You get what you pay for (now online)

Eagle-eyed readers will have noticed that Legal Week has been going through changes to its publishing model that mean we now produce premium content which is only available to subscribers.

The foundation for this shift is our monthly In depth strand, which focuses either on industry or practice sectors or issues of interest to senior decision-makers. The original idea was that by stepping outside the news cycle we could properly focus on issues that are lost in the grind of daily deadlines. We also determined that getting input from clients would be crucial to this format, and I think we've lived up to that so far. For example, this month's In depth, which focused on the restructuring and insolvency sector, saw us canvass professionals of the calibre of PwC's Tony Lomas (pictured), Goldman Sachs' Andrew Wilkinson, Deloitte's Neville Kahn and Nomura's Matthew French, among many others. Obviously, we also talked to the top legal practitioners in the restructuring market.

The 9,500-word report was further broadened by opinion pieces from Dentons' Mark Andrews and Ken Baird and Catherine Balmond of Freshfields. Currently you can't see this content online, but in a matter of weeks we will be creating a new function that will allow subscribers to also access premium material on legalweek.com.

This will also allow us to put a growing backlog of premium journalism online, including the first two In depth features on renewable energy and law firm management. These include senior-level contributions from Harvard Business School, Allen & Overy, Deloitte and Norton Rose. Thought leadership is a clunky phrase, but the concept of getting the kind of people whose views peers and clients will want to hear on big issues of the day is something we aim to build on in 2010. Subjects we intend to tackle early in the New Year include pharmaceuticals and women in law, but I'm always open to suggestions.

Subscribers will also be able to access other premium content, including our monthly news analysis. In this strand we've covered the challenges facing Clifford Chance and the attempt to reshape the regulation of City law firms - big subjects worthy of serious focus.

Also available will be our US briefing strand, which collects the best of the journalism from our counterparts at The American Lawyer. Recent examples include an analysis of Mayer Brown as it repositions itself after a turbulent year, and a profile of the CIA's legal team.

At this point, I'd also like to thank the many contacts (and some people I'd never spoken to before) who have been supportive of the direction we are taking Legal Week. It's a process we are only just beginning.

For more information on Legal Week subscriptions or premium content, email david.hopewell@incisivemedia.com.