What Comes After ILTACON 2026? Legal Tech Trends Through an Astrological Lens
ILTACON 2026 kicked off a new cycle in Legal Tech.
ILTACON 2026 has officially wrapped, so now comes the interesting part: what happens next for legal technology?
Before the conference, I looked at the astrology surrounding ILTACON 2026 to get a sense of the themes, conversations, and energy we might see emerge throughout the week. Now, I’m looking at the chart for the end of the conference, not necessarily to judge whether those predictions were “right,” but to see where the energy seems to be heading from here.
For this reading, I cast the chart for the closing time of the final event on Thursday, using that as the symbolic endpoint of the conference.
If ILTACON was about generating ideas, having conversations, and exploring possibilities, the next phase is about figuring out what we’re actually going to do with them.
We’re Entering a New Cycle in Legal Technology
The conference ends with Aries rising, which immediately gives the chart a sense of forward movement. There’s an eagerness to begin, create, experiment, and put things into motion.
But this isn’t necessarily innovation for innovation’s sake.
In fact, that was one of my biggest takeaways from ILTACON 2026 itself.
ILTACON felt bigger than ever this year, and the exhibit hall was easily the most extravagant I’ve seen at the event. There was plenty of flash, spectacle, and competition for attention. Legal technology vendors clearly came prepared to stand out.
Interestingly, that wasn’t the energy I encountered in my conversations.
The conversations I had throughout the week were remarkably grounded. People wanted to talk about practical problems, what was working, what wasn’t, and what they actually needed technology to accomplish. In some cases, I even got the sense that people were a little put off by how over-the-top parts of the conference had become.
Legal tech leaders were here to work. And they were focused on getting the job done.
That contrast feels especially important when we look at the conference-end chart.
The Sun and Mercury are both in Virgo in the 6th house, putting a tremendous amount of emphasis on usefulness, service, workflows, and the practical realities of everyday work.
In other words: What problem does this actually solve?
We’ve spent years talking about what’s possible with AI and emerging legal technology. Now, I think the conversation is shifting toward practical application. New products—and the organizations adopting them—need clear use cases. Technology needs to fit into existing workflows, improve them, or give people a compelling reason to change the way they work.
The dream still matters. But now we have to figure out how to build it.
Legal Tech Innovation Meets Reality
One of the strongest signatures in this chart is the conjunction between the Sun and Mercury in Virgo, with both forming a tight square to Uranus in Gemini.
For a legal technology conference, this feels almost too fitting.
Uranus in Gemini brings disruption around information, communication, knowledge, data, and the ways all of those things move. Mercury in Virgo, meanwhile, wants information to be organized, accurate, useful, and applied intelligently.
There’s tension between those two ideas, and I think we’ll continue to see it play out over the next several months.
What can technology theoretically do, and what do people actually need it to do?
Not every legal tech experiment will work. Some of the most exciting ideas coming out of ILTACON may need to be refined, tested, reworked, or even reconsidered before they’re ready for everyday use.
So, don’t be discouraged by delays, re-dos, or additional testing. That’s part of the process.
The Dreamers Still Matter
That doesn’t mean we should stop thinking big.
There’s an interesting balance between Virgo and Pisces in this chart. The Sun and Mercury sit in Virgo in the 6th house, while the Moon is in Pisces in the 12th.
Virgo asks us to be practical. Pisces asks us to imagine.
And I think we need both.
Perhaps the lesson isn’t that we need to choose between vision and practicality. We need people who can translate one into the other.
The Moon is also waxing toward a lunar eclipse, giving this chart a feeling of something still developing. The ideas are expanding and taking shape, but we haven’t necessarily reached the final outcome yet.
That’s why I wouldn’t expect everything discussed at ILTACON 2026 to materialize immediately.
Instead, pay attention to the themes that gained momentum this week. What conversations kept resurfacing? What ideas stuck with you? What did you hear once and then suddenly start hearing everywhere?
Eclipses tend to initiate longer stories, and their meaning often becomes clearer with time. Over the next six months, we may begin to see which of this week’s ideas were simply interesting conversations and which were the beginning of something much larger.
The Next Legal Tech Advantage May Already Be Inside Your Organization
Mars rules the conference-end chart, and it sits in Cancer in the 4th house, close to the IC.
