The Advanced Guide to ILTACON 2026
If you're considering attending ILTACON 2026 , or you've already registered and want to maximize your week, this is the guide we wish we'd had before our first ILTACON.
Most legal tech conferences are programmed top-down by editorial teams and sponsors. ILTACON is peer-driven- every session is submitted by practitioners and selected by a volunteer committee of ILTA members. That difference shapes the entire experience, from session quality to who you'll meet in the hallways.
Below, we cover dates, pricing, venue logistics, session strategy by role, and how ILTACON compares to Legalweek, TECHSHOW, and CLOC so you can decide whether it's the right conference for your firm.
What ILTACON Is and Who It's For
ILTACON is the annual conference of the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA), now in its 46th year. It draws over 1,600 attendees from law firms and corporate legal departments, including:
CIOs and IT directors
Legal ops leaders
Knowledge management professionals
Innovation officers
The key distinction: ILTACON is built for people who implement and manage legal technology, not people who buy it after a 20-minute demo.
If you're evaluating tools, Legalweek has the higher density of vendors. If you're responsible for deploying those tools across a 200-lawyer firm, ILTACON is where you'll find peers who've already solved your problem.
The peer-driven model reinforces this. ILTA members submit over 400 session proposals each year, and a volunteer planning committee selects roughly 80.
That filter means sessions focus on implementation challenges, security architecture, and change management- not product announcements. You're learning from a KM director who migrated 10 million documents to a new DMS, not a vendor showing you how easy it could be.
Dates, Registration, and How to Save Money
ILTACON 2026 runs Sunday, August 23 through Thursday, August 27 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Registration opens April 14, 2026.
Pass type | Early bird (before June 16) | Standard (June 16+) |
ILTA member | $2,250 | $2,999 |
Non-member | $2,999 | $3,999 |
Business partner / consultant | $3,500 | $4,000 |
Day pass (member) | $899 | $899 |
Day pass (non-member) | $1,199 | $1,199 |
All full-week passes include four days of educational sessions, lunches and breaks, exhibit hall access, and recordings of every session.
The biggest cost lever is ILTA membership. The member early-bird rate saves $749 over the non-member early bird and $1,749 over non-member standard pricing. If your firm isn't already a member, check whether membership plus the member rate costs less than registering as a non-member. It usually does.
For firms sending teams, the Super Pass ($13,000) offers real savings:
For every 6 full-week member registrations, the 7th is free
An 8th is free if that person is a first-time attendee
Cancellations are non-refundable. Contact events@iltanet.org with registration questions.
Navigate the Gaylord Opryland Without Losing Half Your Day
The Gaylord Opryland is not a normal conference hotel. It's a 2,888-room, self-contained resort with indoor atriums the size of city blocks, an indoor river, waterfalls, and restaurants. Everything for the conference happens under one roof- but "one roof" covers a property you can genuinely get lost in.
A few things to know:
The resort is cashless- credit cards and mobile payments only (cash-to-card kiosks available in the Cascades and Delta atriums)
Self-parking is $37/day: valet $55/day
The $20/night resort fee covers WiFi for up to 6 devices, fitness center, bottled water, and shuttle service to Opry Mills Mall
Book through the official ILTA Housing Portal only (opens April 14). ILTA warns that housing poachers are active- ignore unsolicited hotel offers. The only authorized way to book is through the link in your registration confirmation email.
Hotel | Nightly rate | Notes |
Gaylord Opryland (main venue) | $254 + taxes + $20 resort fee | Book through ILTA portal only |
The Inn at Opryland (overflow) | $214 + taxes | 5-min drive, complimentary shuttle |
Fairfield Inn & Suites at Opryland (overflow) | $169 + taxes | 1 mile away, complimentary shuttle |
Arrive Sunday morning or early afternoon to learn the property layout before the opening reception. Comfortable shoes are non-negotiable- you'll walk miles between sessions.
Getting there: Nashville International Airport (BNA) is about 15 minutes from the Gaylord.
