Horizon scanning is a key service that research/library teams can offer in law firms to keep lawyers (and clients) up to date on news and legal developments. Horizon scanning is also a powerful marketing tool for the research/library team in raising its profile within a firm. This article looks at the different categories of horizon scanning in a law firm, who it is for and what content is monitored. The authors share best practice, benefits and challenges, and briefly look at AI’s role in horizon scanning. The article is based on a presentation given at the BIALL Conference in June 2025 by Julie Ferris and Diane Stitt, Research Analysts at A&O Shearman, and Philippa McIntosh, Lead Marketing Manager at Vable.
Ferris et al. (Sun,) studied this question.