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It’s been a few weeks since our last LexBlog Q&A, however in our hiatus we recharged our batteries and caught up with Neil Squillante, publisher of TechnoLawyer.
TechnoLawyer says its sole job consists of creating and maintaining an environment in which legal professionals and others in the field can share their knowledge and experiences with their peers. TechnoLawyer has achieved this through various publications, including multiple widely read legal newsletters and now the TechnoLawyer Blog.
See our e-mail exchange with Neil (after the jump).
1. Ashley See: How long have you been involved in the tech space?
Neil Squillante: My first brush with technology media occurred in 1996 when I became Host of AOL’s Legal Technology Forum and persuaded some legal vendors to participate. In 1997, I started TechnoLawyer as a hobby. In 1999 it became a full-time job. PeerViews is the name of our company.
2. Ashley See: What role do you see blogs playing in the legal practice, and broader communication as a whole?
Neil Squillante: Blogs excel at establishing lawyers and/or law firms as experts in a particular area. This “thought leadership” can result in developing valuable relationships with other experts and becoming a source that reporters for mainstream publications seek out. Perhaps most importantly, blogs increase the likelihood of connecting with prospective clients searching Google.
For example, we published an article in our TechnoFeature newsletter last year about The Standards Blog, which attained 250,000 monthly visitors shortly after launching. Andrew Updegrove, the lawyer behind the blog, is often quoted by journalists. As a result, the blog has generated “substantial new business” for his firm.
On the other hand, lawyers who have launched blogs intending to make a go at the media business have largely come up empty or enjoyed only modest success from what I’ve heard.
One problem is that most media companies own many publications. And the media business is an accretive numbers game now more than ever. As a result, building a media business with just one blog is difficult.
Beyond the legal realm, you see some media businesses built around blogs. Gawker Media is probably the most successful. Not surprisingly, it operates multiple blogs, each of which has millions of monthly visitors. It has an editorial staff, sales staff, production staff, etc.
3. Ashley See: What is TechnoLawyer and where do you see it going?
Neil Squillante: TechnoLawyer consists of a network of free email newsletters and an accompanying blog that cover topics pertaining to law office management and technology. We’re especially strong in the litigation technology realm. About half of our subscribers are litigators.
In terms of diversification and expansion, we also operate LandingPage Interactive, an ad agency that specializes in landing pages, email copywriting, and private label blogs and email newsletters. We developed expertise in these areas thanks to TechnoLawyer.
4. Ashley See: How is TechnoLawyer Blog helping you achieve your goals?
Neil Squillante: TechnoLawyer Blog attracts legal professionals from search engines and from blogs that link to us. After sampling the content on TechnoLawyer Blog, some of these people subscribe to one or more of our newsletters.
5. Ashley See: Will there be a Blawgworld 2008? If so, what’s the current status? If not, why?
Neil Squillante: Not in 2008. Shortly after publishing BlawgWorld 2007, we decided to make it a biennial publication. Therefore, we’ll publish the next edition in 2009. In the meantime, look for a short video on our blog next week celebrating 30,000 downloads of the current edition. As you would expect, it celebrates legal blogs so I think legal bloggers in particular will enjoy watching the video.
Interested in hearing more? Recent LexBlog Q & A posts:
- Bill Pollak, legal published pro and CEO of ALM [4.25.08]
- Mario Sundar, community evangelist and blog editor for LinkedIn [4.24.08]
- Kevin Livingston & Dennis Pfaff, the editorial team behind Thelen’s Climate Law Update [4.17.08]
- Anita Campbell, editor-in-chief of Small Business Trends [4.15.08]
- Steve Matthews of Stem Legal, discussing the state of the Canadian legal blogosphere [4.11.08]
Or, see our full list of legal blog interviews.