Missed out on LawFest this year? We’ve got you covered with all the details!
Back for another year, the annual LawFest conference took over Auckland in early March, bringing together over 400 attendees, 70 speakers, and 20 legal tech companies.
Hot topics at Lawfest: What’s shaping legal tech in 2025?
If there was one thing that summed up LawFest this year, it was artificial intelligence (AI). From keynote speakers to coffee breaks, AI was at the centre of nearly every conversation. As we mentioned in our ALPMA 2024 wrap-up, lawyers keep asking us “What AI is in this technology, and how does it help me?”. The truth is the legal industry is still figuring that out what AI can do and where it actually solves problems.
The main takeaway? AI is a powerful tool, but it works best when it’s used with purpose. Firms should focus on applying it in ways that genuinely make work easier rather than adding unnecessary complexity.
Beyond AI, there were great discussions about innovation in law firms, alternative legal service models, and how tech-savvy lawyers can better serve their clients.
Some of our favourite sessions included:
- Frances Valintine’s insights on the responsible use of AI in legal practice, covering opportunities and ethical concerns.
- Fiona McLay’s reminder that while tech adoption is crucial, human skills are just as important. Her session, aptly named Winning Over the "I Hate Tech" Brigade, shared some hilarious and practical ways to get your tech-resistant colleagues on board to adopt helpful legal tech.
- Nick Abrahams’ deep dive into AI solutions that are already making a difference in law firms today. If you’re interested in hearing more, Nick is an upcoming guest on the File Notes podcast (subscribe to stay updated).
Meet the VXT team at LawFest 2025
If you’re new here, VXT is the only phone system built for law firms. By integrating with your practice management system (PMS), VXT automatically logs your calls, notes, and voicemail, so nothing gets lost.
Contacts from your PMS automatically sync into VXT so you always know who’s calling. Plus, with automatic time tracking, you can recover lost billable hours (an estimated 20% of billable time typically goes unrecorded). With features designed to help your firm save time, mitigate risk and generate more revenue VXT’s cloud-based phone solution keeps lawyers connected from anywhere.
This year, the VXT team at LawFest included Sales Development Representative, Henry Thompson, Senior Software Engineer, Ashton Moore, and Head of Marketing and Partnerships at VXT, Sophie Svenson. We like to bring a mix of team members, after all, how else would our engineers build the best phone system for lawyers if they weren’t talking to lawyers?
As one of the most popular integrations on our partner PMS marketplaces, we had a packed day connecting with customers, discussing legal tech trends, and spending time with our partners.
Our pre-conference drinks: Clio x VXT x Innovation Collective event
It all started the night before LawFest, where we threw an exclusive pre-event at Little Culprit in Auckland with our friends at Clio and Innovation Collective. It gave us a chance to connect with and bring together legal tech consultants, lawyers, operations professionals, and previous File Notes guests to discuss the latest in the legal industry.
One thing that stood out was just how small and connected the legal tech community really is. It was great to catch up with old friends, meet new people, and exchange insights, all without the pressure of a formal speaking event.
VXT customers at LawFest 2025
One of the best parts of LawFest was catching up with our customers, including ASCO Legal, one of VXT’s very first clients. It’s always great to see how firms are using VXT to save time and get more time back to actually practice law.
Alongside soaking up insights from some of New Zealand’s top legal minds, we also shared three major updates for VXT’s customers at LawFest.
VXT consulting partners at LawFest
At every legal tech conference, one thing is clear: law firms are actively re-evaluating their practice management systems. Whether it’s moving from on-premise to cloud-based solutions or upgrading to a more modern platform, firms are prioritising automation, AI capabilities, and integrations like VXT.
We heard plenty of questions from firms trying to navigate this transition:
- Which PMS is right for my firm?
- I want to switch but how do we migrate our data without disruption?
- What’s the best way to implement a new system while ensuring firm-wide adoption?
That’s why we made sure to catch up with our consulting partners at LawFest. They play a key role in guiding firms through PMS selection, implementation, and optimisation. If you’re considering a switch, we highly recommend speaking to them:
- David Lisitsa from NewLaw — NewLaw brings together lawyers, software developers, data migration specialists, accountants, and legal operations professionals to provide end-to-end PMS implementations, data migration, e-discovery, and cybersecurity projects. Whether you’re just beginning your search for a new PMS or finalising a switch, David is an fantastic resource. Check out our podcast episode with him for some practical steps to implement any software at your firm!
