together disparate software platforms, including document management systems, Outlook, email, and time-and-billing systems.
• Firm-Wide Information Control: AI implementation is expanding from eDiscovery to comprehensive, firm-wide information retrieval and management. As Chuck Keller of Everlaw said to me, “…no big firm knows how much work it has or where it all goes even with a highly centralized command of eDiscovery.” The widespread focus on using AI to gain a firm-wide handle on internal operations was highly welcomed by attendees.
• Practical Deployment & Startups: Practical, hands-on applications were demonstrated not just by vendors but also ILTA members who were deploying their own internal products. And vendors were not just established, long-time vendors but also a high number of new startups that have successfully used AI to rapidly code software and enter the market.

MEDIA, PRESS, AND NIGHTLIFE ATMOSPHERICS

This year, the daily press briefing schedule was shifted to an afternoon session rather than the morning slots of previous years.

While some commentators suggested that the ILTA staff was more “open” than in the past, I felt they have always been helpful, informative, and gracious.

The addition of a bar in the room humorously evoked for me the atmosphere of a classic newsroom—recalling an anecdote told to me by a Philadelphia “three-dot journalist” who complained that his new office at the Sacramento Bee was too quiet and lacked the “fistfights, drunken writers typing to meet a deadline, and writers screaming at sources on the phone” that make writers feel like “real writers.”

The scale of evening networking was enormous, commencing with the formal Monday night welcome reception. From Tuesday onward, multiple vendor parties ran late into the night.

These events heavily populated establishments along Broadway, especially those featuring rooftop terraces and balconies. For many attendees, the long hours and packed party schedules proved overwhelming.

Consequently, morning attendance at early sessions tended to be light. By Thursday morning, when the exhibit hall opened at 9:00 AM, the longest lines were found at the booths equipped with coffee bars as attendees sought a morning recovery.

CONCLUSION

The major technological shift on display is incredibly promising, but it currently remains expensive and out of reach for most small and medium-sized law firms, finding affordability only among large firms and corporations.

While entry-level tools like Microsoft Co-works represent a positive starting point, their current pricing structures work against small-firm implementation. However, as is typical with new technology cycles, accessibility is expected to improve in the not-so-distant future.

Ultimately, as Steve Emby noted, “It’s important to remember that the practice of law, for all the technology and money now swirling around it, remains fundamentally about people, judgment, communication, and persuasion.”

As we work to integrate these powerful new systems, the profession would do well to recall a common comment of mine:

“Keep the Attorney in AI.”

Tom O’Connor
Aug. 30, 2026