ILTACON 2025 Recap: Firms Moving from AI Pilots to Measurable Outcomes

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.