Our team spent the past week on the ground at ILTACON2025, hosted at the Gaylord National Resort in National Harbor, Maryland. We were joined alongside 4,600 attendees and 27 other startups in this year's Startup Hub and the vibe was unmistakable. Last year felt like experimentation; this year was execution. The industry’s flagship conference crackled with energy as conversations shifted decisively from sandbox pilots to production use, interoperability, and measurable business outcomes. Below are some of the insights we observed at the conference.
Adoption with Accountability
ILTACON 2025 made it clear: this is the year legal tech shifted from novelty to necessity, particularly with AI. Across sessions and hallways, the message was consistent: adoption only counts if it delivers measurable outcomes. Leaders want proof, not pilots.
That means retiring vanity metrics like login counts and focusing on business results that lawyers and clients can actually feel. Firms are now tracking cycle time, first-draft speed, the quality of client deliverables, and the accuracy of fee forecasts. Carrie Remhof (Director of Firm Intelligence at Troutman Pepper) explained that "if your tools aren't talked about, the firm is not engaged."
The guidance was equally practical. Quantify “shadow hours” to show hidden value, and measure predictability to build client trust. Keep KPIs simple—if they take longer than 30 seconds to explain, they won’t stick. Even language matters: “scorecard” can feel punitive, while “progress dashboard” or “value tracker” invites collaboration.
The broader takeaway is accountability. Tools must integrate into daily workflows, accelerate meaningful tasks, and prove they improve client outcomes, such as saving time while billing. Firms that measure what matters and tell that story clearly will be the ones who turn legal tech and AI adoption into an advantage.
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Trust, Transparency, and Third-Party Risk
The human side of AI adoption is inseparable from ethics and security. Panels emphasized that success depends not only on technology but also on transparent communication with clients, clear governance, and proactive change management. Some clients will opt out of AI on their matters, and that’s acceptable—firms should respond with transparency about approved tools, vendor testing, and supervision.
At the same time, third-party risk management (TPRM) is critical: firms must know their vendor landscape, identify critical providers, and maintain continuous monitoring. Governance, compliance, and security (alongside business enablement) all factor into the equation. Speakers reminded attendees that the SolarWinds cyberattack remains a cautionary tale of supply-chain risk, and warned that if a firm cannot articulate its process, it isn’t ready for a TPRM platform.
The best practice is clear: let business impact drive evaluation, run AI impact assessments, and remember that process should define technology, not the other way around.
AI Platforms Take Center Stage
ILTACON once again served as the launchpad for major product announcements, and 2025 was no exception. Vendors leaned heavily into systems that don’t just respond but can plan and execute multi-step tasks or in other words, Agentic AI. Two themes dominated: the race to become the “AI home base” for legal professionals, and the expansion of AI functionality across platforms.
Thomson Reuters unveiled CoCounsel Legal, a generative AI platform built to act like a diligent associate, combining Westlaw content with large language models for deep research. Alongside this, they introduced Westlaw Advantage, its next-generation legal research system, underscoring a multibillion-dollar commitment to AI integration.
LexisNexis launched Protégé General AI, giving lawyers secure access to general-purpose AI models (including GPT-5 and Claude) directly within Lexis+ AI. This design acknowledges that lawyers won’t abandon consumer tools but offers a safer, integrated workflow.
Other vendors followed suit. NetDocuments introduced AI-powered document profiling and drafting assistants. Everlaw debuted Deep Dive, a document-querying tool, and achieved FedRAMP authorization for government use. DISCO expanded with Auto Review in the UK and AI-driven document summarization. Emerging platforms like Legora, Chronotracer, and Descrybe.ai highlighted more specialized use cases from litigation chronologies to affordable research.
Together, these announcements confirm that AI is no longer experimental—it’s becoming the backbone of the legal tech stack.
ILTACON 2025 set the stage for legal innovation, bringing together tech and law leaders from across the globe
Key Takeaways
ILTACON 2025 underscored that legal technology has entered a new era: one defined by accountability, trust, and real outcomes. The conference made it clear that adoption without measurable impact is no longer enough. Firms are expected to demonstrate tangible improvements (faster cycle times, stronger client deliverables, and more predictable fee structures) while discarding vanity metrics like login counts. Leaders want proof, not pilots.
At the same time, the human side of AI adoption was front and center. Ethics, governance, and transparent client communication are now as essential as the tools themselves. Firms must be prepared to honor client preferences around AI use, set clear guardrails, and ensure that third-party risks are actively managed.
Finally, AI has firmly taken center stage, with major vendors positioning themselves as the “home base” for agentic AI in legal practice.
The overarching lesson: ILTACON 2025 was not about hype—it was about proving value. Firms that invest in clean data, governance, and adoption strategies will be best positioned to turn technology into competitive advantage.
