📰 ABA TECHSHOW 2026 Recap: From AI Hype to LLM Reality, Google Workspace, and Ethical Lawyering in the Age of Bots ⚖️🤖

The Real Story Behind ABA TECHSHOW 2026

The techshow is the conference to go to keep your pulse on the technology lawyers should be using every day!

Walking into ABA TECHSHOW 2026 this year, I wasn’t thinking about shiny gadgets; I was thinking about competence, client service, and what it will mean to practice law in an era dominated not just by “AI,” but by large language models (LLMs) quietly shaping almost everything we see and share online. During my work on The Tech-Savvy Lawyer.Page blog and podcast, I keep running into the same pattern: lawyers know they should understand legal technology, yet they worry they’ll break something, breach a rule, or look foolish in front of their staff. TECHSHOW 2026 aimed directly at that anxiety — but this year, the conversation needs to go beyond what AI and generative AI can do and toward how LLMs and search bots are already shaping our professional identities online and offline. ⚖️💻

Keynotes: The “AI Dividend” and Your Time

The keynote lineup captured the tension between promise and risk. Legal market analysts highlighted what some called the “AI Dividend”: when machines take over routine drafting and research, lawyers gain time to think, advise, and advocate at a higher level. The real question — one I’ve been hammering on The Tech-Savvy Lawyer.Page for years — is what you will do with the time technology gives back (some of that time should include reviewing your work, e.g., your case citations). Tech-savvy speakers pushed attendees to look past vendor hype and focus on the broader digital environment, where consumer-facing tools, search engines, and recommendation algorithms are setting new expectations for speed, transparency, and availability.

Practical AI in the Sessions

Inside the conference rooms, the “Taming the Machines” and related AI tracks met baseline concerns (some with hands-on workshops) focused on realistic use cases: assisted drafting, pattern spotting in discovery, and summarizing voluminous documents. These sessions were built for lawyers who live in Word, Outlook, Google Workspace, and practice management systems and who simply want to stop retyping the same paragraphs. The faculty hammered home a critical point: generative AI is an assistant, not a decision-maker; you remain the lawyer, responsible for accuracy, judgment, and ethics under the ABA Model Rules. 🤖📄

Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and Using What You Already Own

Mathew Krebis’ session on Google Workspace drove that message home in very practical terms. He showed how many firms are only scratching the surface of tools they already pay for: shared Drives with well-structured permissions, real-time collaboration in Google Docs, Gmail automation for intake and follow-up, and Google Calendar combined with Tasks to keep matter timelines under control. When you layer in emerging AI features in Workspace — smart replies, document summaries, suggested outlines — you see how even modest use of these tools can dramatically reduce friction in daily practice, and the tools Mathew discussed are not isolated to “law practice management” systems.

The takeaway was powerful: before you chase a new platform, fully exploit the ecosystem you already have. For many firms, “being more tech-savvy” starts with properly configuring their Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or other SaaS platform, rather than buying yet another service.

Podcasting, Social Media, and LLM-Driven Visibility

Meanwhile, one other yet important frontier — and one that still feels underexplored — is what happens when LLMs and search bots become the primary lens through which clients, colleagues, and even opposing counsel discover you. That’s where my panel, 🎧 Podcasting for Lawyers: The Truth Behind the Mic, came in.

Ruby L. Powers, Gyi Tsakalakis, Stephanie Everett, and I discussed podcasting and social media not just as marketing channels, but as structured signals fed into LLM-driven engines that are constantly indexing, ranking, and inferring who is an authority on a given topic. Whether you talk about appellate practice, family law, or even a hobby outside the law, your content becomes training data for Generative Engine Optimization/LLM bots that decide which voices surface first when someone types a question into an AI chatbox. 🎙️🌐

In other words, your digital footprint is no longer static. It is being interpreted, reassembled, and presented as answers — often without you ever seeing the intermediate steps. That reality raises a new layer of ethical questions under the ABA Model Rules. Model Rule 7.1’s prohibition on false or misleading communications about the lawyer or the lawyer’s services takes on a new twist when LLMs remix snippets of your posts, podcasts, Google Workspace–hosted client alerts, and blog articles into composite “advice.”

You might be scrupulously accurate in your content, but if an LLM mischaracterizes it or presents it out of context, what then? TECHSHOW 2026 addressed traditional risks like hallucinated case citations, but there is room for a deeper, explicit conversation about how LLM-driven discovery intersects with advertising, communication, and competence duties.

