Legal Marketing & PR

User-Generated Site JD Supra Goes Live

By Larry Bodine, Esq.

Launched today, JD Supra offers lawyers a free platform to post official court filings and articles that can be accessed without fee by anyone using its site – www.jdsupra.com.   It is one of the first Web 2.0 businesses designed expressly for the legal community. 

“In a world in which YouTube and Google have established new rules for user-generated content and universal search, JD Supra hopes to redefine those two key concepts for the legal profession,” founder Aviva Cuyler said.

44 million research the law and lawyers online

According to a recent study by Web research firm ComScore, more than 44 million people now use the Internet to research the law and seek legal services in their area.  While most law firms have Web sites and many attorneys are active bloggers, JD Supra creates a central site where legal content is aggregated for easy research and one-stop shopping for legal counsel. 

Attorneys who post content can create in-depth professional profiles highlighting their practice expertise and experience along with latest postings. The profile is available by browsing or keyword searching, as well as via link to posted documents. All documents are connected to contributor profiles. Thus, when potential clients research a subject, they are can connect to an attorney they can see has experience with their particular issue.  

“Someone conducting legal research or investigating a particular topic online is much more likely to then contact a lawyer who has posted relevant documents,” Ms. Cuyler said.

JD Supra also works as a qualified resource for the media. Reporters can use the site to find a lawyer with experience and point of view on a specific issue for possible commentary.  In turn, attorneys can direct journalists to newsworthy court filings, decisions and verdicts simultaneous with their filing. Contributors can designate a posting as a “Hot Document” for added urgency.  Users will be able to flag it in the “Scoop” section, available from the home page. Additionally, journalists and other interested users can subscribe to an RSS feed of these hot documents to stay current on issues of concern to them.

For the rest of the story, visit the LawMarketing Portal.

Full post as published by Larry Bodine's LawMarketing Blog on February 26, 2008 (boomark / email).