Given the choice between sitting in a NY conference room looking at financial spreadsheets on our past and future performance, or getting out and seeing our successful businesses in action, it doesn't take too long for me to know where I'd rather be. This week, I've had the pleasure of being with two of our great successes--LegalTech/NY and the team at the Daily Business Review in Miami.

For those who have never been to LegalTech/NY, just imagine thousands of lawyers, IT folk, vendors and consultants surging through three floors of noisy hotel exhibition space. Add to that a top-quality conference on the hot trends in legal technology. And add a big dose of networking in the ballrooms, the hallways, the upstairs suites and the downstairs bars. It is a wonderful circus, and this year--the 28th for this important industry event--may well have been the most exciting. I'm sure many people came to the show a bit worried--would the crowds come, would they be interested in new technology products, would they be in a buying mood, or would the economy put a damper on everyone's spirits? Those fears were unfounded. I heard some exhibitors call this the best LegalTech they had ever attended. The crowd equalled last year's record turnout. And the number of exhibitors who have already signed up for space next year means we're sure to have another success on our hands in 2010. (Did you want a booth on one of the first two floors of the show next year? Better hurry--when I left on Wednesday afternoon, there weren't many of those left).

Why, in what is otherwise a difficult year for the economy, would LegalTech/NY have done so well? I think there are two reasons. One, we have the leading brand in this industry and people trust that brand to deliver high quality conference content, a high quality audience for the exhibitors, and high quality service for all who attend. Brands matter, especially in tough times.

And the second reason for LegalTech/NY's success is our terrific and very experienced team, led by Kevin Vermeulen, Henry Dicker, John Klein and Rob Hafiz. They know what they are doing, work with a terrific group of conference producers, registration pros, logistics experts and a never-quit-selling sales team to make it all work. It takes a full year to pull off an event like LegalTech/NY, and this group doesn't miss a trick in making it a success.

With the glow of LegalTech/NY behind me, this morning I flew to Miami and spent time with Publisher Chris Mobley and the staff of the Daily Business Review. With all the gloom-and-doom that gets written about the newspaper industry, it's easy to forget that the most consistently successful part of our overall business in the past few years has been our newspaper group. And it would be hard to beat the DBR for posting outstanding results in a tough environment.

But what I particularly like is that they are not resting on their success. Chris, Editor-in-Chief David Lyons, Executive Editor Eddie Dominguez and Director of Products Carlos Curbelo are working to revamp and redesign their newspaper to make it more attractive in the age of the internet. That means shorter and crisper stories, more entry points on every page, referrals to news on the web as well as to other information sources, and the smart use of graphics throughout. And the advertisers are a part of the mix, with new premium positions being created (including on the top of the front page) and other opportunities for brand building and promotion. The new look DBR will launch on February 17th--another reason why south Florida will be HOT in the weeks to come.

We have a lot of other successes in this company. All are built on Powerful Brands, Outstanding Teams, and High Quality Content. That's why I'm confident in our ability to weather the economic storm we're in, and to come out of it stronger than we were when it began. I'm looking forward to visiting with more of our teams in the weeks and months to come.