Just returned from ILTA’s Evolve 2026 conferance in Denver and here’s my Above the Law post. Three days of content at a breathless pace. A record 500+ attendees that tested but didn’t break the small-conference vibe that makes Evolve worth it. An opening keynote from Zach Abramowitz that framed the AI moment as well as anything I’ve heard on a conference stage this year. And a vendor experience that reminded me that hallway proximity often beats cavernous exhibit halls. Once again, ILTA got most things right.
I will have to say, however, the AI content conversation in legal tech needs to grow up a bit. We should be past simple prompt writing exercises and talking about the repetitive tasks AI can do. Addressing critical questions like where is GenAI taking the profession, and what does that mean for long-range planning are still largely missing from most conferance agendas.
Evolve’s cyber content, on the other hand, was exactly right: technical, practical, and even emotionally honest about what a data breach actually does to the people who have to manage and live through one.
I do hope ILTA doesn’t let success turn Evolve into a spring version of its sprawling late-summer flagship. The small conferance mission is still the magic.