Rideshare (Uber/Lyft): $20–$35
Taxi: $30–$40
Gaylord shuttle: Departs on the half-hour from the Terminal Parking Garage lower level
What Happens Each Day
The full 2026 agenda hasn't been published yet, but the schedule structure is confirmed.
Sunday, August 23- Arrival day. Registration, the ILTACON Orientation (strongly recommended for first-timers), a team-building event, and the Opening Reception. Buddy System first meetup at 5:00 PM.
Monday, August 24- Full program launches. Opening keynote from Ryan Campbell on resilience and prioritizing joy- his story spans a world-record expedition and recovery from a plane crash and paraplegic diagnosis. Sessions, master classes, and company updates run all day. The G100 Day (closed event for CIOs of the 100 largest firms) runs concurrently. Monday evening: Exhibit Hall Opening Reception. [Keynote sponsored by iManage.]
Tuesday, August 25- Exhibit hall opens in full. Best day for vendor demos and the Startup Hub. The G200 Day runs concurrently.
Wednesday, August 26- Second keynote from Reena SenGupta, founder of RSGI Limited, on creating a sustainable future for the legal industry. Sessions and exhibit hall continue. [Keynote sponsored by NetDocuments.]
Thursday, August 27- G100/G200 Recap keynote (sponsored by Thomson Reuters), Small Firm Summit, remaining sessions, and the Closing Reception.
Pick Your Sessions by Role, Not by Title
With 80+ sessions across learning pathways, panels, hands-on labs, master classes, and attendee-driven discussions, you can't attend everything. Don't try. Recordings are included with your registration- prioritize interactive and discussion-based formats you can't replicate from a recording.
IT directors and CIOs: Focus on cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, and AI governance. The G100/G200 closed-door events are high-value if you qualify- candid peer conversations that don't get recorded.
Knowledge management leads: KM tracks, taxonomy sessions, and content management workshops. The attendee-driven sessions surface real implementation challenges that structured presentations skip.
Legal ops managers: Process automation, workflow optimization, and metrics/benchmarking. Company updates from your current vendors are worth attending for roadmap visibility.
Innovation officers: Split time between the Startup Hub, AI adoption sessions, and the change management track. If your firm is evaluating AI tools for legal workflows, the exhibit hall is where you can see them side-by-side.
Expect AI to dominate the 2026 program- practical applications, governance, and ROI measurement are likely the most popular tracks. Cybersecurity, eDiscovery, data privacy, and talent strategy will round it out.
Attendees can earn self-reporting CE hours and PMP PDUs.
The Exhibit Hall and Startup Hub
Over 100 vendors exhibit at ILTACON. Don't just wander- identify 5–10 vendors you want to evaluate, prepare specific questions, and schedule meetings in advance.
Startup Hub
The Startup Hub features more than 25 early-stage companies exhibiting at reduced rates. This is where you'll find the newest solutions in legal tech before they go mainstream. Visit on Tuesday when the full exhibit hall opens so you can compare startups and established vendors in the same walkthrough.
Private Demo Rooms
Sponsors set up private demo rooms throughout the venue- these host everything from product demonstrations to wine tastings. Ask vendors at their booths about invite-only events. Some of the best networking at ILTACON happens in these spaces.
If timekeeping is one of the pain points you're evaluating solutions for, conferences like ILTACON are a good forcing function- you're surrounded by peers who've already deployed AI timekeeping tools and can tell you what worked. We built Ajax to read your screen in the background and draft time entries automatically, so lawyers review entries instead of writing them from scratch. Book a demo before the conference and come to ILTACON with informed questions.
How ILTACON Compares to Other Legal Tech Conferences
If you're deciding between conferences- or justifying ILTACON's registration fee to your firm- this comparison covers the four events that overlap most with ILTACON's audience.
