Legalweek 2026 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 Legalweek 2026 observations!

FYI, I’m publishing their crowdsourced Legalweek 2026 observations in mostly the order they provided them to me and splitting them over three posts. Note: some observations are split into multiple paragraphs, so only the last paragraph will show attribution.

Legalweek 2026 made clear that the legal industry has moved past debating whether to adopt AI and is now wrestling with the harder questions of how to govern it, measure it honestly, and change alongside it as agentic AI opens the next chapter. The strongest signal from practitioners was a rejection of the efficiency-first narrative. The real opportunity is not just doing existing work faster, it is unlocking measurable economic value and capabilities that were not possible before. And beyond the technology conversations, the Judges Panel on Safeguarding Justice was a powerful reminder that as legal professionals who understand better than most that words matter, we have a responsibility to stand by the men and women on the bench and help bring the temperature down, regardless of where any of us stand politically or socially. Amit Dungarani, Vice President, Product Marketing and Revenue Enablement, Casepoint

The conference venue was vast and well organized. For as much as I missed the surrounding area around the NY Hilton, the conference space was a great upgrade. My fitness tracker thinks I ran a marathon, but aside from that, the show was a complete success. The show did not disappoint as the chatter throughout the sessions revolved around AI and the exhibit hall was not short on how providers were introducing AI innovations. Sal Mancuso, Managing Director, Conduent Legal, Compliance, and Analytics

The real product clients are buying is confidence. Clients are buying AI because they believe they are buying results they can trust under pressure. The more automation enters the workflow, the more valuable it becomes to work with a provider who can make the process legible, defensible, and reliable. Matt Mahon, Vice President, Client Solutions, Level Legal

One of the biggest themes I saw at Legalweek this year was how much the market is shifting toward the “left side” of the EDRM – data governance, cyber breach response, and analytics, rather than purely traditional document review. At the same time, many vendors are now focused on scaling their go-to-market teams, which is driving strong demand for experienced legal tech sales professionals who can generate revenue quickly. From a recruitment perspective, it felt like a very active market with companies looking for more autonomous, commercially minded talent as they grow. Tom Chapman, Co-Founder, Iceberg

Huge credit to the organizers, Javits was a fantastic version upgrade! The lunch line, however, was apparently designed to give us all time to reflect on the nature of life itself. Philip Weldon, Director of eDiscovery and Litigation Support Technology, Hecker Fink LLP

If you just looked at the taglines of every vendor touting their AI, there was little to no differentiation. Buzzwords were: Agentic, Streamline, Automate, Accelerate, etc. And in conversations, many had a difficult time articulating their value beyond wrapping an LLM onto their products. Rian Kennedy, Director, Legal Hold Sales, DISCO

I appreciated the elbow room @ Javits. Made it much easier to stop at the booths and really have a chance to talk to people and learn so much more. Erika Kilborn, eDiscovery Consultant

At the beginning of the week, there was some resistance to the new location due to its distance from our usual hotels and restaurants. However, as the week progressed, many of us were won over by the venue’s advantages, including its spaciousness, easy navigation, and the benefit of having all exhibitors on a single floor.

I really appreciate that ALM invites smart and talented keynote speakers who may be outside of our industry but still have valuable lessons to teach. Eli Manning taught me that when you are making a key life decision (like what to do next), your work is not done once the decision is made–you then have to work hard to make it the right decision. Mindy Kaling reinforced that we should aim high in life and not be dissuaded by fear of failure– we may learn little or nothing from our successes, but there is much to learn from our failures–and those can ultimately position us onto better paths. David R. Cohen, CEO, ATJustice

I think the dominant themes at Legalweek 2026 centered on the transition from “hypothetical” generative AI to operational, agentic AI. The overarching message was that the legal industry has moved past the initial excitement of AI and is now focused on practical implementation, risk mitigation, and validation. Gregory Bufithis, Founder/Producer, Luminative Media

The most welcome change of the move to Javits North was sunlight in the conference space (3rd and 4th floors). Having a united exhibits floor was incredibly welcome. On the other hand, Javits is currently an island on the island. The lack of space onsite to sit and have a conversation, take a call, or get some work done, was painful and frustrating, as was the distance to any offsite services and event locations. Eric P. Mandel, Director, Global Advisory Services, KLDiscovery Ontrack, LLC

There was an air of trepidation attending Legalweek at the massive Javits Center this year, but I found the facility fresh, welcoming (windows!), and walker-friendly (I saw your rings Doug!). That said, navigating the surrounding neighborhood was a disheveled, concrete-laden experience through trash-strewn construction gauntlets. Inside was a non-stop AI blitz from the Exhibit Hall, sessions, and networking conversations but overall I give the show a grade of B+, bordering on an AI-. Brett Burney, eLaw Evangelist, Nextpoint

I liked the larger space at the Javits. Only downsides: first, it’s further away from midtown, but that is solved by taking the #7 train from either Grand Central or 42d street. Second, at the Hilton, if you stood on the 3d floor you would see everyone you knew in the industry walk by, and I didn’t feel that at the Javits. Judge Andrew Peck (ret.), Senior Counsel, DLA Piper

There were so many people who provided crowdsourced Legalweek 2026 observations that I couldn’t fit it all into one post! I’ll post more comments I received tomorrow and more on Thursday! Thanks to all who crowdsourced Legalweek 2026 observations for me – you saved me writing three posts this week! 😀

So, what do you think? Did you attend Legalweek 2026? 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.