Lawyers are said to like the sound of their own voices. But many lawyers like to hear the voices of others as well.

Often, an attorney or law student may sit alone, surrounded by written words, mulling an issue, but lacking an idea of how to approach it. Simply engaging in a brief conversation with another person about the topic at hand can assist in clarifying the matter and organizing how to proceed. For many, the act of listening to another person approach a problem can be an effective way to approach legal problem-solving and analysis.

Podcasts featuring commentary on legal topics offer lawyers and law students the opportunity to eavesdrop on the kind of formal and informal conversations that take place in law offices and lecture halls each day. Moreover, they have become extremely popular in the academic realm, as students who miss a class or lecture now enjoy the opportunity to download the audio from the Web, a tactic that some law firms have employed in recording and showcasing internal presentations or CLEs.

A pod is born

A hybrid of the word "iPod," the portable audio device from Apple Computers, and the word "broadcast," podcasts are best described as radio on demand. They are audio recordings available to download from or stream through the Internet and listen to at your leisure. While it had been reported that Apple Computers was considering trademark litigation over the term "podcast" because it so obviously refers to their iPod product, the company has issued a letter stating no objection to third-party use of the word, instead banking on the latent branding of its product in popular speech.

Although podcasts exist on every topic imaginable, those focusing on areas of legal interest have garnered a following within the profession.

Listening to a recording of other people talking might seem outdated, given the visual effects available on screens big and small and the endless ways of delivering the written word available to the average media consumer. But despite reports to the contrary, video didn't quite kill the radio star.

Radio has remained a form of media to be reckoned with. The 1990s witnessed the rise of "talk radio" and of National Public Radio. In workplaces, cars and homes, the sound of the human voice continues to serve as both white noise and an opportunity for active listening. Bells and whistles have accompanied visual-media innovations, while basic audio has quietly remained a constant.

The appeal of the podcast

It is only in the past few years that podcasts emerged as an outgrowth of the popularity of iPods and portable MP3 players. Music choice is a very personal and individual decision, and the same is true of podcasts. Lawyers are more likely to listen to individually chosen podcasts through headphones than to engage in group listening sessions.

Media experts say one of the reasons audio technology has remained viable is that listening is the human sense best suited to multitasking. One can drive a car, clean the house, work out at the gym, or type at a computer screen, all while listening to a recording of others carrying on a discussion.

Podcasts can be especially useful to people who have a long commute or travel extensively. Listeners can download a number of podcasts onto a portable device and listen while riding in the car or subway. The no-frills audio is particularly ideal for air travel.

Listening requires less energy and direct attention than other forms of media. Podcasts avoid the eye strain of small print and the hunched pose of computer work. One can literally take in information lying down.

Podcast format

Podcasts often follow the classic formats of oral tradition. Many offer a basic soliloquy - a single person speaking on a topic or relating a story. Typically, they are not scripted. Most seek to present authentic conversations and the opportunity to listen to knowledgeable parties bouncing ideas off each other.

These types of podcasts tend to function much like a panel discussion at a conference might, except that the listener doesn't have to travel to distant cities for the opportunity to listen in. A single area of interest is presented for discussion, and each party at the table offers his or her opinions and responds to others' views. This may include a moderator or interviewer to direct the conversation.

University at Buffalo law professor and law librarian Jim Milles has taken on the role of interviewer/moderator in a podcast series he has produced since spring 2007 entitled UB Law Faculty Conversations.

"I was inspired ... by participating in the many faculty workshops that are held at the law school. Like most law schools, UB Law holds frequent workshops where our own faculty or visiting faculty present works in progress. This gives them the opportunity to work out their arguments with the help of an engaged but critical audience, and ultimately results in scholarship which is much more rigorous and well-argued," says Milles.

"My idea was that Faculty Conversations would be a way to popularize some of the scholarship being produced at UB Law," he said. "People who may not be inclined to read lengthy law-journal articles may be more willing to listen to an interesting and entertaining 45-minute conversation about the ideas in these articles and how they impact the world."

Milles has chosen to act as an interviewer during the podcasts because he believes that an outside point of view adds to a discussion among scholars. "A good interviewer," he says, "can draw out the implications of the scholarship in a way that the author him- or herself may not do in the workshop itself. Also, the discussion at the workshops often pushes the author to test his or her ideas, and responses may be tentative and not ready for public consumption."

This is also why Milles makes every effort to conduct the conversations and record the podcasts in settings outside UB Law. Instead, he looks to locations such as coffee shops or restaurants, the kind of places where everyday dialogue would take place. He says it is the genuineness of the actual discussion taking place that leads to the creation of a podcast that people will want to listen to.

"Podcasting is a very intimate medium. Listeners usually listen through their headphones, or perhaps at their computer, but either way, it is a medium that very much resembles conversation. It is less formal than radio, and less formulaic: You can do anything you want in a podcast. A successful podcast is one that creates that intimate connection with the listener."

Creating your own

Podcasting can also be used as a legal marketing tool, but perhaps a less obvious one than a blog or online video. Podcast listeners are a niche audience and are likely to remain so, but that does not mean that including podcasts on a firm Web site or personal page does not have value. They could be especially useful to attorneys who excel at oral presentation.

Although this column - and much of the legal world - focuses on writing skills, the ability to speak well is equally important, and podcasts offer an opportunity for those who have such talents to showcase them.

Creating a podcast is not at all hard, though probably not quite as easy as creating a blog. It will require a trip to the local electronics store, primarily for a decent microphone and digital audio-recording device. Uploading content and posting it to a Web site is an easy process. The challenge comes in finding the right people to participate, what tenor to strike and what topics to touch upon.

The best writers are usually prolific readers, and the same is probably true of those seeking to become podcasters. Future podcasters should take the time to listen to what is already recorded to find out what works, what does not and what topics and tactics you might be able to add to the world of listening.

Lawyer and freelance writer Caroline Bala Brancatella is an associate at Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel LLP. She can be reached at cbrancatella@jaeckle.com.