Opportunities in adversity for legal infopros?
Jinfo Blog

11th May 2009

By Tim Buckley Owen

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‘Some law firms balk at the idea of giving away lots of legal information. But large law firms don't really make their money from the sale of legal information; they make it from strategic advice and project management.’ So says Out-Law, the free online newsletter published by law firm Pinsent Masons. In self-congratulatory mode at having reached the milestone of its 10,000th posting (http://digbig.com/4yrtb) , Out-Law claims that giving away information encourages some firms to refer work its way, law students to apply for jobs there and lawyers in other firms to join it. Much of Out-Law 10,000’s focus is on how effectively the legal profession uses technology – as is a recent white paper from Legallybetter.com, a solicitor comparison site started by a team that includes David Mort of the information consultancy IRN. Choosing Legal Representation in the UK (details at http://digbig.com/4yrtc) explains how the internet is ‘transforming user behaviour and legal services marketing’; it also reviews some of the emerging legal information sources on the web, including comparison and matching sites, and law firm networks. Legallybetter’s report tends to focus on consumer legal services, and is admittedly self-seeking. But it’s still worth taking note of its comment that ‘a significant minority’ of law firms and solicitors are failing to take advantage of the internet as a marketing channel, and that around a third of those on its own database still don’t have a web site. Times are as tough in the legal profession as anywhere right now – to the extent that LexisNexis in the States has just launched a new programme called ASPIRE (Associates Serving Public Interests Research – http://digbig.com/4yrtd). ASPIRE offers free access to selected LexisNexis services to 2009 law graduates who are pursuing public service while their start dates with their firms are deferred as a result of the recession. According to the Economist (http://digbig.com/4yrte), deferral of start dates is proving a popular strategy in America with employers of all kinds, who can’t really afford to hire now but know that they will need the talent when times improve. Alternatively, many are hiring freelancers and consultants instead, thereby avoiding spending on employee benefits for the moment. All these developments offer plenty of meat for legal information professionals to chew on – especially at a time when partners may be casting baleful glances in the direction of anyone who isn’t a fee-earner. First, widely broadcast and strongly branded legal information appears to be an effective marketing tool, especially now that legal services are likely to become more commoditised (see http://www.vivavip.com/go/e14453 for some further background on this). And second, if you want to seize the opportunity that this offers, you may not necessarily need to be an employee.

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