EXPO Hall: Tools, Timekeeping, and Vendor Reality Checks

The EXPO Hall, as always, served as a laboratory of possibilities. Practice management platforms, billing tools, document automation, and a wave of AI-enhanced products competed for attention. Timekeeping tools that automatically capture activity across devices and applications and then propose draft time entries have grown dramatically since last year. For lawyers still reconstructing their days from memory and sticky notes, this is more than a marginal upgrade; it directly affects revenue, work-life balance, and accuracy.

But the fair warning comes here: make sure vendors are showing you what their product can do today, not what they hope it will do someday. In the LLM era, marketing decks are often several steps ahead of deployed reality. 🧾⏱️

Remember, you have an obligation under Model Rule 1.1 (competence) and Model Rule 5.3 (responsibilities regarding non-lawyer assistance) to understand the capabilities and limitations of any tech you “delegate” work to. Asking hard questions about current functionality, data handling, and audit trails is not being difficult; it is part of your duty of care.

Cybersecurity, Confidentiality, and LLM Risk

networking oppOrtunities like the taste of tecHshow” is a great way to talk with and learn from other lawyers about using tech in the practice of law.

The sessions on cybersecurity and confidentiality continued to do vital work. Under Model Rule 1.6, our obligation to protect client information extends to cloud storage, email, video conferencing, and the mobile devices we casually use in airport lounges. The “Guardians of the Data” track walked through practical checklists rather than abstract fearmongering: password managers, multi-factor authentication, properly configured backups, and vendor due diligence.

For firms running on Google Workspace, that translated into concrete steps: enforcing two-step verification, tightening Drive sharing settings, using client-specific shared Drives instead of ad hoc personal folders, and monitoring admin logs for suspicious access. The move from generic “AI” to LLM-powered services on any platform increases data risk, because many tools rely on ingesting your content — sometimes including client information — to improve their models. If you don’t understand where your data is going and how it is used, you cannot credibly say you are meeting confidentiality obligations. 🔐☁️

Competence, Human-in-the-Loop, and Everyday Workflows

You have an obligation under Model Rule 1.1 (competence) and Model Rule 5.3 (responsibilities regarding non-lawyer assistance) to understand the capabilities and limitations of any tech you “delegate” work to. Asking hard questions about current functionality, data handling, and audit trails is part of your duty of care.

Balancing this skepticism, though, is an equally important truth: becoming proficient with AI and LLM-based tools is not a spectator sport. You cannot satisfy your duty of technological competence from the sidelines. You have to use the tools first on a small scale, then progressively in more critical workflows, always with appropriate supervision and verification.

That might mean piloting an AI drafting feature in Google Docs and Microsoft Word for internal templates, or testing structured intake forms and automations inside Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 before rolling them out firm-wide. Ignoring AI because it feels uncomfortable is no longer the safer option. In some practices, failing to integrate it intelligently — while peers and opposing counsel do — may itself raise competence concerns as expectations evolve in courts and among clients. 🧩📈

Saturday Sessions: From “Use AI” to “Use AI Responsibly”

On Saturday, the 9 a.m. conversation among ABA President Michelle A. Behnke, Immediate Past President William R. “Bill” Bay, and President-Elect Barbara J. Howard, underscored how all of this ties into the rule of law and access to justice, framing AI as something lawyers now have a responsibility to actually use, not simply watch from the sidelines. The 10 a.m. session with Judge Timothy S. Driscoll then shifted the focus from “use AI or be left behind” to “use AI responsibly,” making it clear that judges, too, are integrating AI into their work and that they are not immune from mistakes when they rely on it.

The message for everyone in the courtroom ecosystem was simple and blunt: “Review, review, and review” any work touched by AI, because AI is a non‑infallible tool that does make errors and can mislead the unwary. Together, these sessions acknowledged the growing digital divide: lawyers and clients who can’t or won’t adopt technology risk falling out of the mainstream of legal services, while those who adopt it recklessly risk eroding confidence in both their own work and the justice system as a whole.

We are not merely debating convenience; we are deciding who gets effective representation and who is left out because the lawyer they might have hired never appeared in their LLM‑driven search results — or appeared with AI‑boosted visibility but poor ethical judgment. Technology, in this sense, is not optional; it is one of the few levers we have to expand meaningful access to legal help, provided we wield it with intent, humility, and rigorous human review. ⚖️🧠

LLM Literacy: The Next Core Competency

That balance — between caution and experimentation — is where TECHSHOW 2026 both excelled and showed its next frontier. Many sessions made AI approachable, breaking down concepts for lawyers with limited to moderate tech skills and providing concrete workflows they could apply on Monday. What I would like to see more explicitly next year is programming that treats LLM literacy as a core competency: understanding how LLMs are built, how they index and surface information, how your content feeds into them, and how that affects everything from client intake to reputation, whether you are working in Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, or a specialized legal platform.

