Here's What Upcoming Legal Conferences Are Planning in Response to Coronavirus

As the COVID-19 virus, commonly known as coronavirus, continues its spread across the United States, a number of legal organizations have responded. Law firms such as Baker Botts and Sidley Austin have canceled partner meetings due to coronavirus concerns, while law schools both in the U.S. and abroad have canceled classes after virus scares.

When it comes to legal events, though, many are still slated to go on as scheduled—with an abundance of caution. Here are what organizers of legal events upcoming in April and May are planning right now. And if there are any updates, we at Legaltech News will let you know.

ACC XChange: The Association of Corporate Counsel’s (ACC) Xchange conference, which brings together formerly separate shows for in-house counsel and legal operations professionals, is scheduled to go on as planned, though the organization said it is monitoring the situation closely. The conference is scheduled to take place on April 19-21 in Chicago.

The organization has postponed one international show, however, due to the virus: The 2020 ACC Asia-Pacific Annual Meeting (APAC), scheduled for Singapore over the summer, has been postponed to 2021.

CodeX FutureLaw – Update: Live Show Canceled: CodeX – The Stanford Center for Legal Informatics announced via social media on March 5 that it will be canceling its live FutureLaw conference for this year, originally scheduled to take place on April 9, due to COVID-19 concerns. However, CodeX is looking to produce a series of podcasts with conference speakers that would take the place of live programming, which it hopes to release the initial conference day of April 9.

CLOC Vegas Institute – Update: Live Show Canceled: The CLOC organization announced on March 16 that it will be canceling its Las Vegas Institute, originally scheduled between May 11-14, due to coronavirus concerns. In a release, the organization noted, “We are committed to exploring all possible alternatives so that we can provide a productive setting where the legal operations industry can engage with the latest technology, hear from industry thought leaders and make the game-changing connections that drive our industry forward. We are currently evaluating various options to enable us to continue to bring our exceptional educational content to the community this year.”

ILTACON: Although the largest conference from the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) isn’t until August, the organization has two international events upcoming: its South America ILTACON in Brazil on March 26 and 27, and ILTAVATION in Argentina on March 30. Both conferences are currently scheduled to continue as planned, along with other ILTA events later in the year.

ILTA is currently reaching out to its membership about COVID-19 response, though, both in the form of a survey sent to members on March 5 as well as an informational webinar. The organization noted, “If circumstances require a need for communicating further action, we will issue a statement promptly.”

LMA Annual Conference – Update: Postponed: On March 11, the Legal Marketing Association’s (LMA) Annual Conference in Denver, originally scheduled between March 25 and 27, was offically postponed. On its website, LMA notes, “We are working to secure a new date for the event and will have an update for you before week’s end, along with information on next steps so that you can save the date and join us in Denver later this year.”

Master’s Conference – Update: SF Event Canceled: On March 10, the Master’s Conference announced that it would be canceling its event scheduled for March 31 in San Francisco. The organization said that it would be looking to reschedule for the summer or fall, but will not have a specific date set until later this month. The organization’s next conference, scheduled for May 14, is still on as of now.

SuperConference – Update: Canceled: ALM’s SuperConference, geared towards general counsel and other in-house attorneys and originally scheduled to take place April 28-29 in Chicago, has been canceled. Other domestic ALM events are planning to go on as scheduled, though some international events, such as the Asia Legal Awards originally scheduled for March 26, have been postponed.

This article has been updated with information concerning all conferences.