The Am Law 200 is a social publishing powerhouse. While writing has always been an integral part of being a lawyer, and online publishing is the natural evolution of that, nowhere is this trend more apparent than among the United States’ top firms.

The number of blogs published by Am Law 200 law firms has grown twelvefold in the last seven years. This per the Am Law 200 Blog Benchmark Report 2015 from LexBlog.

The number of firms publishing blogs has more than quadrupled in this same time frame to a total of 163 firms. Eighteen of the top 25 firms are blogging.

While adoption of blogs by large law firms approaches the saturation point, blog activity — in terms of posts, readership, and interactivity — has continued to increase as bloggers become more sophisticated authors, and incorporate social media to drive blog traction.

Attorneys from Am Law 200 firms now publish a total of 962 blogs, a 45 percent increase in the last two years.

916 of those 962 publications are firm-branded. “Firm-branded” blogs are those where the firm’s name and/or logo are prominently displayed, indicating that the blog is a product of the firm, rather than the property of the individual author.

46 of the blogs are individual attorney branded — a notable, but expected decline from just a few years ago. As blogging becomes more mainstream, more firms recognize the value of this form of content marketing and are offering the platform to their lawyers under their firm’s brand. In other words, firms are recognizing blogging’s relevance as a business growth strategy.

Professional and business development success is resulting in the blogging firms publishing more blogs. The average firm publishes six blogs, each focused on different specialty areas, which is a 50 percent increase from the average of four in 2012.

Four firms have more than 20 blogs

Four firms have 16-20 blogs

19 firms have 11-15 blogs

33 firms have 6-10 blogs

75 firms have 2-5 blogs, easily the biggest sub-segment

27 firms have just one blog

Which firms blog the most? Fox Rothschild leads the way with 39 blogs, Sheppard Mullin is second with 29 blogs, Womble Carlyle has 22 blogs, and DLA Piper has 21 blogs.

The most popular blog topics?

Employment and labor blogs top the list with 132 publications

Corporate and commercial law at 104

Financial at 100

Intellectual property at 73

International at 64

Health care at 55

Administrative at 52

Technology at 50

Energy at 47

Real estate and construction at 43

A variety of newer blog topics are emerging, including: legal marketing and management, family law, maritime, probate and estate planning, e-discovery, and criminal law. All of these have less than 10 blogs covering the subject, putting these bloggers at a significant advantage for readership and rapid growth.

Which blog topics have seen the greatest growth? Here’s a look at the percentage of blogs in each practice area that are new over the past two years.

International: 71 percent

Intellectual property: 62 percent

Insurance: 58 percent

Technology: 58 percent

Food, Drug & Agriculture: 56 percent

Corporate & Commercial: 53 percent

Administrative: 52 percent

You would like to think the areas of blog growth are driven by strategic initiatives, but blogs in areas such as insurance may signal a desire to generate work for lagging practice groups.

Biglaw may be gearing up in the number of blogs, but their blog technology is lagging. Only 26 percent of the Am Law 200 blogs are making use of responsive design, Google’s preferred method of delivering the mobile experience.

This is awfully surprising considering how much readership is on mobile:

Mobile visits (visits conducted via smartphone or tablet) now account for 25 percent — up from 14 percent just one year ago — of global Internet traffic.

There are now more mobile users than desktop users in the world.

80 percent of internet users own a smartphone.

61 percent of people have a better opinion of brands offering a good mobile experience.

Though some law firms have chosen to build their blogs into their websites, they are in a very small minority. 92 percent of Am Law 200 firms keep their blogs and websites separate.

Leading law firms want to create an independent, editorial feel for their blog content by keeping the blog completely separate from the official firm website. Traditionally, websites are viewed as advertising, noted by the required disclaimers. A separate blog site, with links to the firm website, reduces the possibility that the blog will be perceived as a marketing tactic by readers, opens the door for inclusion in Google News, and can give rise to being the “publication of record” in a niche area.

Although traffic numbers aren’t always the best way to evaluate the success (or failure) of a blog, it is interesting to take a look at which blogs are the most popular in the Am Law 200.

The report highlights the top 30 most-trafficked overall and the top five for each practice area. Observations based on the findings include:

Most have a history, with an average age of two to three years.

The most trafficked are well-maintained and feature new posts at least weekly, with many posting daily.

Each have a very specific area of focus with nearly all of the blogs falling into some kind of niche.

Take Ballard Spahr’s CFPB Monitor for example. While the blog could’ve stopped at financial law, or even broadly on consumer finance, the firm chose to hone in specifically on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and everything it does. Writing frequently with language that’s easy to understand, they cover the CFPB the way a newspaper reporter would cover a beat — thus offering a go-to outlet for everyone who needs to know the latest happenings with the Bureau.

Also in the top 30, attorney Courtenay Brinckerhoff and other lawyers at Foley & Lardner use PharmaPatents to cover their niche like a glove, writing on all the big cases and trends involving patents and other intellectual property issues impacting the pharmaceutical industry.

Though some blog authors fear they’ll limit themselves by focusing on a niche, success often depends on creating that singular focus. These cogent topics help readers know exactly what they are going to get and keeps them coming back for information and commentary they can’t get elsewhere.

Among these findings and more, the report lists each of the 962 blogs by blog name, topic, and law firm. You may receive a free copy of the report here, and if you’re looking for a deeper explanation of the findings, LexBlog will be conducting a complimentary webinar on the report next week.

Kevin O’Keefe (@kevinokeefe) is the CEO and founder ofLexBlog, which empowers lawyers to increase their visibility and accelerate business relationships online. With LexBlog’s help, legal professionals use their subject matter expertise to drive powerful business development through blogging and social media. VisitLexBlog.com.

LexBlog also hosts LXBN, the world’s largest network of professional blogs. With more than 8,000 authors, LXBN is the only media source featuring the latest lawyer-generated commentary on news and issues from around the globe. Visit lxbn.com now.