Paralegals & Legal Secretaries

Legal Assistant Today has been the only independent trade magazine for paralegals, and it has been published continuously for over 25 years. Conexion, meanwhile, has been publishing Litigation Support Today and producing the International Litigation Support Leaders Conference. Charles Buckwalter, VP of Conexion, claimed in a press release that "Legal Assistant Today shares areas of convergence with our other publication."  He further stated that he is confident that Conexion will be able to maximize promotional opportunities and build upon LAT's strong paid subscriber base to "better serve the information needs of the paralegal profession."

The concern is that, if James Publishing, an established company that specializes in legal publications, is willing to let go of LAT, what will really become of it? Does Conexion understand the difference between paralegals and litigation support professionals, which tend to focus on trial presentation, document review, and other, more technology-intensive roles? Not that the convergence of the two is a bad thing, given the increasing challenges of being both paralegal and litigation support professional in a smaller firm, but will the paralegals specializing in areas other than litigation be left in the dark?

Conexion itself is a "publishing group that specializes in the development of international and niche-market publications[,] particularly those focused on vertical professions or special interests with multiple growth potential in the USA, Hispanic USA and/or the markets of Latin America, Asia-Pacific, or other regions." It's a broad mission that may result in a more superficial publication that caters to no one.

Readers, feel free to comment on this development. Do you read Legal Assistant Today? Does this make you more or less likely to subscribe or renew your subscription? Sound off in the comments.Technorati Tags: paralegal, paralegals, legal assistant, litigation support