Page 14 - Leaders in Legal Business - a
P. 14
Leaders in Legal Business
Independent publishers formed most of these geographically focused publications. These businesses
thrived for many years, monetizing through subscriptions and advertising. Many became the official newspapers
of record, enabling them to publish public notices. Public notices are required by state regulations to keep the
public and businesses aware of key private and governmental actions. Foreclosures and LLC/LLP incorporations
are typical notices.
In addition to the privately owned publications, associations serving segments of the legal market
established monthly publications for their memberships. The American Bar Association, which serves U.S.
attorneys, publishes the ABA Journal. The Association of Corporate Counsel publishes the ACC Docket.
The legal news and current awareness industry changed dramatically in the 1970s. The U.S. Supreme
Court in Bates v. State Bar of Arizona (1977) struck down professional barriers against advertising. Marc Galanter
and Thomas Palay wrote in their 1991 book covering the transformation of big law firms, “A few years later the
interested reader could find an abundance of information about firm organization, finances, relations to clients,
office politics, and so forth.”2
Two competing publications were launched. The National Law Journal, a weekly newspaper introduced
in 1978, covers legal information of national importance, including federal circuit court decisions, practitioners’
columns, and coverage of legislative issues. In 1978 the paper began its annual survey of the nation’s 200 largest
law firms; this survey of the nationlawyers largest law firms ranked by the number of attorneys each firm has
continues to this day.
The American Lawyer magazine soon followed in 1979. The first issue emphasized law firm finances
and executive compensation, a topic usually not discussed by lawyers. In the 1980s the American Lawyer began
to publish its own ranking of the top 100 law firms. Unlike The National Law Journal, it ranked firms based on
annual revenues and subsequently expanded to include partners’ compensation, profitability, and more detailed
attorney counts. By the late 1980s some firms were striving to be included in The American Lawyer’s list.
The 1980s until the early 2000s were a period of consolidation in the U.S. The American Lawyer acquired
regional publications in the 1980s. A new company, ALM, was formed in 1997 through the merger of The
American Lawyer, The New York Law Journal, The National Law Journal, and other regional newspapers. ALM
continued acquiring and by 2010 had established a presence in eight of the top 10 U.S. legal markets, in addition
to international publications. Dolan Media acquired Lawyers Weekly, a publisher of weekly newspapers in
Massachusetts and various secondary markets, and combined it with other regional publications. The two
companies became the largest legal news and current awareness companies. The emergence of the Internet
spawned a new era of innovation in business of law coverage. The Greedy Associates message boards enabled
newly hired associates to share compensation information at the largest law firms. Above the Law was founded
in 2006, providing content and commentary on salaries, bonuses, law schools, and firms.
Blogs and other social media became an important part of the information network for legal professionals,
providing notification of early events. SCOTUSblog is one of the better known, as it covers the U.S. Supreme
Court. These blogs pushed the commercial players, forcing them to speed up their coverage and strengthen their
comprehensiveness.
In 2004 Law360 began using technology and quick, efficient processes to provide timely coverage of
countless practice areas. They extract updates from PACER, the U.S. federal court filing system, tagging
companies and people. This practice-specific news offering enables legal professionals to keep track of customers
and competitors.
Beginning in the 1990s, business of law publishers expanded their product offerings to events and books.
They brought their communities together through the strength of their brands for education, recognition, and
networking. The publishers’ local connections led to books focused on state-specific legal issues written by local
authors. These new monetization streams fit into the publishers’ vision of helping their legal communities thrive
while helping to offset declining classified and print advertising.
2 MARC GALANTER & THOMAS PALAY, TOURNAMENT OF LAWYERS: THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE BIG LAW FIRM (1991).
7
Independent publishers formed most of these geographically focused publications. These businesses
thrived for many years, monetizing through subscriptions and advertising. Many became the official newspapers
of record, enabling them to publish public notices. Public notices are required by state regulations to keep the
public and businesses aware of key private and governmental actions. Foreclosures and LLC/LLP incorporations
are typical notices.
In addition to the privately owned publications, associations serving segments of the legal market
established monthly publications for their memberships. The American Bar Association, which serves U.S.
attorneys, publishes the ABA Journal. The Association of Corporate Counsel publishes the ACC Docket.
The legal news and current awareness industry changed dramatically in the 1970s. The U.S. Supreme
Court in Bates v. State Bar of Arizona (1977) struck down professional barriers against advertising. Marc Galanter
and Thomas Palay wrote in their 1991 book covering the transformation of big law firms, “A few years later the
interested reader could find an abundance of information about firm organization, finances, relations to clients,
office politics, and so forth.”2
Two competing publications were launched. The National Law Journal, a weekly newspaper introduced
in 1978, covers legal information of national importance, including federal circuit court decisions, practitioners’
columns, and coverage of legislative issues. In 1978 the paper began its annual survey of the nation’s 200 largest
law firms; this survey of the nationlawyers largest law firms ranked by the number of attorneys each firm has
continues to this day.
The American Lawyer magazine soon followed in 1979. The first issue emphasized law firm finances
and executive compensation, a topic usually not discussed by lawyers. In the 1980s the American Lawyer began
to publish its own ranking of the top 100 law firms. Unlike The National Law Journal, it ranked firms based on
annual revenues and subsequently expanded to include partners’ compensation, profitability, and more detailed
attorney counts. By the late 1980s some firms were striving to be included in The American Lawyer’s list.
The 1980s until the early 2000s were a period of consolidation in the U.S. The American Lawyer acquired
regional publications in the 1980s. A new company, ALM, was formed in 1997 through the merger of The
American Lawyer, The New York Law Journal, The National Law Journal, and other regional newspapers. ALM
continued acquiring and by 2010 had established a presence in eight of the top 10 U.S. legal markets, in addition
to international publications. Dolan Media acquired Lawyers Weekly, a publisher of weekly newspapers in
Massachusetts and various secondary markets, and combined it with other regional publications. The two
companies became the largest legal news and current awareness companies. The emergence of the Internet
spawned a new era of innovation in business of law coverage. The Greedy Associates message boards enabled
newly hired associates to share compensation information at the largest law firms. Above the Law was founded
in 2006, providing content and commentary on salaries, bonuses, law schools, and firms.
Blogs and other social media became an important part of the information network for legal professionals,
providing notification of early events. SCOTUSblog is one of the better known, as it covers the U.S. Supreme
Court. These blogs pushed the commercial players, forcing them to speed up their coverage and strengthen their
comprehensiveness.
In 2004 Law360 began using technology and quick, efficient processes to provide timely coverage of
countless practice areas. They extract updates from PACER, the U.S. federal court filing system, tagging
companies and people. This practice-specific news offering enables legal professionals to keep track of customers
and competitors.
Beginning in the 1990s, business of law publishers expanded their product offerings to events and books.
They brought their communities together through the strength of their brands for education, recognition, and
networking. The publishers’ local connections led to books focused on state-specific legal issues written by local
authors. These new monetization streams fit into the publishers’ vision of helping their legal communities thrive
while helping to offset declining classified and print advertising.
2 MARC GALANTER & THOMAS PALAY, TOURNAMENT OF LAWYERS: THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE BIG LAW FIRM (1991).
7
