Practical Law The Journal, long a quarterly magazine published in print by the Practical Law division of Thomson Reuters, has moved online as of today, where it will now be published monthly as part of Reuters legal news.
At its new web location within the website of Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, the magazine is free for anyone to access without cost, although email registration is required.
The magazine, which had been published in the U.S. since 2009, is designed to serve as a companion to the Practical Law services, providing in-depth coverage of transactional and compliance topics and key issues and developments in litigation practice and procedure.
Most articles are written by practitioners who are experts in their fields, with others written by Practical Law’s own attorney-editors. Editor-in-chief of the magazine is Kristin Fisher, who was formerly a finance associate at Latham & Watkins.
Emily Colbert, VP, global product management for Practical Law, told me that the move from print to online was driven by a desire to scale the magazine’s audience more broadly and the increasing logistical challenges of distributing a print magazine in a post-pandemic legal world.
With Reuters having been beefing up its coverage of legal news over the past two years, Colbert said, the magazine saw the opportunity to move online at a location where it could be shared more widely and retain its editorial quality and prestige.
Tracking the organization of legal news on Reuters, The Journal has sections for transactional, litigation, legal industry and government. The transactional and litigation sections will each have featured articles written by outside experts.
This month’s transactional feature is, Blockchain: Data Privacy Issues and Mitigation Strategies, written by lawyers at Davis Polk & Wardwell and Hengeler Mueller. It explores in depth key issues between using blockchain and complying with data privacy laws.
The magazine also has regular columns, such as General Counsel File, which profiles a corporate general counsel.
Although some articles link to additional resources within Practical Law, no Practical Law subscription is required to read the magazine, and Colbert said its articles are complete in themselves in their coverage of issues.
