1. Starting point

Juristiliitto is an advocacy organisation for lawyers and law students, promoting the professional interests of the approximately 16,000 of its members. The union has published a printed Juristiuutiset -magazine (Lawyer news) for over eight decades, and has maintained a long-term collaboration with the Otavamedia Content solutions team. In recent years, the magazine has been published six times a year with its articles also made available on the website.

Member surveys have shown that the magazine is considered a valuable benefit, even among students. However, there had been an evident need for change for several years already.

The following points were considered:

• The union wants to reach its members broadly and offer content where they can naturally encounter and benefit from it in their everyday lives.
• More frequent and faster content publication is one of key objectives. The timelines of a printed magazine do not allow for a rapid response.
• Tested and researched insights from members were essential to guide the development work.
• The printing and distribution costs of the print magazine are significant. As an organization acting in the best interest of its members, the union must be especially careful with its budget.
• Measuring the readership of the printed magazine is difficult. Spontaneous feedback is limited and reader surveys provide only restricted insights.

Juristiliitto did not want to give up the printed magazine as the member feedback alone justified keeping it. Instead, the team decided to create a diverse media ecosystem and an abundance of content — while saving on previous costs.

2. Overview

Throughout autumn 2024, Juristiliitto and Otavamedia worked together to conceptualise the new Juristimedia. Channel-specific and overall media concepts were refined in workshops and prototypes were tested between sessions with target groups. The extensive process was accelerated by the longstanding collaboration and shared vision for the new media, which had first been outlined back in 2022.

Juristimedia includes two main channels: a fully renewed Juristiuutiset print magazine published four times a year, and a digital platform that features fresh weekly content. A podcast will also be added to the media mix in the near future. To help members discover the content, Juristiliitto actively shares posts on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook, as well by sending out a regular Juristimedia newsletter.

The Juristimedia concept was launched in March 2025 and was actively promoted on social media with a launch video produced by Otavamedia, social media posts and the new newsletter. Juristiliitto also hosted the first-ever Juristimedia Reader Morning, an event that dove deeper into the themes of the newly published issue. The event attracted a full house of members and other stakeholders.

3. Results

In the weeks following the launch, members found the new Juristimedia website remarkably well and social media posts have received an encouraging amount of reactions and comments. The union has also received spontaneous, positive feedback, for example about the printed magazine, which is quite rare.

An interesting observation is that the number of story suggestions coming in from the field has increased. This, too, tells its own story about the attention the new media is receiving.

Juristimedia is by no means a finished product; it will continue to evolve. The new channels offer a good and flexible foundation for continuing development.