Published: September 21, 2010
ALM Announces New Editorial Structure; Aric Press Promoted to Head Legal Content Development across Media; Robin Sparkman Named Editor in Chief of the American Lawyer
NEW YORK - (BUSINESS WIRE) - ALM today announced a series of changes, designed to expand delivery of
news, information and analysis to the legal market and speed the
company's transition to digital media platforms. Most of ALM's national
news staff, which formerly operated under a brand structure, will now be
organized into cross-platform content teams focused on seven topics:
large law firms, in-house counsel; national legal news; litigation;
intellectual property; international legal news; and legal technology.
Aric Press has been promoted to the new position of vice president and
editor in chief, ALM. Press will head legal content development and will
serve as overall manager of the new editorial structure. He will
continue to be deeply involved with all ALM national content, including
writing commentary for The American Lawyer and overseeing the
national news staff. Robin Sparkman has been promoted to editor in chief
of The American Lawyer and will also oversee the large law firm
content team.
"Our new organization has been created for a single purpose: to deliver
more essential business information and data to our legal clients,
faster, via whatever platform or media they choose," said Press. "It
will enable ALM's editors, journalists, commentators and researchers,
the most talented in the industry, to explore new topics, create new
products and reach an even broader audience."
"In his new role, Aric will establish the focus for our new content
teams and lead our efforts to identify opportunities to serve clients
through new products that combine the reporting skills of our staff with
the capabilities of new media and technologies," said Jack Berkowitz,
senior vice president of ALM.
Press, formerly editor in chief of The American Lawyer, joined
ALM in 1998 from Newsweek, where he had worked for nearly 19
years. For the last ten of these, Press had been a senior editor in
charge of Newsweek's coverage of education, law, news media, religion,
science and sports. Before becoming an editor, he served as Newsweek's
justice writer for nine years. Under his leadership, The American
Lawyer has won numerous national journalism awards from the American
Society of Business Publication Editors and the Jesse H. Neal National
Business Journalism Awards program. In 2004, Press received the
McAllister Editorial Fellowship, awarded annually to one outstanding
editor to promote the study of business-to-business media, in
conjunction with the Medill Magazine Project at Northwestern
University's Medill School of Journalism. Press is a graduate of Cornell
University and New York University Law School.
Sparkman was named deputy editorial director for American Lawyer Media's
national publications and executive editor of The American Lawyer
in 2008. Previously, she spent six years as editor in chief of ALM's Corporate
Counsel, a sibling publication. She is a noted speaker on legal and
journalism issues, and served as a final round judge for the National
Magazine Awards. Before joining ALM, she spent five years as an editor
for the business and opinion sections of MSNBC.com, where she was one of
the founding members of the website. She is also a former reporter for Newsweek,
covering terrorism, the United Nations and politics. Sparkman is a magna
cum laude graduate of Wellesley College and Columbia University's
Graduate School of Journalism.
ALM, an integrated media company, is a leading provider of specialized
business news, research and information, focused primarily on the legal
and commercial real estate sectors. ALM's market-leading brands include The
American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel, GlobeSt.com, Insight
Conferences, Law.com, Law Journal Press, LegalTech, The National Law
Journal and Real Estate Forum. Headquartered in New York
City, ALM was formed in 1997. For more information, visit www.alm.com.
ALM, The American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel, GlobeSt.com,
Insight Conferences, Law.com, Law Journal Press, LegalTech, The
National Law Journal and Real Estate Forum are trademarks or
registered trademarks of ALM or affiliated entities.

Peters & Feldman for ALM
Lee Feldman, 203-341-8922
lfeldman@alm.com
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