As the legal industry evolves at a rapid pace, it’s more important than ever for lawyers to keep learning and growing.
Often, the best way to do that is at legal conferences—which give professionals an opportunity to network, discuss the latest advances, and take their careers and firms to the next level.
Yet, with so many legal conferences available, determining the best one to invest your time, money, and energy in can be overwhelming.
This guide will help you choose the best conferences for lawyers to attend. To start, we’ll offer our top three picks for legal conferences. We’ll also delve deeper into legal conferences by category, along with the value they bring.
The top legal tech conferences for 2025
Legal tech conferences are incredibly valuable for legal professionals. But with so many options, where do you even begin?
Below, we’ve rounded up our picks for the top three can’t-miss choices.
Top 3 legal tech conferences to attend in 2025
1. Clio Cloud Conference, October 16-17, 2025
Location: Boston, MA
Cost: Individual $599 (Tier 1) up to $1599 (Tier 5)
Credits: CLE eligible
As the world’s biggest legal conference, the annual Clio Cloud Conference brings together thousands of like-minded professionals for an experience that touches on all the best things that legal conferences can offer. It’s an exciting option for those looking into legal CLE conferences.
2025’s conference will feature innovative workshops, inspiring speakers, and more—in the vibrant city of Boston. Stay tuned for additional details and updates to come. Register early for discounted rates!
2. ABA TECHSHOW, April 2-5, 2025
Location: Chicago, IL
Cost:
- ABA Members: $950
- Non-members: $1,100
Credits: CLE eligible
The ABA TECHSHOW brings together legal professionals and technology to showcase the latest tools and strategies to help lawyers practice law more efficiently and effectively (fun fact: Clio debuted at the ABA TECHSHOW in 2008). The 2025 TECHSHOW is an engaging event for those looking into legal CLE conferences.
3. Legalweek, March 24-27, 2025
Location: New York, NY
Cost:
- Full conference passes: $1,595
- Team pass: $800
- Day passes: $1,150
Credits: CLE eligible
With a focus on driving the industry forward, Legalweek is an ideal conference for large firms. It has content targeted to a wide range of roles—including law firm CEOs and partners, legal technology leaders, legal operations professionals, in-house counsel, marketing professionals, and knowledge management leaders.
The best legal conferences for 2025
Conference Name | Date | Location | CLE-
Eligible |
Cost | Focus |
Clio Cloud Conference | October 16-17, 2025 | Boston, MA | Yes | $599 up to $1599 | Legal technology |
Legalweek | March 24-27, 2025 | New York, NY | Yes | $1,595 | Legal professionals including law firm partners |
Legal Marketing Association Annual Conference | April 23-25, 2025 | Washington, DC | $1,795 (LMA member) / $2,474 (non-members) | Legal marketing | |
ABA TECHSHOW | April 2-5, 2025 | Chicago, IL | Yes | $950 (ABA or LP members) / $1,100 (non-members) | Legal technology |
AILA Annual Conference on Immigration Law | June 18-21, 2025 | Denver, CO | Yes | TBA | Immigration law |
Trial Lawyers Summit | January 26-30, 2025 | Miami, FL | Yes | $1495 (NTL member attorneys) / $1695 (non-member attorneys) / $1195 – $1595 (firm registration) | Civil plaintiff and criminal defence lawyers |
Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference | November 12–15, 2025 | Denver, Colorado | Yes | TBA | Labor and employment law |
AIPLA Annual Meeting | October 30-November 1, 2025 | Washington, DC | Yes | TBA | Intellectual property law |
Missouri Bar Solo & Small Firm Conference | June 5-7, 2025 | Osage Beach, MO | MCLE | TBA | Solo and small law firms |
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The best legal conferences by category
Next, we’ll look at the best legal conferences for different categories, including solo firm conferences, legal tech conferences, practice-area-specific (such as real estate law conferences and corporate law conferences), and more.
Solo and small firm lawyers conferences
The SUMMIT: National Solo and Small Law Firm Conference, 2025 dates TBD. Best suited for solo and small law firms, this two-day conference covers topics that range from the latest industry trends to novel business practices.
Missouri Bar Solo & Small Firm Conference, June 5-7, 2025, in Osage Beach, MO. This annual conference teaches skills and delivers information to empower small firms to elevate their practices.
Large firm conferences
Legalweek, March 24-27, 2025, in New York. Legalweek is an ideal conference for large firms and offers CLE content targeted to a wide range of roles.
Legal technology conferences
Clio Cloud Conference, October 16-17, 2025, in Boston, MA. The Clio Cloud Conference offers a unique blend of cutting-edge and innovation-minded learning along with connections with like-minded professionals. In addition to inspiring keynotes, CLE opportunities, and networking, attendees can learn about the latest solutions from carefully selected legal tech partners.
ABA TechShow, April 2-5, 2025, in Chicago, IL. The American Bar Association’s TECHSHOW brings together legal professionals and technology to spotlight the latest tools that help firms work smarter.
ILTACON, August 10-14, 2025, in National Harbor, MD. Hosted by the International Legal Technology Association, this multi-day conference boasts peer-driven programs, networking opportunities, and educational content centered around the use of technology in law firms.
Intellectual property law conferences
American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) Annual Meeting, October 30-November 1, 2025, in Washington, DC. This multi-track annual conference is designed to help intellectual property practitioners level-up their skills with sessions focused on pertinent topics like patent prosecution, copyright, trademark, and more.
