Blawg 100 | ABA Journal

The 2008 ABA Journal Blawg 100

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

The voting period has ended.

Thank you to all who participated. The final results are listed below.

For a printable list of all 100 blogs, click here. Check out the mini profiles of Ann Althouse, Ernie Svenson and Jurist-Paper Chase. For our list of One-Hit Wonders, click here.

Choose a category...

News

1383
votes

Above the Law

ATL founder David Lat moved on and up to become managing editor of Breaking Media, the company that hosts ATL and other blogs. But the guy who saw BigLaw’s entertainment potential also saw opportunity in the search for his replacement: Elie Mystal got the job in an “ATL Idol” competition staged on the blog. The guard has changed, but ATL is still law-firm-rumor central, and Lat remains a regular contributor.
586
votes

TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime

Admittedly, this is not a neutral site. Denver-based criminal defense lawyer and legal commentator Jeralyn Merritt and her fellow liberal bloggers have set their sights on Capitol Hill and the rights of defendants in U.S. courts.
483
votes

The Volokh Conspiracy

Its look is nothing fancy, and there’s no mission manifesto to be found. But substance reigns over style at this site where right-leaning law professor/bloggers, led by founder Eugene Volokh of UCLA School of Law, deconstruct politics and policy in a 13-hour—seriously—daily dialogue with thousands of readers.
235
votes

FP Legal Post

This blog from Canada’s National Post covers law firm news from Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. But its authors also delight in writing cheeky posts about oddball law stories from all over the world.
189
votes

The Am Law Daily

The American Lawyer’s reporters churn out original BigLaw coverage from dawn to dusk every business day, and they also never fail to focus on how national and world news might affect the Am Law 200.
176
votes

Daily Kos

Instead of starting a practice after law school, Markos Moulitsas Zúniga started a liberal political blog. Six years later, more than a half-million visits per day keep his “vast left-wing conspiracy” alive. Fellow Kos bloggers come from all walks of life, from a Chicago associate to a physician from Connecticut. Even former President Jimmy Carter has posted on Kos.
170
votes

Althouse

This year has been all about the presidential race for University of Wisconsin law professor Ann Althouse, who live-blogged all of the debates for her readers’ benefit and promised “cruel neutrality” regarding her election posts, but didn’t disappoint her right-leaning readers. Althouse has developed an effortless connection with her readers—a one-sentence post with a single question or factoid is liable to garner 50 comments.
168
votes

How Appealing

After more than six years, appellate litigation served straight up is still the name of the game here (though Howard Bashman’s interest in baseball is evident at times). Bashman somehow juggles tracking all the circuits of the U.S. Court of Appeals and the state courts with his solo practice, as well as writing regular columns for Law.com and the Legal Intelligencer.
153
votes

Law Blog

We miss Peter Lattman, whose private-equity industry stories for the Wall Street Journal are now often blogged here. But Law Blog still covers all the bases, keeps its tone conversational and scores interesting interviews with lawyers in the trenches.
148
votes

InstaPundit

From his seat on the far right, University of Tennessee law professor Glenn Reynolds seems to spend every waking moment linking to and quipping on news stories about politics, economics, the media, and science and technology law. Also look here for The Glenn and Helen Show podcast, which Reynolds co-hosts with his wife, forensic psychologist Dr. Helen Smith.
106
votes

The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

Its law firm news for the most part stays inside the Beltway, but its concise and timely original reporting on all three branches of the federal government gives it national appeal.
96
votes

Jurist—Paper Chase

The only law student blog (or, as they prefer, news service) and only Webby award contender in this category has extensive daily coverage of national and international legal news with a focus on the substantive rather than the sensational. The University of Pittsburgh law students behind the scenes are led by professor Bernard Hibbitts, who created the site’s first iteration as Law Professors on the Web in 1996.
88
votes

Legal Blog Watch

Blogosphere insiders Carolyn Elefant of Washington, D.C., and Robert Ambrogi of Rockport, Mass., alternate writing cutting, chatty posts on the day’s most interesting legal news stories. Special attention is paid to Law.com publications and blogs.
38
votes

LawBeat

Former American Lawyer magazine executive editor Mark Obbie uses LawBeat to review and critique mainstream media coverage of law. He’ll praise quality legal affairs coverage, but he’s just as quick to point out foibles and gaffes. In September, grad student Rohan Mascarenhas started what we hope will be a recurring feature, “The Docket,” a quick roundup of legal reporting worth noting.
36
votes

Law and More

“Independent journalist” Jane Genova was originally drawn to the law blogging game by lead paint litigation in Rhode Island, and consumer law is still a main topical focus. But some posts are career pep talks, and whatever’s hot—be it law firm turmoil or Wall Street drama—also gets coverage.