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                                                                    EXHIBIT 31.1

                  CERTIFICATION BY THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
            PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

      I, William L. Pollak, certify that:

1.    I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of American Lawyer
      Media Holdings, Inc.;

2.    Based on my knowledge, this quarterly report does not contain any untrue
      statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to
      make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such
      statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by
      this quarterly report;

3.    Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
      information included in this quarterly report, fairly present in all
      material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash
      flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this
      quarterly report;

4.    The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for
      establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
      defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant
      and have:

          a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that
          material information relating to the registrant, including its
          consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within the
          registrant, particularly during the period in which this quarterly
          report is being prepared;

          b) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls
          and procedures and presented in this quarterly report our conclusions
          about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as
          of the end of the period covered by this quarterly report based on
          such evaluation; and

          c) Disclosed in this quarterly report any change in the registrant's
          internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the
          registrant's most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected,
          or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's
          internal control over financial reporting,

5.    The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based
      on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial
      reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the
      registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent
      functions):

          a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design
          or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are
          reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to
          record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

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          b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
          other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's
          internal control over financial reporting.

Date: November 12, 2004

   /s/ WILLIAM L. POLLAK
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William L. Pollak
President and Chief Executive Officer