NY Times Covers Consumer Benefits of JD Supra

Full client disclosure here, but I really wanted to share this...

On Sunday, the NYTimes published a very flattering article on JD Supra titled, Lawyers Open Their File Cabinets for a Web Resource.

For me, this story is as close to the original vision for JD Supra as I've come across. While the research, sharing & marketing benefits are mostly evident, what tends to get overlooked is the public consumer angle. A very interesting part of this site's concept (for me) is the way people are empowered to make better decisions. Whether you're an Executive betting the company, or an individual hiring a lawyer, engaging legal help is an expensive proposition. Good decisions are obviously critical.

I'm not sure if, as the article says, Law is the last bastion; but do believe codified examples of work history can be part of the solution. Yet another element in moving toward the complete web-view of the legal professional.

Looking purely from a consumer's view, I see the benefits of sharing work product as:

• The ability to read these documents & become better informed;
• Increased reliability of documents where Lawyers take public ownership of them;
• Researching legal issues within a collection of vetted documents;
• Ability to identify a lawyer with rare experience (& not worth the lawyer's effort to market);
• Ability to identify expertise by geographic region or practice area;
  

When decisions & execution are *this* important, I can't see DIY legal work being an issue. The question then becomes, are Consumers better off with these documents available?

That answer, at least for me, is a definite yes.

JD Supra is Now Live!

As noted over on my Stem blog, JD Supra launched this morning, and is now open for business!

Please drop by & check things out. And please help spread the word! It's not just lawyers who benefit from work product sharing. Librarians also benefit from great repositories like JD Supra. Any website that provides access to authoritative legal documents, filings, decisions & research is another wrench in the law librarian's toolbelt!

As Bonnie Shucha mentioned a while back, websites that take document ownership seriously also provide a mechanism for authority evaluation & trust. Having the opportunity to see the lawyer or law firm that's behind a shared document certainly helps in that manner.

And finally, feedback from Law Librarians is definitely welcome & wanted! If you see a feature that could be added, a helpful addition, or something that isn't working quite right, please let me know!

thanks,
Steve

JD Supra is Soooo Close!

I seriously can't wait for the doors to open to JD Supra.

Larry Bodine's just posted about how the site is set to go live in a couple weeks time. CMOs and Marketing Directors will also want to take note of what Larry says at the end. There's a great opportunity right now to build your firm's custom profile and get a website preview simply by becoming a founding contributor!

I'm also happy to relay that we're going to co-launch a blog for JD Supra! The crew at Lexblog are working hard as we speak write!

I really pushed hard for this one (big surprise!). Mostly because I think not having Aviva Cuyler (JD Supra's founder) in the legal blogosphere would be a wasted opportunity. Aviva already enjoys reading other law blogs, and frankly, her passion for legal research, KM and content sharing will be a valuable focal point for JD Supra users. It's also a great opportunity to put a human face to the project and respond publicly to feedback & suggestions.

And finally, I mentioned this in my last JD Supra post, but I'm still very excited about how this site could become the next generation of public-facing legal KM. Sharing one's expertise via work product, and linking it to web marketing makes a lot of sense -- both for KM & marketing purposes. You can check out the list of contributing firms in Larry's post, and buy-in will definitely be a factor, but we're really looking good so far!

Did I say I can't wait? :)

JD Supra, Why I'm Signing On

[Cross-posted to my law firm web strategy blog]

One of the intended effects of starting this business was to force me to focus. You see, I've always been this multi-discipline kind of guy -- web marketer, KM practitioner, coder developer, law librarian, etc. (you can check my profile, if you don't know me) -- lots of interests and lots of hats, but always with a web-information delivery bent, and always within the legal market.

I've also tried to recognize that it was those varying interests that tied me together; gave me my perspective. And while I'm appreciative of my time working in law firms, it was the opportunity to roll those skills into a single focus that drove me to the Stem concept.

Beyond worrying about the company's financial viability [Note to concerned friends: it's going better than expected! stop worrying...], my biggest concern coming out the gate has been the possibility of losing my connection to the things that interest me, like Knowledge Management. And so, even in the earliest stages of my business plan, I made myself this promise: Along the way, I reserve the right to work on projects that I believe in.

That doesn't mean I want to be a KM consultant. Trust me, there's only one Ron Friedmann. [that's a plug btw, in case you missed it. ;-) ]

It just so happens that I love the KM literature -- the puzzle of how to codify knowledge & expertise, and what that information tells us. I also believe there's a strong link from internal KM collections to the development of online marketing product. But that's another post...

So, Day 1 of operation, I come down to my new office. Out of the HSBC building in downtown Vancouver, and into my newly retooled office, a.k.a. my basement. :-) My voice mail is flashing, and the person on the other end is Aviva Cuyler, a lawyer in the San Francisco bay area. Cool, a great way to start!

Well, she wasn't inquiring for her firm, but I found the call no less interesting. We talked for a good hour. About her new website - JD Supra. About lawyer work product, and what it can tell about an individual's expertise - especially within niche areas of the law. How research and filings and court successes can qualify a lawyer's knowledge & experience. And how in a world where everyone 'says' they're an expert, this new website has the chance to 'prove', or at least validate, that a lawyer can execute what they've said they can.

Now she's got my KM interest - a qualification tool that would tie work product to professional profile. A tool that would give credit to the lawyers and firms that contribute, including logos and links back to their firm website. Perhaps a future that includes some Community 2.0 tools? collaboration? networking opportunities? My mind is now working overtime.

So there it is. I'm sold. If there's a better fit for all those varying interests of mine, I'm not sure what it would be. Aviva Cuyler's vision is unique, and yet well aligned to the type of product I would conceive of myself. I think JD Supra is set to become an important web 2.0 offering for the legal industry. And that's why I'm signing on.

I'll say more soon, and sorry about the month-early tease (launch is slated for late September 2007). If you're a legal researcher, writer, or gatekeeper for in-house precedents, there is an early bird opportunity for those willing to contribute. You can sign up on the JD Supra homepage or email Aviva directly to get involved.