Legal Trade Show Road Map

Attending conferences might feel like a chore to legal professionals. In truth, there’s much to be gained from going to a gathering of your industry colleagues. In some cases, the benefits include networking opportunities, practice tips, fun entertainment, and even CLE credits. 

A quick look at the upcoming legal trade show and conference agenda for 2024 reveals there’s something for just about anyone, and we’re betting the same shows will hit for 2025. If you want to know more about your area of practice, get ideas for launching a new small or solo firm, or just want to meet more lawyers, these conferences have it all. 

Many trade shows also invite companies and organizations to purchase booths to promote new legal technology and tools to support legal businesses. You might therefore choose to participate in these events from any side – as an attendee, sponsor, or exhibitor. 

Here’s a sampling of what you can expect at some trade shows across the country. 

National Family Law Conference (Nashville, TN)

This American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) conference is an excellent opportunity to meet family law attorneys from across the country. Sessions include panels on hidden assets, high net worth divorce, mental health in litigation, as well as attracting new clients to your family law practice. This conference includes sessions that are continuing legal education (CLE) credit eligible and has a networking breakfast scheduled on each day, so there’s plenty of opportunity to chat with your fellow family lawyers. 

AIPLA Spring Meeting (Austin, TX)

The spring meeting of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) offers IP legal professionals a unique opportunity to take a deep dive into issues unique to this area of law. There are sessions on innovative topics, including emerging issues at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and patents; music IP; trademark hot topics; diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in IP; and the ethics of AI in IP. 

New this year is a skills workshop where attendees can focus on specialized material in a smaller group format, limited to 20 people each. The skills workshops include entering evidence at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB; advanced Hague filing strategies; fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing negotiations, and more. The meeting promises a number of networking opportunities including separate ticketed events.  

ALA’S Annual Conference & Expo (Aurora, CO)

The annual conference of the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) offers sessions on various aspects of managing a legal practice. Many sessions are available for credit toward the ALA’s Certified Legal Manager (CLM) program. There is a wide variety of breakout sessions with topics including managing staff in the job-hopping era, reimagining firm mentorship, and law firm operations. Several sessions are specific to firm size, focusing on small, medium, or large practices. 

ILTACON (Nashville, TN)

The conference of the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) focuses on the latest advances in law firm operations. It’s an excellent opportunity to network with legal practice professionals from across the country. This large conference featured more than 3,400 attendees in 2023, representing 440 firms. In addition to U.S. attendees, 19 other countries were represented that year. Popular events in 2023 focused on large language models, an AI-powered legal group, and data mapping.

PIMCon (Scottsdale, AZ)

PIMCon is a new event for personal injury attorneys. It’s the brainchild of Chris Dreyer, who launched the Personal Injury Mastermind (PIM) podcast. The conference focuses on networking with other personal injury lawyers and learning how to market a personal injury firm. Featured speakers are all attorneys who are, or have been, in legal practice, sharing insight into this important area of advocacy. In addition to these notable speakers, the conference also boasts an opening and closing party and a comedy show.  

Law-Di-Gras (San Diego, CA)

Law-Di-Gras bills itself as a different kind of conference, one that is fun and enjoyable for the entire family. Law-Di-Gras is sponsored by the Ortho Spine Injury Association (OSIA), which aims to bring together doctors, lawyers, and people living with orthopedic and spine injuries. The conference offers networking opportunities for both plaintiff and defense attorneys as well as doctors. Everyone has the chance to learn about communicating in simple terms the reality of complex spinal injuries and pain syndromes. 

Law-Di-Gras advertises live music entertainment and fun for all ages, implying this is a family-friendly conference for legal professionals who might not want to leave their loved ones at home. All profits from Law-Di-Gras are donated to a non-profit charity. 

The SUMMIT (Location TBD)

Dates aren’t yet announced for this year’s SUMMIT, but the 2023 event took place in late November in Orlando, Florida. The SUMMIT is also billed as the National Solo & Small Law Firm Conference, so it’s ideal for independent legal professionals to learn from colleagues from across the country. The focus is largely on firm building, through strategy and innovative business practices. 

Speakers include lawyers, business owners, and practice managers, so attendees get a full-circle perspective of how to make their mark in the legal industry. The 2023 agenda included sessions on getting out of your comfort zone, rethinking imposter syndrome, and getting into the nitty gritty details of legal practice. 

Building Your Practice With Martindale-Avvo

Your legal career often depends on your ability to build a successful practice. Small firms and solo practitioners can benefit from attending conferences and trade shows where they meet others who face the same challenges. Trade shows can provide a forum for lawyers, legal administrators, and legal technology professionals to discuss relevant issues. They can also be ideal forums to learn what’s new in your area of practice and what new tools you can use to help you provide the best representation to your clients. 

When it comes to law firm marketing, you don’t have to rely on trade show insights alone. Working with Martindale-Avvo can make it easier to promote your practice. Talk to the team at Martindale-Avvo today to learn what solutions might be right for you.