Criteria | ILTACON | Legalweek | ABA TECHSHOW | CLOC |
Audience | Legal IT, KM, innovation, ops at mid-to-large firms | Broad legal industry- lawyers, ops, vendors, media | Solo to mid-size practitioners, legal tech enthusiasts | Legal ops and in-house legal departments |
Attendees | ~1,600 | 6,000+ | ~2,000 | ~3,000 |
Format | Peer-driven (sessions selected by ILTA members) | Vendor-driven with editorial programming | Mix of vendor and community content | Community + vendor programming |
Cost | $2,250–$3,999 | $1,500–$3,000 | $700–$1,500 | $1,500–$2,500 |
When | August (5 days) | March (4 days) | February (3 days) | May (4 days) |
Where | Nashville (2026) | New York (Javits Center) | Chicago (McCormick Place) | Rotates |
CE/CLE | CE hours, PMP PDUs | CLE credits | CLE credits | CLM credits |
Best for | Firms investing in infrastructure, security, and legal tech operations | Broad industry networking, vendor evaluation, market trends | Practical tech skills, smaller-firm budgets, hands-on learning | Corporate legal departments, enterprise ops leaders |
Which one fits you:
Choose ILTACON if your concern is how to implement, secure, and optimize legal technology. The peer-driven format delivers more actionable takeaways than larger, vendor-driven events.
Choose Legalweek for the broadest vendor exposure and networking.
Choose TECHSHOW if you're at a solo or small firm- the content and price are built for that audience.
Choose CLOC if you're in-house legal ops at a corporation.
A First-Timer's Tactical Checklist
4–6 Weeks Before
Register and book your hotel through the official ILTA housing portal (opens April 14)
Review the session agenda once published
Browse the exhibitor list and schedule vendor meetings early- many book up quickly
Sign up for the Buddy System if you're a first-timer (deadline: July 29)
Register for pre-conference webinars at iltacon.org/about/webinars
1–2 Weeks Before
Download the ILTACON mobile app- your single source of truth for schedule changes and pop-up events
Print extra business cards
Write down 3–5 specific challenges you want addressed by the end of the week
Pack layers- Nashville in August averages 88–93°F outside, but the convention center runs aggressive AC
Bring a portable phone charger- the Gaylord is enormous and your battery won't make it to the afternoon
During the Conference
The most valuable moments often happen in hallway conversations. If you're having a great impromptu discussion, skip the session- you'll have recordings.
Attend at least two after-hours social events.
Keep a running list of actionable insights and new contacts- your boss will want to know what you learned.
Spend 15–20 minutes each evening reviewing your notes before the week blurs together.
Explore Nashville
The Gaylord sits about 15 minutes from downtown Nashville. Worth the trip if your schedule allows:
Broadway- Nashville's famous honky-tonk strip with live music all day
Grand Ole Opry- Right next door to the resort, with shuttle service to performances
Nashville hot chicken- A local specialty. Hattie B's, Prince's, and Bolton's are the names to know.
The Gulch and East Nashville- Excellent restaurants beyond conference dining
Opry Mills Mall- Adjacent to the resort, accessible by complimentary shuttle
Weather note: Late August in Nashville means highs around 88–93°F with high humidity. Stay hydrated.
Key Dates at a Glance
Date | Milestone |
April 14 | Registration and housing portal open |
June 16 | Early bird pricing ends |
July 29 | Buddy System signup deadline |
August 7 | Buddy contact info shared |
August 23–27 | ILTACON 2026 |
Planning further ahead? ILTACON returns to Nashville in 2027 (August 8–12), moves to Orlando in 2028 (August 6–10), and National Harbor, MD in 2029 (August 12–16).
Final Thoughts
ILTACON is a five-day investment- in registration fees, travel, and time away from the office. The return depends on how intentionally you approach the week: which sessions you choose, which vendors you schedule time with, and whether you talk to people outside your immediate circle.
What makes ILTACON different from other legal technology conferences is the peer-driven format. Sessions are built by people doing your job at other firms. That produces content you can act on when you get home- not just inspiration you forget by the following Monday.
Registration opens April 14 at iltacon.org. Early bird pricing ends June 16. If you're bringing a team, run the Super Pass math before you register individually.