Leaner and fitter

Redesigning and relaunching a magazine within a regular publication schedule is not something you want to go through too often, at least if experience with this month's Journal is anything to go by!

It's all away to press now, and we hope you'll agree when you see it that the result has been worth the effort. It has taken some close working – and at times some argument – between design and editorial interests to achieve something that is both visually appealing and capable of carrying the optimum content.

The effort to reduce the Journal magazine from 68 pages to 48, which along with the change to saddle stitching will result in significant economies, has also required some creative solutions in order to retain its broad coverage and wide appeal across the profession.

If you are reading this, you will have no issues over accessing your magazine online. Many lawyers remain reluctant to do so, however, but given the vastly increased flexibility of publishing online, you will see every effort in the new magazine to encourage readers to explore the additional capabilities of the website.

A rush of additional copy this month that we could not have accommodated even within the previous page extent of the magazine, has given us a good slate of "online exclusives" to begin the new era of the magazine and website working as more of a package together, and several features and shorter articles also carry links to where more can be found online.

The design of the website itself is still being finalised to keep it in step with the magazine, but once that is in place, we will also be able to bring you magazine content ahead of the print publication date. Oh, and if you are interested in what will be "online exclusive", it's aready there in the extras section, though that is about to be merged with the magazine archive to emphasise that it's definitely a "Journal plus" that you get through Journal Online.

Look out too for the new monthly video interview to coincide with publication – this time featuring cover feature subject Philip Rodney of Burness, on achieving growth in a flat legal services market.

October deadlines already begin to loom – but first to the weekend! Have a good one.