Litera has become the second major sponsor of ILTACON 2021 to say that it’s staff will not be attending the conference in person in Las Vegas. A spokesperson for the ILTAMAX sponsor – ILTAMAX is the top-level sponsor, above platinum – told Legal IT Insider: “After assessing the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation in the US, it is with regret that we have decided that our team will not be attending ILTACON 2021 in Las Vegas. We apologize for any disappointment or inconvenience this decision causes. We believe this is the right action to take, given the circumstances.”
Litera’s decision follows that of fellow ILTAMAX sponsor iManage, which on 12 August let its ILTA attendees know that due to the current travel ban in place for all iManage employees, the Chicago-headquartered company would not permit staff to attend in Las Vegas.;new advadsCfpAd( 163652 );;new advadsCfpAd( 155475 );;new advadsCfpAd( 155474 );;new advadsCfpAd( 163652 );;new advadsCfpAd( 155475 );( window.advanced_ads_ready || jQuery( document ).ready ).call( null, function() {var $legalslider1934036032 = jQuery( “.legal-slider-1934036032” );$legalslider1934036032.on( “unslider.ready”, function() { jQuery( “div.custom-slider ul li” ).css( “display”, “block” ); });$legalslider1934036032.unslider({ delay:10000, autoplay:true, nav:false, arrows:false, infinite:true });$legalslider1934036032.on(“mouseover”, function(){$legalslider1934036032.unslider(“stop”);}).on(“mouseout”, function() {$legalslider1934036032.unslider(“start”);});});
Much like iManage, Litera says that it will still be at ILTACON virtually. The spokesperson told us: “We will be putting all our effort into the online platform. You can visit Litera here to find out how to connect with us.”
He added: “Our team will be in touch with many of you in the next couple of days, and we have several new and exciting things to share. Please join us tomorrow, August 19th, at 10:00 am CT for our CEO Executive Briefing.”;new advadsCfpAd( 163901 );;new advadsCfpAd( 163650 );;new advadsCfpAd( 156117 );;new advadsCfpAd( 163901 );;new advadsCfpAd( 163650 );( window.advanced_ads_ready || jQuery( document ).ready ).call( null, function() {var $legalslider826315141 = jQuery( “.legal-slider-826315141” );$legalslider826315141.on( “unslider.ready”, function() { jQuery( “div.custom-slider ul li” ).css( “display”, “block” ); });$legalslider826315141.unslider({ delay:10000, autoplay:true, nav:false, arrows:false, infinite:true });$legalslider826315141.on(“mouseover”, function(){$legalslider826315141.unslider(“stop”);}).on(“mouseout”, function() {$legalslider826315141.unslider(“start”);});});
ILTA organisers have long promoted this year’s conference as a hybrid virtual/in-person event and many of the educational sessions are being streamed live. There is also scheduled live virtual networking between attendees who are there in person and those online. However, Litera’s withdrawal from attending in person is another blow for the conference organisers. It follows a predicted post-4 July holiday spike in coronavirus cases in Nevada, although numbers have been dropping.
You can access the latest data here: http://covid.southernnevadahealthdistrict.org/cases/
Speaking to me on 16 August, VP of service delivery Dawn Hudgins and director of publications and press Beth Anne Stuebe told Legal IT Insider that 850 people (including vendors) are signed up to attend this year – that number is said to have grown significantly over the past month and is around where ILTA wanted to be in terms of in person attendance.
However, reservations around in-person attendance are being expressed on social media, with legal tech founder, investor and public speaker Zach Abramowitz commenting on Twitter on 13 August that he had decided to cancel his flight to Vegas.
Hudgins and Stuebe told Legal IT Insider on 16 August that the other top sponsors are still attending – you can find out who they are here: https://www.iltanet.org/iltacon2021/sponsors