The International Legal Technology Association had seemed to be on the fence about whether to retain a physical aspect of its annual ILTACON conference in August, but now it has decisively come down on the side of a virtual-only conference.
The ILTACON website now says that the conference will be entirely virtual, describing it as “the virtual experience for the global legal technology community.” The online-only conference has been renamed “ILTA>ON” and will be held Aug. 24-28.
In April, when I interviewed Joy Heath Rush, ILTA’s CEO, for my Law Insights episode on Litera TV. I asked her whether there would still be an ILTACON in August.
“ILTACON will happen, it absolutely will happen,” Rush told me then. “Whether it happens in the way that we’re accustomed to, I think is the question.”
At the time, she said that she anticipated the conference would have both in-person and virtual components.
But the website now makes clear that the conference will be solely virtual. ILTA has scheduled a press briefing for tomorrow where it is likely further details will be provided.
An FAQ on the website says the event was changed to virtual for several reasons.
“Travel bans, uncertainty with what tomorrow would bring with COVID-19, and the late reopening of the hotel are just a few of the bigger reasons we chose to move virtually. The safety of our ILTA Community is very important to us.”
It says that the conference’s structure and size made it infeasible to move it to a later date in 2020.
Anyone who already registered for a room at the Gaylord Opryland hotel, the planned venue for the conference, will have the registration cancelled automatically and a refund issued.
Registration for the virtual conference will cost $350 for ILTA members and $599 for non-members. A day pass can be purchased for $99 for members or $199 for non-members.
