The 2009 ABA Journal Blawg 100

These are the 100 best Web sites by lawyers, for lawyers, as chosen by the editors of the ABA Journal.

Welcome to the third annual ABA Journal Blawg 100 - the best legal blogs as selected by the Journal's editors.

Our readers clued us in to a few law blogs we'd never seen before, and you'll find them among the 40 blawgs that are new to our list this year.

For a list of all 100 blawgs, complete with their companion Twitter feeds and extra quick takes, click here.

Readers who registered with ABAJournal.com were able to pick up to 10 favorite blawgs in the 10 categories below.


Click here for FAQ about the Blawg 100 and voting.

Voting is now closed.




149
votes

The Volokh Conspiracy

The 19 or so (all male) contributors to the Volokh Conspiracy present and debate constitutional law and headlines that grab them at the moment. While commentary generally flows libertarian and conservative, no opinion is likely to go unchallenged by other contributors or their active reader base.

 

80
votes

TaxProf Blog

Staying on top of developments in tax law without being bored silly is the main reason to keep the blog of the University of Cincinnati’s Paul Caron on your reading list. But Caron’s reach goes well beyond tax, as illustrated by a plea he posted about a colleague’s 13-year-old daughter in need of a kidney and a touching follow-up when an anonymous law student stepped up to donate.

 

35
votes

Brian Leiter's Law School Reports

Drexel’s Dan Filler is the new blogger on the block, joining the University of Chicago’s Leiter to keep the legal academy on top of law school news, including people moves, appointments and goings-on in administration, plus rankings and data to rival those published by U.S. News.

 

34
votes

Feminist Law Professors

Feminist Law Professors have zero tolerance for discrimination at work, at school or in pop culture. Moderators Ann Bartow (U of South Carolina) and Bridget Crawford (Pace) praise and recognize self-identified feminists in an expansive blogroll. And they lead the charge when they see affronts to equality.

 

28
votes

Concurring Opinions

Concurring Opinions doesn’t shy away from weighty legal theory and con law issues. The dozen-plus authors and guests pull from a broad background of academic interests to draft well-written posts that can strike a chord and draw thoughtful discussion in the comments or on other blogs.

 

26
votes

Legal Ethics Forum

Legal Ethics Forum takes a dispassionate look at the choices and circumstances that get lawyers into hot water with professional regulators. With more than a dozen named co-authors from across the country, there’s always a fresh post and new perspective to consider.

 

25
votes

PrawfsBlawg

Day in and day out, law professors post conversational entries that are ahead of the curve. Posts take note of interesting law review articles, describe dilemmas that law professors encounter in the course of their jobs, and make intelligent and timely observations on other subjects of interest to them.

 

22
votes

The Becker-Posner Blog

Aren’t federal appeals judges already overworked? The prodigious Richard Posner of the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals still has time to share his thoughts on government policies from a law and economics perspective. Nobel Prize-winning economist Gary Becker of the University of Chicago also weighs in on everything from tax policy to health care reform.

 

21
votes

The Faculty Lounge

Grab a chair, sit back and enjoy the banter about legal academia and the musings of the lounge’s 10 primary contributors and their guests. The authors know their stuff, but posts are devoid of legalspeak and instead are inviting and conversational.

 

20
votes

Legal Profession Blog

We rely on this blog for the best cautionary tales of lawyers who’ve run afoul of bar discipline authorities. Step out of line in a major way and these law professors will be posting your travails to the world. There is other more erudite content as well, but we’re in it for the schadenfreude.

 

16
votes

The Conglomerate

Conglomerate, aka The Glom, is a group effort by academics who emphasize, however loosely, business, law, economics and the catchall—society.

 

15
votes

Empirical Legal Studies

Empirical Legal Studies is the place to find the data to back up law-related theories and observations. ELS authors and their devoted readers provide a ready-made forum to not only discuss data already in the news but also evaluate emerging legal scholarship.

 

10
votes

Mirror of Justice

Catholic law professors note upcoming lectures, discuss how public policy affects the poor, and often discuss in serial posts how they can best integrate their chosen faith with their chosen profession.