What ABA Journal does

ABA Journal is a monthly legal trade magazine and the flagship publication of the American Bar Association, delivering legal news, analysis, features, and multimedia content to practicing lawyers, government officials, judges, in-house counsel, and law students across the United States. Founded in 1918 with over a century of continuous operation, it combines a monthly print magazine with a continuously updated website (abajournal.com), three podcast series (Legal Rebels, Asked and Answered, Modern Law Library), free weekly and Tech Monthly email newsletters, RSS syndication, and a member-contributed 'Your Voice' community section. Editorial output is anchored by named columnists such as Bryan Garner and Erwin Chemerinsky and supported by a historical archive spanning 1951–present, partially preserved on Google Books.

Name

ABA Journal

Legal name

ABA Journal

Website

https://abajournal.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1918

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

ABA Journal is the flagship monthly legal trade publication of the American Bar Association, serving practicing lawyers, judges, and in-house counsel with news, features, podcasts, and newsletters through print and digital channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Trade Magazine

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Business, Finance & Industry Trade Magazines (MPAJAEAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Law & Legal Studies Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAG)

Keywords

• Legal trade magazine
• Legal news publication
• Legal journalism
• Legal podcasts
• Professional newsletters

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Advertising: The ABA Journal accepts advertising on its print and digital platforms as a means of financially supporting the publication. The advertising policy establishes guidelines for acceptable advertisements that benefit readers while maintaining publication quality.
2. Magazine Subscriptions: Magazine subscriptions are available through the ABA, with subscriptions accessible via the ABA website. Historical issues from 1951-2002 are archived on Google Books, with issues from 2004-present available in online archives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ABA Journal is the flagship monthly legal trade magazine of the American Bar Association, publishing legal news, in-depth features, opinion columns, and analysis for the legal profession. It operates a daily-updated website (abajournal.com), a monthly print and digital magazine, three podcast series, free email newsletters, and RSS syndication, delivering comprehensive coverage of court decisions, law practice management, legal technology, ethics, and the business of law to practicing lawyers, judges, in-house counsel, and law students.

Product overview

ABA Journal is a unified legal news and media publication operated by the American Bar Association. The core offering consists of the ABA Journal Website and Magazine, which deliver legal news, features, and analysis. Supporting the core are multimedia products including three podcast series (Legal Rebels, Asked and Answered, and Modern Law Library), an email newsletter program (Weekly Newsletter and Tech Monthly), and RSS feed syndication. The Your Voice section provides a community platform for practitioner-generated commentary, while named columnists like Bryan Garner and Erwin Chemerinsky contribute regular opinion content. The publication serves as a content aggregator and professional information resource for the legal industry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Lexology: Lexology is a legal news and analysis aggregator/network operated by LexisNexis that distributes law-firm-authored content to in-house counsel and legal professionals. It targets the same reader base as ABA Journal for legal-industry updates and analysis.
• The American Lawyer: The American Lawyer is a long-running legal trade magazine covering the business of law and large law firms. It overlaps directly with ABA Journal in audience (legal professionals) and category (legal trade publishing), making it a near-direct comparator.
• JD Supra: JD Supra is a platform for legal professionals to publish and distribute commentary, articles, and analysis to a professional audience. It overlaps with ABA Journal's 'Your Voice' member-contributed content and competes for legal-professional reader attention and thought-leadership content.
• Law360: Law360 is a daily legal newswire serving practicing lawyers with breaking news and analysis across practice areas. It is the most direct competitor to ABA Journal's news coverage and competes for the same legal-professional audience with a digital-first model.
• Above the Law: Above the Law is a legal news and commentary site covering the legal profession, law schools, and Big Law. It targets the same legal-professional readership as ABA Journal, particularly associates and law students, and competes for digital ad spend.
• National Law Journal: National Law Journal is a weekly legal trade publication covering litigation, federal courts, and the legal profession. It competes with ABA Journal for the same practicing-lawyer audience and ad dollars in legal trade media.

Broad incumbents

• Law.com / ALM (Acquired by EyeCue): Law.com is the digital home of ALM's portfolio of legal trade publications including The American Lawyer and National Law Journal. It competes directly with ABA Journal as a multi-title legal trade media network targeting practicing lawyers.
• Bloomberg Law: Bloomberg Law is a comprehensive legal research and news platform combining proprietary analytics, dockets, and legal news. It serves the same lawyer audience as ABA Journal but as a broader enterprise information service with subscription pricing rather than ad-supported trade journalism.
• Reuters Legal / Thomson Reuters Legal: Thomson Reuters (parent of Reuters and Westlaw) provides legal news, research, and practice tools to legal professionals. It overlaps with ABA Journal's audience and competes for legal-news attention, while also serving as a much broader enterprise legal-information incumbent.
• Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory: Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory publishes legal information products (Chek, Kluwer Law International, CCH) and competes broadly with ABA Journal for the attention and subscription dollars of legal professionals through its portfolio of legal research and compliance content.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/abajournal
• YouTubeyoutube.com/abajournal
• Facebookfacebook.com/ABAJournal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/2913264
• Instagraminstagram.com/abajournal
• Pinterestpinterest.com/abajournal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ABA Journal