ILTACON 2026 is in full swing! One day of sessions in the books & the opening of the Exhibit Hall. Here are Tuesday happenings at ILTACON 2026!

As I discussed here and here, the International Legal Technology Association’s (ILTA) annual conference ILTACON 2026 is being conducted this week at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, TN. Each day at ILTACON 2026, eDiscovery Today will highlight notable sessions for the day – in most cases, those sessions will relate to eDiscovery, Information Governance, cybersecurity, data privacy, or artificial intelligence (as well as a few other happenings during the week).

Also, several eDiscovery Today partners are exhibiting at ILTACON this week. Here they are with their booth numbers: KLDiscovery-213, Relativity-210, Syllo-747, Epiq-430 and Everlaw-331. Please check them out!

Here are Tuesday happenings at ILTACON 2026, including my session!

10:30 AM – 12:00 PM CDT:

Trust but Verify: Validating AI Workflows in eDiscovery (Tennessee AB)

As Generative AI (GenAI) becomes a standard component of the eDiscovery lifecycle in 2026, the primary challenge has evolved from “How do we use this?” to “How do we prove it worked and scale it responsibly?”

This session bridges the gap between technical execution and strategic governance. We will move beyond the “black box” approach to explore how legal organizations can transform their workflows by elevating data, information strategy, and human capability into strategic assets in a defensible, scalable, and repeatable manner.

Speakers: Doug Austin, Editor, eDiscovery Today; Tiana Van Dyk, Managing Director, Canada, Epiq; Cristin Traylor, Senior Director, AI Transformation & Law Firm Strategy, Relativity; Umair Muhajir, Vice-President, AI & Review Services at DISCO.

Technology Strategy Beyond Roadmaps (Delta C)

Legal technology leaders must navigate complex strategic technology decisions. Drawing on ILTA case studies—from large-scale mergers to boutique acquisitions and constrained innovation initiatives—this workshop explores how to build technology strategies that align with business goals while remaining agile, flexible, and resilient.

Takeaways:

• Guidance on transforming technology roadmaps into actionable strategies
• Approaches for managing constraints that impact roadmaps and strategic plans
• New methods to better align strategic planning with organizational objectives

Speakers: Pramesh Naik, Chief Information Officer, Troutman Pepper Locke LLP; Sue Keno, Vice President, Client Services, Opensity Solutions; Joannie Murray, Director of Information Technology, Krieg DeVault LLP; Karyl Davis, Senior Manager of Technology Adoption, Troutman Pepper Locke LLP.

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM CDT:

Managing AI Tool Overload (Delta C)

AI hype continues to accelerate, but not every tool delivers meaningful value for legal work, especially as organizations juggle overlapping pilots, unused licenses, and partner driven experiments. This session offers a structured, evidence based approach to building an AI strategy that avoids tool overload by evaluating risk, ROI, practice fit, long term support needs, and attorney adoption likelihood. We will walk through decision matrices, risk scoring models, implementation sequencing, and vendor evaluation frameworks, including insights from attorney led testing, to help organizations determine what they actually need. Because technology alone does not determine success, we will also examine how client demand, client restrictions, and compliance by design shape AI adoption far more than tool selection. Attendees will leave with a clear method for aligning AI investments with business priorities and communicating a defensible strategy to leadership.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand how attorney led testing strengthens AI evaluation by checking accuracy, reliability, and practical workflow fit.
• Learn how attorney expertise supports tool comparisons, risk scoring, and evidence based recommendations for AI adoption.
• Discover how attorney insights help identify high value use cases and eliminate tools that do not meet legal or operational needs.
• Gain a framework for integrating attorney feedback into AI strategy, governance, and vendor selection.

Speakers: Johnny Wong, Knowledge Management Counsel, Littler Mendelson, P.C.; Tim Fox, Chief Data and AI Officer, Ogletree Deakins; Christina Natale, Director of Legal Strategy & Advisory, Hike 2.

The Expertise Exchange: Building a Mentorship Network for the AI Era (Magnolia Mezzanine 11)

AI has scrambled the old rules of expertise. The person mentoring you five years ago may be learning from you today, and that is exactly the point.

The mentor you need next may not hold a more senior title, share your role or even work inside your organization. They may understand the skill you want to build, the room you want to enter, the career move you are considering or the challenge no one around you has faced. And someone may already see you as that person for them.

Expect real examples, candid advice and none of the vague “just find a mentor” guidance. Together, we’ll explore how to build a circle of mentors for different needs, make an ask someone can actually say yes to, decide whether you are the right fit for a mentee and recognize when a relationship should evolve or end. You’ll begin your own ACEDS Mentorship Map and leave with one person to approach, one thing to offer and a next move to make before ILTACON is over.

Speakers: Kristin Sunderman, Litigation Support Director, Freddie Mac Legal Department; Richard Robinson, Epiq.

When AI Meets IG: Secure AI Integration with Knowledge Systems (Davidson North)

As firms adopt AI to unlock insights from their knowledge repositories, the challenge isn’t just technical—it’s governance. How do you integrate AI with platforms like iManage, NetDocs, Intapp, and Outlook while maintaining compliance, security, and ethical standards? This session examines real-world approaches firms are taking to balance innovation with IG requirements. We’ll explore integration strategies, risk mitigation, and governance frameworks that enable AI-driven knowledge without compromising trust.