From my vantage point as a legal tech ambassador at The Tech-Savvy Lawyer, the most successful sessions respected that many lawyers are highly capable professionals who simply haven’t had the time or guidance to modernize their workflows. They don’t need to become prompt engineers. They need guardrails, roadmaps, and clear examples of how to align AI, LLM tools, and mainstream platforms like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace with the ABA Model Rules and local bar guidance. When faculty focused on incremental steps — tightening cybersecurity configurations, adding a layer of AI-assisted drafting under strict human review, building a consistent content strategy that LLMs can reliably recognize — the room should lead in.

A Tough-Love Takeaway for Lawyers

If you are a lawyer who still feels behind, here’s the core message I took away from TECHSHOW 2026, with a bit of tough love: you don’t need to chase every new tool, but you can’t afford to ignore LLM-driven AI and the platforms you already live in, like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, any longer. Understand the basics; pilot one or two well-vetted tools to start improving your efficiency without sacrificing the need for a true human-in-the-loop.

SEE YOU IN CHICAGO FOR ABA TECHSHOW 2027!!!

Read your jurisdiction’s ethics opinions on AI and technology. Build habits that protect client data by default. Use your own content — whether blog posts, newsletters, or podcasts — to train the bots to see you as a trusted authority rather than a digital afterthought. Ultimately, your bar license may be at more risk from not engaging with AI than from engaging with it carefully and intelligently.

The future of legal practice will not wait until we are all comfortable; it is here now, embedded in the search boxes, recommendation engines, and tools your clients already use. TECHSHOW 2026 made that clear. The next move is yours. 🚀⚖️

MTC

WoW: “Telephobia” in Law Practice: How Fear of Phone Calls Hurts Lawyers, Clients, and Cases 📞⚖️

Fear of phone 📞 calls creates anxiety and impacts legal competence. ⚖️

Telephobia is the fear or intense anxiety associated with making or receiving phone calls, and it shows up more often in law practice than many lawyers admit. 😬📱 Telephobia is not a dislike of the telephone as an object; it is a form of social anxiety centered on real‑time verbal communication, fear of judgment, and the pressure to respond quickly without the safety net of drafting and editing. Lawyers who excel in written advocacy can still feel a spike of anxiety when the phone lights up with a client, partner, or opposing counsel. This reluctance to pick up or dial out is not a character flaw; it is a risk factor that can affect competence, communication, and client service.

What Telephobia Looks Like for Lawyers

Telephobia often appears as avoidance rather than obvious panic. Lawyers may let calls go to voicemail, delay returning calls, or delegate phone calls whenever possible. You might recognize behaviors such as over‑reliance on email, extensively scripting what you plan to say before dialing, or replaying conversations in your head for hours after hanging up. These patterns are common in people with phone anxiety and can exist on a spectrum from mild discomfort to significant impairment.

In legal practice, that avoidance has concrete consequences. Time‑sensitive issues sit in the inbox instead of getting resolved in a five‑minute call. Misunderstandings grow because no one is willing to pick up the phone and clarify. Judges and clients may perceive “radio silence” as a lack of diligence, even when the real issue is anxiety about the call itself. Over time, telephobia can contribute to bottlenecks in case management, strained relationships, and missed opportunities to resolve disputes early.

Telephobia, Opposing Counsel, and Professionalism

Telephone conversations with opposing counsel are still one of the most effective tools for narrowing issues, avoiding motion practice, and reaching practical solutions. Many experienced litigators emphasize the value of “picking up the phone” instead of escalating via email volleys. Yet telephobia can make newer or more anxious lawyers dread direct calls with adversaries, especially those who are aggressive, fast‑talking, or prone to “verballing” (misstating or spinning what was said in the conversation).

Avoiding phone contact with opposing counsel can have several impacts:

• It can prolong discovery disputes that might have been resolved in a short meet‑and‑confer call.

• It can increase the tone and temperature of written communications because nuance and rapport are missing.

• It can reduce opportunities to build professional relationships that later help with scheduling, stipulations, or informal resolutions.

On the other hand, telephobia does not mean a lawyer should accept every unscheduled call or tolerate abusive conversations. Thoughtful boundaries are appropriate. Some practitioners manage risk by taking (or perhaps returning) calls only at set times, ensuring a colleague is nearby, or contemporaneously documenting the substance of the call in a follow‑up email. The key is intentional management, not blanket avoidance.

Telephobia and Client Communication Duties

Avoiding phone calls strains client Relations, and professionalism failure.

