AI Tools at ILTACON 2026 Shift Legal Procurement and Contract Terms
ILTA's ILTACON 2026 reveals AI-driven shifts in legal procurement and contract terms.
Why it matters: Procurement and legal operations leaders must adapt to faster contract cycles and new negotiation dynamics influenced by AI legal tools. Understanding these shifts is key to optimizing legal spend and risk management.
- Bloomberg Law unveiled BLAW AI, an AI-powered legal intelligence platform offering structured, cited responses.
- Litera introduced a unified Legal AI platform integrating its AI agent Lito across legal workflows.
- Over half of in-house legal teams use or assess AI for contract review, with usage nearly quadrupling since 2024.
- 87% say AI benefits pre-signature contract review, where legal teams spend an average of 3.1 hours per contract.
At ILTACON 2026, leading legal tech companies highlighted how AI tools are fundamentally changing legal procurement and contract management. Bloomberg Law launched BLAW AI, an AI-powered platform delivering structured, cited answers based on Bloomberg Law content, aiming to accelerate legal research and decision-making (PR Newswire).
Litera revealed its unified Legal AI platform, integrating its AI agent Lito across its product portfolio to streamline legal workflows, while Epiq showcased AI solutions focused on speeding legal outcomes and reducing risk (Litera) (Epiq). Thomson Reuters introduced CoCounsel Legal, integrating with Westlaw and Practical Law to assist with legal research, analysis, and drafting (Thomson Reuters). LegalOn rolled out more than 100 AI workflows spanning compliance, M&A, IP, litigation, and more (Artificial Lawyer).
These tools are driving shifts in procurement, with legal teams increasingly relying on AI to handle contract reviews. According to recent data, 52% of in-house legal teams are either using or evaluating AI for contract review, with active usage increasing nearly fourfold since 2024 (Artificial Lawyer). Moreover, 87% of respondents believe AI improves pre-signature contract review and redlining, helping address the average 3.1 hours spent reviewing each contract.
This accelerated contract cycle and reliance on AI tools are shortening contract durations and changing negotiation dynamics. Legal operations and procurement professionals face pressure to adapt their strategies by incorporating AI capabilities to streamline processes, reduce costs, and mitigate risk. As Nicole Giantonio, CMO at Epiq, stated, "Realizing value from AI requires the right technology and expertise," underscoring the importance of strategic AI implementation in legal procurement (Epiq).
By the numbers:
- 52% — In-house legal teams using or evaluating AI for contract review
- 3.1 hours — Average time legal teams spend reviewing a single contract
- 87% — Respondents who believe AI enhances pre-signature contract review