Key Takeaways

• Common integration patterns for AI with DMS, Intapp Walls, and Outlook
• IG considerations: security, compliance, and ethical AI usage
• Lessons learned from firms leading in AI-enabled knowledge management
• Practical steps for building an AI integration roadmap under IG constraints

Speakers: Shalaka Natu, Senior Director of Product Management, Intapp; Nathaniel Baker, Key Account Executive, US, Jus Mundi; Galina Datskovsky, Board of Directors Member, Future in Tech (FiT); Zorik Pesochinsky, Associate Director, Legal Collaboration Tech, Cooley LLP.

3:30 PM – 4:30 PM CDT:

From Silos to Signals: Architecting a Data Lakehouse for AI (Tennessee AB)

As firms race to harness the power of AI, the spotlight is to creating a unified data lakehouse that can support an enterprise-wide AI layer for advanced analytics and machine learning. This session explores how modern tools fit together across ingestion, replication, and transformation pipelines along with the most common pitfalls that derail lakehouse initiatives. We will also discuss the operating model required for success, clarifying the roles of data engineering, governance, security, and compliance in building and sustaining trusted data.

Attendees will leave with a practical understanding of how a governed lakehouse reduces technical debt, improves data consistency, and accelerates scalable AI adoption.

Speakers: Chris Emerson, Chief Legal Operations and Innovation Officer, Quarles & Brady LLP; J. Christopher Kosek, Director, Enterprise Applications and Development, K&L Gates; Steven Magnuson, Director of Data and Analytics, Ballard Spahr LLP.

Human-Centered AI Adoption: A Practical Training Playbook for Legal Organizations and Corporate Law Departments (Volunteer North)

As law firms accelerate their adoption of generative AI, the true competitive advantage is no longer the technology itself—it’s the firm’s ability to prepare its people to use it responsibly, confidently, and effectively. This session introduces the AI Training Playbook, a practical, scalable framework designed to upskill attorneys, business professionals, and firm leadership across organizations of any size.

Drawing on real-world AI training initiatives from law firms at different stages of maturity, this session moves beyond theory to show how firms can build a sustainable training ecosystem that supports real adoption. Participants will learn how to define role-specific AI personas, map high-value use cases to teachable workflows, and implement defensible governance models that align with ethical, regulatory, and client expectations.

This session explores how to design persona-based curricula, hands-on learning experiences, and advanced training pathways that integrate seamlessly into existing learning and development programs. Rather than focusing on experimentation for experimentation’s sake, the discussion centers on concrete workflows—such as document review, knowledge management, intake triage, and internal research—where AI can be deployed incrementally using current systems and controls.

Attendees will leave with a structured methodology for creating an AI training roadmap, launching controlled pilots, measuring skill development, and equipping corner-office decision-makers with the insights they need to unlock meaningful value from AI investments—while fostering a culture of continuous learning, inclusion, and future-ready leadership.

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Key Takeaways

Participants will learn how to:

• Build a persona-based AI training playbook tailored to attorneys, business professionals, and firm leadership
• Translate high-value AI use cases into repeatable training modules aligned to real legal workflows
• Design a scalable AI training roadmap that supports firmwide adoption—not just awareness
• Integrate AI training into existing learning ecosystems while maintaining strong governance and risk controls
• Measure skill development and adoption to align individual growth with firm strategy and client expectations
• Foster inclusive, future-ready legal teams through mentorship, sponsorship, and leadership development in legal technology

This session equips legal leaders, innovation professionals, and training teams with a clear, actionable framework to move their firms from AI curiosity to sustained capability—responsibly, ethically, and at scale.

Speakers: Sarah Hirebet (Andrews), Director of Knowledge Management, Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP; Johnathan Nixon, Attorney, Crowell; Ian Nelson, Co-Founder, Hotshot Inc.; Rebekah Everest, Technology Training Supervisor, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP.

Preparing Today’s Neurodiverse Legal Professionals (Davidson South)

This session examines how law firms are supporting neurodiverse legal professionals. Hearing from development leaders, participants will learn about professional development programs, inclusive workplace initiatives, and cognitive-support tools designed to help professionals succeed at every career stage.  

Key Topics:  

• Evolution of neurodiversity initiatives from recruitment through retention  
• Role of neurodiversity advocates in shaping programs  
• Applying cognitive science research to development  
• Using generative AI as a cognitive “thinking partner”  
• Practical AI applications: summarizing legal materials, organizing workflows, creating visual task systems  

Why It Matters: Over 12% of practicing attorneys and nearly 24% of law students identify as neurodivergent.  

Takeaway: Learn how technology, inclusive policies, and leadership engagement enhance performance, well-being, and success for the neurodiverse. 

Speakers: Charisma Starr, Transformation Consultant, Charisma Starr Associate Member; Jessica Rubin, Director, Practice Efficiency & Innovation, Miller Thomson LLP; Jannise Vinson, Vice President of Content, ILTA; Jamie Liberatore, Learning Technology Operations Specialist, InOutsource; Samuel Porter, Knowledge Management Specialist, Litera.

Here’s a link to the detailed agenda for the week.

In addition to those Tuesday happenings at ILTACON 2026, there are several networking events tonight!

So, what do you think? Are you checking out the Tuesday happenings at ILTACON 2026? If you’re here in person, look me up!  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.