Real Lawyers Podcast: David Lat on Legal Gossip, Media Entrepreneurship and Independent Publishing
The publisher of Original Jurisdiction now and many an esteemed publication prior, Lat sits down with Kevin O'Keefe for our latest episode.
August 7, 2025
David Lat has shaped modern legal media more than almost anyone. From the pseudonymous blog Underneath Their Robes to launching Above the Law in 2006 and now publishing the reader-funded Substack Original Jurisdiction, he shows how gossip, hustle and independent vision can build a lasting journalism career.
In this episode Kevin digs into that journey, the business models behind each phase and what lawyers can still learn from blogging today.
Episode outline
- 00:00 Kevin’s intro and why David matters to legal publishing
- 01:56 Birth of Underneath Their Robes
- 05:17 Blogging under a pseudonym and the big reveal in The New Yorker
- 13:40 Growing up near Nixon and developing a storytelling instinct
- 15:27 Pitching investors and launching Above the Law
- 18:35 Eight-posts-a-day grind and why effort still pays off
- 26:30 Adding value beyond headlines in an AI-summarised world
- 30:20 Staying ahead of “the robots” and keeping commentary fresh
- 36:17 Why Substack’s subscriber model beats ads for trust and revenue
- 44:41 Balancing journalism, family and human connection online
Key takeaways
- Authentic voice plus clear value-add still separates great legal commentary from AI summaries and wire copy
- Direct subscription revenue aligns incentives with readers rather than advertisers
- Consistent blogging lets young lawyers build expertise, clients and media invitations faster than traditional networking
- Hustle matters—David once spent 60-plus hours a week publishing eight to ten posts daily to make Above the Law stick
- Analysis, context and well-timed jokes keep readers coming back despite information overload