Web 100: Best law blogs
The Algorithmic Society
NEW: Ken Grady, a professor at LegalRnD—the Center for Legal Services Innovation at the Michigan State University College of Law, questions whether the legal profession’s leaders are too focused on perfecting old skills to see the big picture and make big changes. “An absolute must-read,” says Casey Flaherty of 3 Geeks and a Law Blog. Grady is “our brightest mind and often our sharpest tongue.”
Apps in Law
NEW: “Brett Burney does a great job with this blog, not just writing posts but creating well-produced videos highlighting the features of each app he reviews,” says Robert Ambrogi of the LawSites blog.
Arbitration Nation
HALL OF FAME: Stinson Leonard Street lawyer Liz Kramer’s blog marked its sixth “blogiversary” during what she called the Summer of Arbitration because of the avalanche of arbitration cases and regulation. But Kramer goes beyond recounting rulings to look for arbitration trends and lessons for her “warm community of fellow arbitration geeks.”
Artificial Lawyer
NEW: Consultant Richard Tromans focuses on news of what he calls “new wave” legal technology—who is funding it and who is adopting it. “Thoughtful, timely coverage of developments related to artificial intelligence in law,” Ambrogi says.
Before the Bar
Law students, read this blog. Posts—written by practicing lawyers, law students or ABA Law Student Division staff—cover trends in legal writing, the U.S. Supreme Court, professionalism in practice, information about upcoming panels and writing competitions for law students, how to navigate law school, and how to move on after failing the bar exam.
Read our current Web 100 picks: Blogs, podcasts, Twitter feeds, web tools
BeSpacific
“For years, this has consistently been one of the best sources of news on the world of legal information, legal research” and knowledge management, Ambrogi says of Sabrina I. Pacifici’s 15-year-old blog. Posts from BeSpacific summarize and link to news stories, academic papers, and websites that highlight the latest web databases and news of interest to researchers.
Big Law Business
“This is one of my daily must-reads” for its “in-depth and consistent coverage of the business of law,” Ambrogi says. Posts and roundups at Bloomberg Law’s blog cover topics that include which BigLaw firms are getting hired, what partners are getting hired away, and academic papers presenting theories on the corporate legal market here and abroad.
Brian Leiter’s Law School Reports
The blog helmed by this University of Chicago Law School professor (with occasional guest posts) is more than a decade old and still very much on top of law school news. Posts regularly—and bluntly—comment on questionable decisions by law deans, major law school faculty changes, the status of law school hiring, the value of a legal education, and much more.
Canna Law Blog
This Harris Bricken blog focuses on the myriad legal issues facing the cannabis industry in states where its sale is legal. Posts cover the industry’s lack of access to financial services, tax issues encountered by those operating cannabis businesses, and zoning issues that affect cannabis farms. A California Cannabis Countdown series this year focuses on the cannabis law status of cities and counties in the state.
Clio Blog
NEW: “I follow Clio’s blog because it keeps me up to date on the latest news and information on law practice management software and the [effect] technology has on the legal industry as a whole,” says Matthew Tuller, a solo attorney in San Francisco.
Constitutional Law Prof Blog
Timely analysis of constitutional law cases at the federal appellate level and above are the bread and butter of this blog by law professors Steven Schwinn and Ruthann Robson. In what promises to be a blockbuster year at the U.S. Supreme Court, you should check in with this blog regularly.
The Dialogue Blog
NEW: This blog is a group effort by expert contributors curated by Australia-based consultant George Beaton, co-author of Remaking Law Firms: Why & How. Posts cover the challenges facing large law firms and how to address them.
Education Law Prof Blog
NEW: Education law is big news this year—the revocation of the “Dear Colleague” guidelines on campus sex assaults; litigation in Michigan regarding the right to literacy and schools’ responsibility toward its students exposed to lead in the water; and free speech vs. safety on university campuses. The professors post almost daily about these and other cases in which education and the Constitution collide.
Empirical SCOTUS
Columbia Law School postdoctoral fellow Adam Feldman “makes data about the Supreme Court fun and interesting,” says Staci Zaretsky of Above the Law. This U.S. Supreme Court statistician crunches numbers that tell the story of the court’s past and that try to predict its future moves.
The Employer Handbook
HALL OF FAME: Eric Meyer’s blog “is a must-read every day for employment lawyers,” says Kevin Wicka of the Tarantino Law Firm in Buffalo, New York. Meyer provides “witty analysis of current legal developments,” says Jen Cornell of Nilan Johnson Lewis in Minneapolis. “I can often turn it into use right away for my clients.” His blog’s loyal readers say Meyer has fun with his subject matter. His posts recognize “the humor in dealing with human beings,” says Julie Young of JMY Law in Worthington, Ohio.
Employment & Labor Insider
“I am a compensation consultant, and I find this blog helpful to keep up to date with employment law,” says Joe Rice, who works at Cbiz management consulting in St. Louis. Amy Puzder, a human resources adviser at ThinkHR in Pleasanton, California, says blogger Robin Shea “explains things in a way that are relatable to HR people and, more importantly to my work, in a way that I can easily translate to my clients.”
EvidenceProf Blog
Colin Miller’s blog focuses on the applications of state and federal rules of evidence in criminal trials. Joan Gallo of Hopkins & Carley in San Jose, California, says the blog is well-written and clear. “As a civil lawyer, it gives me a better understanding of criminal procedure. … It is always interesting and relevant. It has fostered my interest in reform of the criminal justice system.”
Excess of Democracy
This blog by Derek Muller, a professor at Pepperdine University School of Law, is an eclectic mix of analysis of major election law cases and number crunching related to the state of bar exam scores. We’ve admittedly paid a bit more attention to the bar exam content as California recently mulled lowering its cut score, and Muller pondered what this meant for legal education in the state.
Robert Ambrogi, writer of the LawSites blog and co-host of the Lawyer2Lawyer podcast Paul Caron, dean of Pepperdine University School of Law Casey Flaherty, legal operations consultant and principal at Procertas and blogger at 3 Geeks and a Law Blog Staci Zaretsky, editor for Above the Law Blawg judges
