(Reuters) - What the world needs is more law firm podcasts. Said no one ever.

But with in-person conferences, seminars and bar events a no-go during the pandemic, lawyers eager to expand their networks are flocking to launch podcasts.

Every week, I seem to get another news release about another law firm podcast. WilmerHale, Mayer Brown, Saul Ewing, Clark Hill, Greenberg Traurig, Milbank, Reed Smith. The launch list goes on and on.

I got to wondering: Are Big Law podcasts worth the effort? Is anyone listening?

The short answer: Yes.

We're not talking huge audiences, of course. For example, Greenberg Traurig's podcast, Trade Secret Law Evolution, hosted by Los Angeles litigator Jordan Grotzinger, has been downloaded more than 5,000 times. That makes it the most popular trade secrets podcast on iTunes, according to the firm.

Impressive, yes. But by comparison, NPR's podcasts average 42.8 million downloads a week, according to Triton Digital's latest podcast rankings.

Still, I was surprised at how many lawyers told me they've gotten new business directly as a result of hosting a podcast.

Given the limited arsenal of law firm marketing tactics (Client alerts! Webinars! Blogs!) that's noteworthy.

"For me personally, the podcast led to my very first business development success," said Mayer Brown senior associate Julian Dibbell. A former writer and editor at The Village Voice, he hosts the firm's Tech Talks podcast, which debuted in April and focuses on legal trends in data, digital, outsourcing and software.

Dibbell described the experience as an almost textbook marketing win - albeit the kind that rarely happens in real life. That is, a prospective client heard the podcast and sent him an email. They had a virtual coffee, talked about the client's problem, and the next thing you know, he was hired.

Happy anecdotes aside, lawyers shouldn't expect immediate new business just because they launched a podcast, cautions Tom Nixon, a principal with law firm PR and marketing shop Harrington Communications.

"Typically, there is very little short-term gratification, but in the long term, it can pay off exponentially," he said.

Nixon isn't just talking about a listener calling out of the blue to hire you. But what if there's a potential client you'd like to meet? Rather than cold-calling, Nixon suggests inviting the person to appear as a guest on your podcast.

"Inviting someone to be on a podcast is flattering," he said. "You can use it as a vehicle."

Joann Needleman, who heads the consumer services regulatory and compliance group at 575-lawyer Clark Hill, takes it one step further.

In June, she launched her "Credit Eco to Go" podcast ("bite-sized hot topics in the consumer finance space"). When someone appears as a guest, she makes a $25 donation to the local charity of their choice. It's a gesture born of recognition that many people are facing pandemic-related hardships, she said, but also a way to sweeten the invitation to appear.

Needleman has put out an impressive 33 episodes - one or two every week - and told me the podcast has been a way to "reinvent" herself.

Pre-pandemic, she was constantly on the move, often flying 100,000 miles a year for meetings and conferences. Now that she's grounded, she said the podcast "keeps my name out there," adding that it's already led to one new piece of business.

Still, recording from home can be a challenge. Greenberg Traurig' Grotzinger kicked off his most recent trade secrets podcast with a confession.

"I'm recording this episode from the passenger seat of my car in my garage because it's the quietest place in the house," he said. "My son is back from virtual college and there's just too much going on, and I decided that this the most effective studio at the moment. In 2020 you adapt, and here we go."

Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr partners Jonathan Havens and Kermit Nash on Dec. 1 launched a podcast titled "Don't Miss a Beet" focusing on food, beverage and agribusiness issues. (Havens calls the name "a feeble attempt at lawyer humor," though personally, I say kudos).

Havens told me he sees the podcast as "another arrow in our quiver" of legal marketing. "You have to do many different things. It might take 20 touches with a prospective client before you're hired," he said. "I think every law firm at some point will have at least one podcast."

Indeed, legal marketing expert Nixon said firms shouldn't be dissuaded just because the podcast field is crowded. "You wouldn't decide not to have a website just because all your competitors have websites," he said.

While most lawyers have opted for podcasts with a narrow focus (for example, 30 minutes on, say, negotiating online intermediary services agreements between financial technology providers and banks), WilmerHale on Dec. 2 unveiled a podcast that might give mainstream media a run for the money.

Called "In the Public Interest," the first episode features WilmerHale partner Debo Adegbile, a commissioner on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, interviewing Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot about improving policing and promoting equal justice.

"In the midst of quarantine, we're trying to find a way to reach different audiences in a different way, and to bring together folks at the firm," said partner Brendan McGuire, who co-hosts the podcast with partner John Walsh, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado.

Future episodes will highlight the work by other firm partners across a range of practice areas, with an eye on timely and interesting topics. "Part of what we're trying to do," Walsh said, is "raise the profile of WilmerHale before a broad audience that includes potential clients."