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Veteran Legal Journalist Changes Team After ALM Reorganization
This week, ALM Media’s former vice president and editor-in-chief David Brown resurfaced as the chief content officer at the corporate counsel network, In the House.
In his new position, Brown said his job is to develop the site’s “content.” He said the site curates articles and throws events for its network of 23,000 in-house lawyers and is focusing on career advice for corporate counsel.
“There’s a lot of information out there for how lawyers at law firms can advance their careers,” said Brown. “We believe that same information should be out there for in-house lawyers as well.”
Brown said he parted ways on amicable terms with ALM in February when the company reorganized its editorial structure. During his 17 years at ALM, he worked as an editor at the San Francisco Recorder, Legal Times, and the American Lawyer, and eventually as editor-in-chief of the whole company.
We asked him for some perspective on what’s happening in the legal profession. Below is a transcript of our conversation, edited for clarity and brevity.
Big Law Business: You’ve had a unique perch to watch the legal profession. How has it changed?
Brown: In general terms, when I started working for The Recorder, my first publication, it was 1999, the height of the dot-com boom. Then, when you thought about a big law firm, you were talking 500 or 600 lawyers. The enormous expansion of law firms is one of the biggest things I can point to in all of that time.
In thinking about my present context, the role of the in-house counsel has been changing as well. I was really interested in how that career path is developing. It’s not — as it may have been perceived on the law firm side — just an easier career path. It’s really a dynamic way of spending your career.
Big Law Business: What’s your role?
Brown: It’s chief content officer. To develop and build out our content, and set the direction and tone for that. I see real opportunities there to engage our members in some meaningful conversation. Our goal is really to create a safe space.
Big Law Business: Any big themes you’re focused on?
Brown: We’re really focused on the career aspect and building a successful career because we do think that there’s a gap there.
Big Law Business: In five, ten years, where will the legal profession be — care to predict any radical shifts?
Brown: Since the day I started in legal journalism, everyone’s been talking about a major shift coming along. In five years, we’re still going to have an AmLaw 200, though. The legal industry — if it’s taught me anything — is conservative in how it moves to the future.
But the rate pressures are real and I do think the convergence of technology and alternative vendors chipping away at routine work, are going to put pressure on law firms to work more closely with clients on things like billing rates.
Big Law Business: Good to know that conversation has been happening for awhile.
Brown: [laughs] When I started, there was actually a cover story, I believe it was 1998, a major law firm leader who predicted that I think by this time there would only be 20 major law firms in the world. That just hasn’t happened. Law firms have found a way to adapt and I think they’ll continue to do that.
I think the changes that you’ll see are just in the way lawyers work; and for younger lawyers who come into the profession, I see the training path really changing. In litigation, the opportunities for associates to get into a courtroom, or get into the litigation process, I’m not sure they exist in the way they once did. Some of that is the pressures on law firms to move work to senior people to maximize their fees, but some of it also is cases moving to arbitration … I’m not sure that’s a super positive development.
David Brown at Linked In
