Robert is always worth a read on legal publishing.
Here’s the introduction to his latest piece for SLAW
He writes….
It’s too easy to be negative about almost everything but for the most part it’s a lazy approach that requires little thought and analysis. Particularly when considering and discussing law publishing, the industry’s faults and downsides often come quickly to the fore. Sometimes this is justified. However, for present purposes the objective is to focus on what would be, for me, the ideal law publishing business. By “ideal”, I mean having those characteristics that make its objectives, efforts and results hugely satisfying and rewarding for customers, those working for such a business, its suppliers and in the interests of the law itself.
Not everyone will agree that law publishing is about providing legal information and content which is essential for professional advisers and corporate officers to excel in what they do but that is how I see it. In this discussion, largely I would exclude the overlapping area of the provision of software tools to undertake related tasks that are necessary for back-office and certain client-facing functions. It is certainly not to reject or diminish them but simply to suggest that they are closely related to but not the essence of added-value professional information provision.
My ideal law publishing business would target markets are at the top end, what I define as the international strategic planning and litigation sector, where I believe there is always opportunity for substantial development. It would have access to and serve information-hungry and wealthy customers who must have in-depth, high added-value research content in order to conduct their business. Typical of such customers would be the sort of practitioners who would be members of, for example, the International Bar Association or similar cross-border bodies. Operating in both Common Law and Civil Law jurisdictions, they tend to be senior and extremely well-paid English-speaking commercial specialists who are mainly involved in major transactions. Their interests are likely to span the legal, tax, financial and accounting aspects of their areas of practice. These potential customers, be they lawyers, accountants, corporate officers, etc., are likely to be operating at such a level of skill and importance that their requirements and willingness to pay are high, as their investment results in profit.
Markets and competitive activity continue to evolve rapidly, with the impact of ever-advancing technology putting most pre-conceptions in doubt. Add to this the changing international and European Union post-Brexit scene, the emergence of developing countries and the potential future superpowers, the blurring of lines between formerly quite separate professional functions and a host of other variable factors. It thus becomes clear that most thinking of the past will not necessarily apply in the future and, as the evidence consistently proves, no one can predict precisely what lies ahead. Many media and formats have their places in a complex and segmented market and blindness to any means by which to reach and satisfy customer needs is dangerous in the extreme. It is relatively easy for a publisher to capture, control and structure data, connecting what might otherwise be unconnected and making it ready for presentation to customers. It requires more skill and knowledge to decide what specific services to offer and how to do so.
Read the full article at http://www.slaw.ca/2016/08/30/my-ideal-law-publisher/
