ILTACON 2026 Predictions: An Astrological Forecast for Legal Tech & AI
ILTACON 2026: An Astrological Forecast for Legal Tech
Typically, I like to keep my professional work in legal technology separate from my astrology practice, but I thought it might be fun to let these two worlds collide for once.
ILTACON 2026, one of the biggest conferences in legal technology, kicks off on Sunday, August 23. With thousands of legal tech professionals coming together to talk about artificial intelligence, innovation, data, and the future of legal technology, I was curious about what the astrology might tell us about this year's event—and what we might be able to predict before everyone arrives.
So, naturally, I cast a chart.
I used 8:00 a.m. on Sunday as the start of the conference. My goal was twofold: to get a sense of the overall energy surrounding ILTACON and to make a few predictions about the conversations, ideas, and people that may emerge from it.
And honestly, it’s an interesting chart.
ILTACON 2026: Enter the Era of the Critical Editor
ILTACON begins with both a Virgo Sun and Virgo rising, with the Sun sitting at just 0° Virgo.
To me, this feels like the beginning of a new phase: the era of the critical editor.
Virgo isn’t anti-innovation. Quite the opposite. Virgo wants to make things better. But before it does, it asks questions.
Does this actually work? Where are the gaps? What could be improved? Is this solving the problem we think it’s solving? And perhaps most importantly: what does the evidence tell us?
After several years of enormous enthusiasm and experimentation around generative AI, I don’t think the excitement is disappearing. But I predict that the tone around AI at this year’s conference will be noticeably more grounded.
We’ve seen what’s possible. Now people want to know what’s practical.
Show me the workflow. Show me the data. Show me the value. Tell me what worked—and what didn’t.
The Sun sitting at 0° Virgo makes this especially interesting. Zero degrees marks the very beginning of a sign, so I don’t see this as the culmination of a trend. I think we’re stepping into a new stage of the legal-tech conversation.
The experimentation isn’t ending. The evaluation is beginning.
And I predict that shift will extend beyond ILTACON. The next phase of legal-tech innovation will reward people who can critically evaluate technology just as much as those who can imagine what comes next.
AI Hype Meets a More Discerning Legal Tech Audience
There’s some tension in the chart, too.
The Moon in Capricorn sits in an almost exact opposition to Mars in Cancer. Both planets are also uncomfortable in these signs, making this an especially interesting dynamic.
The Moon is in the 5th house, while Mars sits in the 11th, activating an axis between individual creativity and the larger collective.
My prediction?
People will arrive with strong—and sometimes competing—ideas about where the industry should go next.
I also expect less patience for sweeping claims that don’t reflect the realities organizations and their people are actually navigating. People may be more protective of their teams, expertise, data, organizations, and perhaps even their professional identities as technology continues changing the way we work.
That doesn’t necessarily mean open conflict. But I wouldn’t be surprised by some pointed conversations or challenges to prevailing narratives.
So, this is a good conference to read the room.
Big ideas are welcome. Just be prepared for people to ask harder questions.
What Is Actually Valuable?
Fortunately, Venus offers a nice counterbalance.
Venus is strong in Libra and sits in the 2nd house, the part of the chart associated with resources and value.
I expect relationship-building, diplomacy, collaboration, and partnership to be particularly important this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if some meaningful new partnerships or professional relationships originate at this conference.
But I’m equally interested in the question of value.
Not simply: What can we build?
But: What is actually worth investing in?
What technology provides meaningful value? Which partnerships are worth pursuing? Which projects deserve continued investment? Which skills are becoming more valuable as our industry evolves?
My prediction is that value will become one of the underlying themes of ILTACON, even when we aren’t explicitly using that word.
Innovation still matters, but increasingly, innovation needs to prove its worth.
The Future of Legal Tech Is Still Innovative
None of this means ILTACON suddenly becomes cautious or resistant to change.
Quite the opposite.
Uranus—the planet associated with disruption, breakthroughs, and unexpected change—is prominently placed in Gemini at the top of the chart.
Innovation is still very much on the agenda.
I expect new ideas, unexpected connections, and new voices to emerge from this conference. Gemini loves exchanging information and connecting seemingly unrelated ideas, so I’ll also be watching for conversations that bridge areas of the industry that have historically operated in separate silos.
But I’m especially interested in which voices resonate.
I predict that some of the people who gain influence during this next phase of legal tech won’t necessarily be the loudest voices or the biggest evangelists.
They’ll be the bridge-builders.
People who can translate between technology and people. Data and strategy. Vendors and firms. Experimentation and implementation.
Some may already be established. Others may be people we haven't been paying enough attention to yet.
And some may prefer working behind the scenes.
Where the Real ILTACON Conversations May Be Happening
Mercury is especially important in this chart.
With Virgo rising and Gemini at the Midheaven, Mercury rules both the identity of the conference and its public direction. And Mercury is tucked away in the 12th house alongside Jupiter.
This is one of the strongest predictions I have from the chart:
Some of the most consequential conversations at ILTACON will not happen on stage.
They’ll happen over coffee.
At dinner.
In hallways.
In small groups.
Behind closed doors, where people feel comfortable talking candidly about what they’re actually seeing inside their organizations.
I think there is significantly more ideation happening behind the scenes than the public legal-tech conversation currently reflects. Organizations are testing things they aren't ready to discuss. People are privately questioning assumptions that still appear settled in public. Larger ideas may already be taking shape before the rest of the industry ever hears about them.
And as ILTACON continues to grow, there may be another reality worth acknowledging: not everyone is going to be in the room where the magic happens.
Pay attention to the smaller conversations.
Ask people what they’re working on.
Listen to what people are questioning—not just what they’re excited about.
Publicly, I think we'll hear about innovation that has already been tested and verified. Privately, people are imagining what comes next.
Some of those private conversations may eventually become the industry's next public conversations.
My Forecast for ILTACON 2026
So, what am I predicting?
I expect the tone around AI to be more measured than it has been in previous years. I expect harder questions around evidence, implementation, value, and real-world results. I expect some tension and disagreement around where the industry should go next.
I expect partnerships and relationship-building to matter.
I expect new voices to emerge, particularly people who can bridge disciplines and translate complex ideas.
And I think some of the most important ideas at ILTACON will circulate privately before they ever reach a conference stage or LinkedIn feed.
Most of all, I think we're entering the era of the critical editor.
Legal tech isn't moving away from innovation. We're developing a more discerning relationship with it.
The question is shifting from What is possible? to What actually works?
That's my forecast.
Now let's see how well my predictions hold up next week.
See you at ILTACON!
