In a moment of legal tech history, the International Legal Technology Association has confirmed that the 2020 annual ILTA conference will take place virtually, describing it on its website as “a new kind of conference” and “the virtual conference you need and want to attend.”
ILTA>ON is promising sessions across all time zones, both live and on-demand. The industry association also says on its website that there will be unique social opportunities like wine tastings, walking tours, cooking classes and games.
Member day passes for the five-day conference are $99 and a full week pass is $350, or $199 and $599 for non-members. ILTA says it’s expecting 6,000-plus attendees.
Conference co-chair Julie Brown says: “ILTA>ON is a step into the future of ILTA and legal community events. We will not only have sessions led by experts from around the globe but extra experiences that will make attendees feel like they are really a part of a global community, learning together.”
ILTA has been grappling with the impact of COVID-19, which has seen the vast majority of legal IT events so far in 2020 cancelled. ILTA takes place at the end of August, when it is still highly unlikely that people will want to gather in large numbers, particularly given the warnings of a second peak around that time.
While the US gathering is the highlight of the legaltech calendar, a virtual conference will open up the content to more people and make it fairer to those who traditionally are unable to attend, given the cost and time commitment involved.
Conference co-chair Mike Viscito says: “aThese are challenging times for us all and there’s never been a better time join your peers for educational and networking opportunities like only ILTA can provide. Each day will be devoted to group of specific topics like Office 365, Data Science and IT Operations. You’ll be able to customize your ILTA>ON experience with specific days that are most relevant to you or join us for the full week! In addition to fantastic educational content you’ll have opportunities to meet new people and make those connections that make ILTA so special.”
We will find out more details from ILTA later at a formal press briefing later on 9 June.