Above The Law Blog Hires Columnists To Report On Small Law Firms

About time . Endless propaganda from the big end of town at the expense of smaller firms who do an equally good job for their clients. Obviously this reporting will be North America centric; wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a news source for SME law firms in Europe, the Middle East, Asia , Australasia and Africa


Here’s what ABL say they are going to report and how they’ll do it..

In today?s legal world, bigger doesn?t always mean better. Clients are increasingly turning to small law firms, drawn by the personalized attention and reasonable fees that these firms can offer. Additionally, many partners are leaving large law firms to start their own boutiques, attracted by the flexibility and freedom offered by smaller, nimbler platforms. In light of small firms? increased prominence, Above the Law (?ATL?) ? the biggest site for original legal news, reaching 750,000 unique visitors per month ? is pleased to announce the launch of two new columns aimed at the small-firm world.

?Over a third of Above the Law readers in private practice work for firms with fewer than 100 attorneys,? said ATL managing editor David Lat. ?We have thousands of readers who work at small firms. With these two columns, we are making a concerted push to expand our small-firm coverage, in order to turn ATL into a destination site for small-firm lawyers and solo practitioners.?

The first column, ?Small Firms, Big Lawyers,? will be written by Jay Shepherd, founding partner of the Shepherd Law Group, an employment-law boutique in Boston. Shepherd is a veteran lawyer, with over 17 years of experience in practice, who has spent his entire career in small firms. He has been recognized as one of the ?Top 100 Lawyers in New England? by Super Lawyers and as a top Massachusetts employment lawyer by the Chambers guide, among other honors.

Shepherd is also an experienced blogger, with more than four years of experience writing two highly regarded law blogs. The Client Revolution, which focuses on new paradigms for practicing law, has been named one of the nation?s top 100 legal blogs by the ABA Journal. Shepherd?s other blog, Gruntled Employees, covers workplace issues, and was named ?Best HR Law Website? by Human Resource Executive magazine. Shepherd?s column will appear on Above the Law on Mondays and Wednesdays.

?Big changes are coming to the practice of law,? said Shepherd, ?and I believe that small-firm lawyers will be leading the charge.?

Shepherd will be joined by a young lawyer at a small firm in Chicago, who will be writing a column entitled ?Size Matters.? Using the pseudonym ?Valerie Katz,? she will provide ATL readers with the candid commentary they have come to expect from the site. Katz, who previously worked at a large law firm, will be able to compare and contrast the world of ?Big Law? with that of small firms. Her column will appear on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

?Given the state of the legal economy, lawyers and potential lawyers need to know about all of the options available to them ? options beyond 100 highest grossing firms,? said ATL editor Elie Mystal.

If you have questions about Above the Law?s expanded coverage of small law firms or want to learn more about how to reach small-firm readers through advertising on ATL, please feel free to contact us.