ILTACON 2024 is over, but observations about the conference continue! At the end of the conference, I reached out to many of the people I met with for their observations about the conference. So, here are their crowdsourced ILTACON 2024 observations!
FYI, I’m publishing their crowdsourced ILTACON 2024 observations in the order they provided them to me (for the most part) and splitting them over three posts.
The amount of generative AI discussion was almost large enough to fill the massive Gaylord Nashville convention center. The show made clear that the last 12 months were about generative AI hype and experimentation, the next 12 months will be about putting it in practice (what works, what doesn’t, and trying to keep up with the rapid change it brings). Joshua Schnoll, VP Marketing, Everlaw
Generative AI has sparked a new era of excitement about the potential of legal technology to transform legal practice, and that excitement was palpable at this year’s ILTACON. Not only did the conference break several attendance records, but the overall degree of enthusiasm and energy was greater than I recall ever experiencing at ILTACONs past. With gen AI igniting new possibilities in legal tech, ILTACON felt like ground zero for the change to come. Bob Ambrogi, Publisher, LawSites blog, LawNext podcast, LawNext Legal Tech Directory
One of the biggest takeaways was witnessing the wide variety of job titles and roles among this year’s ILTA attendees—it’s an encouraging sign of the bright future ahead for legal tech. However, what truly resonated with me was the visible excitement around LDI beyond just eDiscovery. When we took a quick poll during our LDI panel, asking how many attendees were from eDiscovery, less than 20% raised their hands. That kind of enthusiasm across diverse areas is nothing short of energizing! Scott A. Milner, Partner and Global Practice Group Leader, eData, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
AI continued to dominate the discussions. However, the conversation is less theoretical and more practical, as well as more nuanced. And everyone is still watching closely what everyone is doing – and how quickly they doing it. Joy Heath Rush, CEO, ILTA
ILTACON is my favorite conference because of the collegiality, enthusiasm and high level of technical expertise. Once again, I was not disappointed. Well maybe a little at the behemoth that was the Gaylord but even that had a positive side in a wide-open exhibit hall. I spent most of my session time with the Holy Trinity of the Church of Microsoft: M365, Teams and Copilot where I found a high level of ownership with an even higher level of frustration at lack of educational and training resources as well as communication with end users about product development, integration and seemingly daily product “upgrades”. Tom O’Connor, Director, Gulf Coast Legal Technology Center
The ILTACON spark never went away during the COVID years, but it definitely came roaring back into full flame in Nashville! It was all there – a dynamic interaction of organizations and ideas, all in the presence of 4,000 of your old and new friends! Gordon Moffat – Manager, eDiscovery and Litigation Technology – Tennessee Attorney General’s Office
As a first-time exhibitor at ILTACON, the experience was a success with a steady flow of traffic to our booth and lots of customer meetings. We had many engaging conversations with both customers and prospects, which sparked promising new opportunities. The week was productive and enjoyable, spending quality time with colleagues and building connections with new industry peers. Overall, ILTACON provided an excellent platform for networking and showcasing our solutions. Shelley Bougnague – VP of Marketing, Cloudficient
The sessions I attended were all very informative and relevant to the attendees. We were able to have great meetings with our LSP partners. As far as the facility, it provided places to eat and meet within the hotel, but it was also easy to meet or eat at other locations nearby. Mike Opel – Director of Sales, Legal Solutions, Cloudficient
This year’s ILTACON should have been called “ILTACON – the GenAI Edition.” From sessions to exhibit hall to hallway discussions, generative AI seemed to be the first and last topic folks wanted to discuss. George Socha, SVP of Brand Awareness, Reveal
I was in Nashville for 2.5 days and had 9 meetings with current and prospective clients. Many have responsibilities beyond eDiscovery, and while I’m always happy to talk workflows and case management, it was nice to speak with department leaders about strategy and economics. I always prefer candid conversations to pitch meetings, and ILTACON does a great job attracting stakeholders interested in seeing beyond the bells and whistles being marketed. Ryan Short, Vice President, Revenue, Proteus Discovery
ILTACON was big, probably the biggest ever. But we were all in one vast space, and so we had frequent opportunities to run into friends, colleagues, suppliers, and customers. There was a lot of joy in this togetherness, and I don’t mean just Joy Heath Rush. There were a LOT of tracks. Maybe too many? I don’t know. I felt conflicted several times as to what and who to go see, apart from my own meetings and obligations. Did we talk about Gen AI? Oh, did we ever! But why not? It is a significant development in #legaltech across every aspect of legal practice. Chuck Kellner, Strategic Discovery Advisor, Everlaw
From the time I stepped foot into the Gaylord Opryland for my fifth ILTACON, I knew I had to throw my preconceived expectations out the window. Not only was the venue larger than imagined, my mind was blown by the size of the exhibit hall (I don’t remember a row 900 in past!) and sheer number of attendees. For the first time, I attended more meetings than sessions. While the sessions were valuable, the many impromptu discussions on legal AI workflows and new use cases were priceless, reaffirming that the community truly makes ILTACON special. Stephanie Clerkin, Director of Litigation Support, Korein Tillery
There were so many people who provided crowdsourced ILTACON 2024 observations that I couldn’t fit it all into one post! I’ll post more comments I received tomorrow and more on Friday! Thanks to all who crowdsourced ILTACON 2024 observations for me – you saved me writing three posts this week! 😀
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So, what do you think? Did you attend ILTACON 2024? If so, feel free to comment with your own observations below! And please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.
Disclaimer: The views represented herein are exclusively the views of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views held by my employer, my partners or my clients. eDiscovery Today is made available solely for educational purposes to provide general information about general eDiscovery principles and not to provide specific legal advice applicable to any particular circumstance. eDiscovery Today should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a lawyer you have retained and who has agreed to represent you.