This immediately turns my attention inward.
Of course organizations should understand what their competitors are doing. Market trends matter. It’s helpful to know which technologies your peers are adopting and where the broader legal industry seems to be heading.
But I don’t think the answer is simply to look around and copy what everyone else is doing.
The next competitive advantage may come from knowing your own organization better than anyone else does.
What institutional knowledge already exists inside your firm? What proprietary information differentiates you? What knowledge disappears when someone retires or leaves? What legal data do you already have that you’re not using effectively?
Mars in Cancer has a protective quality. Combined with the 4th house—the foundation of the chart—it makes me think that legal technology innovation isn’t only about acquiring something new. There’s also tremendous value in preserving, structuring, and intelligently applying what organizations already have.
Mars in Cancer also puts data security front and center. Legal technology vendors and internal technology teams should expect thorough security reviews as organizations become increasingly careful about who and what they allow into their internal ecosystems.
This becomes even more interesting when we look at the Midheaven in Capricorn.
Capricorn is interested in structure, stability, longevity, and building something that can actually last. With Cancer at the bottom of the chart and Capricorn at the top, there’s a direct relationship between the strength of the internal foundation and what an organization is ultimately able to accomplish publicly.
For me, this is one of the clearest messages in the chart:
The stronger the foundation, the more ambitious you can afford to be.
Get your data in order. Understand your institutional knowledge. Know what makes your organization different. Build from there.
Partnerships Could Be the Secret Ingredient for Legal Tech
I also wouldn’t underestimate the importance of partnership.
Venus is in Libra in the 7th house, where it’s exceptionally comfortable, and the Lot of Fortune also falls in Libra in the 7th.
That feels significant.
The organizations that succeed in this next phase of legal technology may not necessarily be the ones trying to build everything themselves.
Vendor partnerships matter. Legal tech integrations matter. Collaboration between lawyers, technologists, knowledge professionals, data teams, innovation teams, and vendors matters.
Sometimes you don’t need to build another product. You need to figure out how the products, people, and information you already have can work together.
And sometimes a really good idea just needs the right partner to get it over the edge.
Build It. Prove It. Then Let It Grow.
Jupiter in Leo forms a supportive trine with Saturn in Aries, which adds another interesting layer to the chart.
Jupiter wants us to think bigger. It encourages experimentation, creativity, visibility, and confidence.
Saturn asks whether the idea can actually hold up.
Is it sustainable? Does the business case work? Have you created the right governance? Can you prove the value?
There’s room for bold ideas here, but there’s also accountability.
Build it. Prove it. Then let it grow.
After seeing the sheer scale of ILTACON this year, I think that distinction matters. Being the biggest, loudest, or most attention-grabbing thing in the room may get people to stop and look, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into staying power.
The substance still has to be there.
I don’t think we’re leaving the era of legal technology innovation. If anything, we may be entering a much more consequential phase of it. We’re simply becoming more discerning about which innovations deserve to stay.
Don’t Forget the Conversations That Happened Offstage
Pluto and the North Node are both in Aquarius in the 11th house, putting additional emphasis on networks, communities, collaboration, technology, and our collective vision for the future.
And this brings me back to something I mentioned before ILTACON: pay attention to the side conversations.
Some of the most consequential developments coming out of ILTACON 2026 may not have happened during a keynote, educational session, or product demonstration.
They may have happened over coffee, at dinner, or at The Falls bar!
Think about the conversations that still resonate now that you’re home. The person you unexpectedly connected with. The problem you discovered three other organizations are also trying to solve.
Those conversations may turn into partnerships, new projects, integrations, products, or ideas that we’re all talking about at ILTACON next year.
We just don’t know which ones yet.
So, What Happens After ILTACON 2026?
The conference may be over, but I don’t think the story is.
For all the flash and spectacle surrounding ILTACON this year, what stood out to me was how grounded the people attending it seemed to be.
There’s still enormous excitement around AI, innovation, and what’s possible for the future of legal technology. But now comes the work of figuring out what’s useful, what’s sustainable, and what’s actually worth building.
So, pay attention to the ideas and conversations that followed you home from ILTACON.
Over the next six months, I think we’re going to find out which ones have staying power.
The ideas are here.
Now, we have to make them work.