- The Innovation Collective – Specialists in digital transformation, The Innovation Collective helps law firms navigate digital transformation and future-proof their operations with tailored software solutions. They guide firms in selecting the right technology to help speed up their workflows and stay ahead in an evolving legal landscape.
- Verlata Consulting – Experts in implementing and optimising legal tech, Verlata ensures legal teams integrate the right tools for their firm and get the most out of their PMS. From system delivery to ongoing training, they help firms integrate the right technology so lawyers can focus on practicing law.
If you’re thinking about switching your PMS, these consultants can help make the process easier, smoother, and tailor to your firm’s needs.
VXT integration partners at LawFest
One of things law firms love most about VXT is our ability to integrate with the tools their lawyers already use. At LawFest, we caught up with our integration partners to share insights and explore how our collaborations continue to benefit law firms.
Clio
Recently, Clio has been making a strong push into the New Zealand and wider Asia-Pacific market, bringing with it Clio Grow, a built-in CRM designed to help law firms with client intake and relationship management. This trend follows the footsteps of North American law firms, where automation in client intake is becoming the norm.
We recently sat down with Clio CEO Jack Newton on the File Notes podcast to discuss the role of cloud-based legal software in modernising law firms and key emerging trends in law like client-centred services and flexible billing models.
Actionstep
Actionstep, a strong player in the mid-sized law firm market, drew significant interest at LawFest 2025 due to its wide range of highly customisable workflows and automation capabilities, which help law firms improve their processes and deliver a better client experience.
We had a great time catching up with the Actionstep team and hearing how firms are using our integration to manage communication more effectively. Check out, Managing Director at Johnstone and Reimer Lawyers, Joshua’s Reimer’s insights on how VXT and Actionstep have helped his 55 person firm handle over 150 calls per day:
"Our experience with VXT has been great. The integration with Actionstep helps us catch so much more billable time because at the end of the call we can click a button and it automatically records your time back to the file," explains Joshua. “This automation has not only saved time but also improved billing accuracy, ensuring that no billable minute is overlooked”.
Dye & Durham (Unity PMS)
In case you missed it, Dye & Durham launched Unity Practice Management towards the end of last year, offering small and medium-sized an all-in-one solution for practice management, conveyancing searches, AML compliance, and even AI-powered legal insights.
LEAP
LEAP continues to provide cloud-based practice management and document automation for all areas of law, with new AI-powered tools making legal work more efficient. We always enjoy catching up with the LEAP team and strengthening our ongoing collaboration.
VXT’s 3 big announcements
1. We made AI transcripts and summaries free!
In our latest update, we made AI phone call transcriptions and summaries completely free. If you record a call then you’re able to get a transcript and instant summary of the conversation in a click!
We know that clear, accurate records are essential for law firms. That’s why we’re making it easier to maintain them (and at zero cost to you!).
To save you even more time post-call, these transcripts and summaries can be automatically saved straight to the right matters in your PMS.
Why this matters for you:
- Save time: No more scribbling notes during calls or struggling to remember what was discussed. Get a written record of your conversation in a single click.
- Reduce risk: Keep accurate records and never miss key moments in client calls again.
Read our recent blog post exploring three reasons why firms are switching from handwritten notes to AI phone call transcripts and summaries.
2. Our OneLaw integration is in development
OneLaw is widely used by law firms across New Zealand. They offer a practice management system that’s powerful enough to manage a modern law firm while being very simple to use.
With so many firms already relying on OneLaw across New Zealand, this upcoming integration is a big win for both our teams and the law firms we serve.
Also, since both VXT and OneLaw are Christchurch-based (and many mutual local clients like Saunders and Co), this partnership feels extra special!
3. We built default matters to save you time
Lawyers told us they wanted a faster way to save calls and notes to the right client file. So, we built default matters.
VXT links directly to your PMS. When you make or receive a call, all relevant details (call time, notes) can be automatically saved to the right matter in your PMS.
Default matters in VXT make that process even easier. You can select a default matter for a contact in your PMS so that all future communication will be saved to that matter automatically (until you remove or change the default matter).
For example, every time you call a client, their matter is pre-selected, meaning all notes, transcripts, and messages save automatically to that matter. No more manually searching for the right matter after every call.
For firms handling lots of calls daily, this means:
- Less repetitive data entry
- Greater consistency
- Lower risk of misfiling communications
See you next year at LawFest 2026!
LawFest 2025 was a blast! We loved connecting with so many incredible lawyers and tech partners.
If you missed us at LawFest, don’t worry, you can always book a demo to see VXT in action.
Catch you next year!
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