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Sue James explains the reasons behind our decision to take Legal Action digital only.
LAG needs a compelling and coherent digital presence to reach a wider audience, to appeal to the next generation of social justice lawyers and to secure its own future in a competitive publishing sector. In addition, LAG is struggling with rising print costs, a falling subscriber base, as well as an increased demand for digitisation.
We have consulted with subscribers and the wider social justice sector this year, and the results of our findings have also influenced our decision. It is clear that our readers still want to access Legal Action’s content, but we need to change its format in order to increase its subscription base and keep up with reader expectations and industry standards. As a result, we have taken the decision to move the magazine to a digital-only publication. We are working on the plan to digitise, including the timeline, and will share this information when we have it.
As our subscribers, we wanted to share with you the results of our recent survey and focus groups, and to outline the economic reasons why the change is needed.
What you love
We received some great feedback from our subscribers in the readership survey earlier this year, which highlights how invaluable Legal Action is for the sector. Our law and practice section is an unrivalled resource – being by far the most read section in the magazine (see below). Most responses highlighted how important Legal Action is for providing legal professionals with easily digestible updates on recent case law and policy/legislative developments. There was high praise for our authors, who work extremely hard to provide these updates alongside their own practices. It was welcome to hear that many of you read updates on areas of law outside of your own interests and appreciate the fact that our team works hard to address ‘genuine social justice issues’. Here are some of the kind comments we had about Legal Action:
‘A jewel in a turbulent sea for voluntary advisers.’
‘Drawing together all facets of social/public/human rights law in one place.’
‘Authoritative, comprehensive, independent coverage of legal developments across a range of sectors.’
‘I think the magazine is a really important way of not only keeping solicitors up to date, but also as a rallying point around legal aid. It’s a great way to bring all the different legal aid practice areas together to feel like a coherent body and one that can work together to campaign for legal aid and our clients.’
When we asked if you would still subscribe to a digital-only copy
From our recent focus groups and questionnaires, readers need and expect Legal Action to be available as an accessible digital product. Publishing is changing and readers understandably expect to access information and resources digitally. This would also make it easier for organisations to share subscriptions and therefore make it more cost-effective for all. The survey results indicate that most readers will continue to subscribe to a digital-only version of the magazine (see below):
‘LAG is a great organisation. It needs to go digital.’
‘Now that many of us spend at least a part of the week working remotely, the more information that is online the easier it is to access.’
‘I would actually prefer a digital-only subscription – especially if it brought the price down to make it accessible to more members of my team. A paper magazine is impossible to share between home workers!’
When we asked about reaching new audiences
LAG is keen to broaden its appeal to the next generation of lawyers. Legal Action has been an invaluable resource for thousands of social justice lawyers, and we are keen to continue this legacy, but our subscriber base has continued to shrink year on year. In a recent focus group of housing lawyers, including many who had recently qualified, it was clear from their comments that LAG and its products are still very important to young lawyers but they do need to be more accessible. With people increasingly working from home regularly and a preference for digital content, it makes sense that our focus group attendees were asking for Legal Action to move online. They were keen for more practical articles that could offer young readers tips, advice and guidance:
‘We want practical, day-to-day, soft skills, that’s what LAG used to do and we need a space to do that again.’
‘I’d like to see LAG broaden its publishing remit in an attempt to engage with a younger audience and to tap into its campaigning role. I am not sure I see the point of the magazine other than to carry the law and practice which would better suit a digital format.’
The future
LAG started life as a campaigning charity and our mission to improve access to justice for all has always been at the heart of everything we do. Over the last 50 years we have become an influential voice, advocating for access to justice, as well as providing the tools needed for the legal advice sector to deliver high-quality, authoritative, up-to-date legal information.
LAG is a well-respected, highly valued and much-loved organisation that sits at the heart of, and underpins, the legal advice sector, providing the tools to enable social justice lawyers to carry out their jobs to a high standard and to develop the law. It delivers on its mission every time a lawyer picks up a book, reads the magazine or attends a training session.
The publishing sector has changed beyond recognition in the last 20 years, as have reader expectations. LAG has not moved with the times (understandably, we exist to support a sector that has been underfunded and undermined for many years) but we also have a target audience who cannot afford to buy the tools we publish – but they absolutely need. We have relied on subscriptions and book purchases to sustain the organisation to date, but this is no longer possible. LAG has reached a point at which we cannot continue unless there is a major change. The chart below speaks for itself.
In order to develop the ‘pipeline’ of future solicitors, barristers and advisers and promote a modern, diverse and inclusive profession for the next 50 years, we need to deliver our rich content in different ways.
We hope you will continue to take this journey with us.