IPLSPRING, April 30-May 2, 2025, in Arlington, VA. A highly popular intellectual property conference with over 20 CLE sessions, IPLSPRING covers the most innovative topics in the intellectual property realm.
23rd Annual Rocky Mountain Intellectual Property & Technology Law Institute, May 29-30, 2025. This forum unites intellectual property leaders to discuss topics like patent law, trademark trials, licensing, and copyright.
Criminal law conferences
Trial Lawyers Summit, January 26-30, 2025, in Miami, FL. A unique gathering of America’s most outstanding civil plaintiff and criminal defense lawyers, this conference offers informative sessions and CLE opportunities focused on trial skills and business management.
Labor and employment law conferences
Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, November 12-15, 2025, in Denver, CO. The American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Conference offers a mix of networking events, CLE opportunities, keynote speakers, and panelists with insights into all aspects of the practice of labor and employment law.
Immigration law conferences
American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Annual Conference on Immigration Law, June 18-21, 2025, in Denver, CO. This CLE-eligible conference is targeted toward practitioners from all immigration practice areas. It’s designed in a multi-track format with a fundamentals-based track for those new to the practice of immigration law and intermediate- and advanced-level programming—allowing attendees to find content that suits their current career path.
Real estate law conferences
Real Estate Law and Business Forum, February 27, 2025, in Los Angeles, CA. Hosted by the USC Gould School of Law, this one-day conference explores the latest industry trends, shares real-world strategies to tackle big challenges, and offers plenty of networking opportunities with industry leaders.
27th Annual Real Estate Law Conference 2025, Date and location TBD. Covering a range of best practices for emerging issues in real estate law, this conference draws experienced and new practitioners alike.
Personal injury law conferences
TBI Med Legal Conference, April 10-13, 2025, in San Diego, CA. This conference is billed as the world’s largest traumatic brain injury conference, experts in both medicine and law come together to share their best practices on handling traumatic brain injury cases, from injury through to trial.
Corporate law conferences
Annual International Mergers & Acquisitions Conference, June 4-5, 2025, in New York, NY. Presented by the International Bar Association, this leading corporate law conference brings together legal professionals to discuss the latest developments in international M&A law.
Lawyer marketing conferences
Legal Marketing Association Annual Conference, April 23-25, 2025, in Washington, DC. Focused exclusively on legal marketing and business development, this conference offers educational content focused on themes like strategic planning, overcoming current challenges in the industry, and unlocking professional opportunities.
Why lawyers should attend legal conferences
The best legal conferences allow lawyers to immerse themselves in powerful training and educational opportunities in just a few days.
Notably, attending a legal conference is valuable for:
Continuing Legal Education (CLE) opportunities
Ongoing lawyer training is key to staying competitive, but you also need to earn CLE credits. By attending legal conferences that offer CLE credits, you can work towards meeting CLE requirements while learning from the conference and upgrading your skills.
Networking and building professional relationships
Establishing good relationships with other legal practitioners is important to furthering any lawyer’s professional career. Legal conferences bring together like-minded professionals and are one of the best, most natural places for attorney networking.
Marketing and promotion
Effective law firm marketing is essential for success, and legal conferences are excellent sources for learning the latest strategies for promoting your practice. Legal conferences are also great for connecting with vendors, other attorneys, and potential clients.
Who should attend a legal conference
It’s simple: Any legal professional who works at a law firm can benefit from attending a legal conference. Here’s why:
Lawyers
All lawyers will benefit from networking, marketing, and gaining insights on the latest trends in the legal industry. However, partners and law firm decision-makers may find added value in attending legal conferences that highlight legal technology and innovation. Firm leaders who stay ahead of the curve with useful tools are better equipped to help drive innovation and growth at their firms.
Paralegals
While paralegals are not lawyers, they take on substantive legal work on behalf of lawyers. It is just as important for paralegals to stay updated on the latest trends and opportunities in the legal industry. Moreover, paralegals can use the knowledge gained from legal conferences to drive change and innovation at law firms.
Law firm administrators
Part of a law firm administrator’s responsibilities involves managing workflows, processes, and implementing new technology. Therefore, they need to stay up to date on the latest in law firm productivity and tech. Attending a legal conference is a useful way for law firm admins to discover new ways to increase efficiency and productivity.
Make time for legal conferences in 2025
No matter what point you’re at in your legal career, there’s always room to grow. The best legal conferences for lawyers are an efficient and effective way to invest in your career, your law firm’s future, and yourself.
It’s easy to get caught up with the day-to-day of your legal work. But taking the time to attend legal conferences is valuable for your work as a lawyer.
Whether you choose to attend one of many legal CLE conferences or an event focused on legal technology or your practice area, it’s important to be prepared. You can get ready for the legal conference experience by reviewing the agenda, setting some goals, and bringing an open mind.
Not sure where to start? Consult Clio’s our latest Legal Trends Report, which provides crucial information about the state of the legal industry. Understanding where the legal profession is going will help you set goals and stay on track—now and into the future.
What is a legal conference?
Legal conferences offer networking opportunities, the latest industry insights, CLE credits, and so much more. If you’ve considered working in a different practice area or starting your own law firm, legal conferences can help you find the right community to help make your career dreams a reality.
Do lawyers attend conferences?
Many lawyers attend conferences as they see the value in networking and staying in the know about the latest industry happenings. With so many different conferences to pick from (including virtual events), there’s an engaging conference for every legal professional.
We published this blog post in July 2021. Last updated: .
Categorized in: Business
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