Telephobia directly intersects with your ethical duty to communicate with clients. ABA Model Rule 1.4 requires lawyers to keep clients reasonably informed and to promptly comply with reasonable requests for information. Modern guidance recognizes that “client communications” include phone calls, emails, and other electronic channels. If anxiety leads to chronic delay in returning calls or to a pattern of pushing every interaction into email when a call would be more effective, the lawyer may be edging toward a communication problem, not just a preference.

Clients often interpret unanswered calls as a sign of indifference. Many clients—especially those under stress—need a live conversation to feel heard and to understand their case strategy. While written follow‑up is essential, a short, empathetic phone call can prevent distrust and complaints. Telephobia can also create inequity: clients who are comfortable with email may get robust contact, while those who rely on the phone feel neglected.

At the same time, ethics authorities acknowledge that lawyers can use multiple communication tools, not just phone calls, as long as communication is prompt, understandable, and appropriate to the client’s needs. For some neurodivergent lawyers or lawyers with genuine anxiety disorders, establishing a communication plan that mixes scheduled calls, video meetings, and structured emails can satisfy both client needs and the lawyer’s mental health needs. Clear expectation‑setting is critical.

Technology Competence and the Phone in a Digital Age

ABA Model Rule 1.1, Comment 8, emphasizes that competence now includes understanding the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology. Many lawyers hear “technology competence” and think about e‑discovery platforms or cybersecurity, not the humble phone. Yet modern telephony—VoIP, softphones, smartphone apps, call‑recording tools, and integrated practice‑management systems—is very much part of that competence landscape.

For lawyers with telephobia, technology can both help and hinder:

• VoIP and softphone systems can route calls through your laptop, support call notes, and provide voicemail‑to‑email transcripts, which can reduce anxiety about missing key points.

• Scheduled video or audio calls through secure platforms can feel more controlled, especially when combined with a shared agenda.

• Over‑reliance on text‑based channels (email, messaging) because they feel safer can, however, undermine the advantages of real‑time voice communication.

Competence does not require you to love the phone. It does require that you understand the tools available, use them to communicate effectively, and avoid letting anxiety silently undercut your ability to serve clients and manage cases.

Practical Strategies to Manage Telephobia in Practice

Telephobia is manageable, and many of the strategies come from established approaches to phone anxiety. The aim is not to turn every lawyer into an extroverted caller. The aim is to reduce the anxiety enough that telephony becomes a functional, ethical communication tool rather than a source of procrastination.

Practical steps include:

• Use structured call plans. Before a client or opposing‑counsel call, sketch a brief outline: goals, key points, and closing next steps. This reduces the “blank mind” fear and keeps calls efficient.

• Start with low‑stakes calls. Build tolerance by making brief, simple calls (e.g., scheduling, confirmations) rather than jumping straight into high‑conflict negotiations.

• Schedule instead of surprise. Use calendar invites or quick emails: “Can we set a 10‑minute call at 2:30 p.m. to discuss X?” Predictability lowers anxiety for both you and the other side.

• Pair calls with written follow‑up. After important calls, send a confirming email summarizing agreements and action items. This supports clarity, protects the record, and reassures anxious lawyers who worry they misspoke.

• Leverage firm support. For very difficult conversations, consider having a colleague present (on the call or in the room), both for support and as a witness.

• Seek professional help when needed. When anxiety is persistent, intense, or interfering with your practice, consulting a mental health professional familiar with social anxiety or telephobia is a sign of professionalism, not weakness.

These techniques align with ethical duties rather than conflict with them. They help ensure prompt, clear communication (Model Rule 1.4) and support technological and practical competence (Model Rule 1.1) in a digital environment.

Telephobia, Wellness, and Culture in the Profession

Avoiding phone calls lead to miscommunication, delays, and frustration!

Finally, telephobia is also a wellness issue. The legal profession already carries high rates of stress, depression, and anxiety. Telephobia can add another layer of dread to a typical workday, as lawyers watch call notifications with a racing pulse. Open conversation about phone anxiety—especially among younger lawyers and those trained in email‑first environments—can normalize the experience and lead to practical accommodations.v

Mentors and firm leaders can help by modeling balanced behavior. That includes choosing calls when they will truly advance the matter, avoiding unnecessary surprise calls that feel performative, and encouraging associates to prepare for and debrief difficult conversations. Thoughtful phone use, supported by technology and grounded in ethics, can turn telephobia from a hidden liability into a manageable professional challenge.

If you or someone you know is suffering from an imminent mental health crisis, call 988 (in the United States) or 911 or equivalent in the relevant jurisdiction!

🚨 ⛑️ 🚨

If you or someone you know is suffering from an imminent mental health crisis, call 988 (in the United States) or 911 or equivalent in the relevant jurisdiction! 🚨 ⛑️ 🚨