The most widely read magazine for Canadian lawyers
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50828
TECH SUPPORT Luminaries of the Canadian blawgosphere Canadian Lawyer's technology columnist's top 10 law-related blogs range widely in style and content. BY GERRY BLACKWE LL A few years ago, blawging — blogging by lawyers — was al- most unheard of. Now dozens are doing it in Canada; scores, possibly hundreds, are doing it in the U.S. Whether you should be doing it too is a discussion for another column. Here I tackle the question: which Canadian blawgs should I be reading? The answer will depend of course on your legal interests. Not all areas are cov- ered, but many are. Start with the Cana- dian Law Blogs List (www.lawblogs.ca), a web directory maintained by former law librarian Steve Matthews, founder and principal of Stem Legal, a web consult- ing firm. I've picked my top 10. They range widely in style and content, though technology and internet law inevitably dominate. Tech-savvy practitioners are more likely to blog. How did I choose? What makes a good blog? The blogger has to be con- sistent, posting at least weekly. (Some at lawblogs.ca haven't posted since 2005, but a few post more than once a day.) The writing has to be lively and the site well designed — admittedly subjective measures. Posts should not be disserta- tions — a common failing among some Canadian blawgers — and the blog should be focused. If it's about family law, don't tell us about your vacation. Finally, most blogs should engage readers and foster discussion. It must be easy to post and read comments. A few Canadian blawgers inexplicably don't accept comments. When dipping into a new blawg, I count comments. The more there are, I figure, the more people are reading — a sure sign of a blawg worth reading — and the greater the chances of lively exchanges. That being said, absence of comments, as we'll see, doesn't necessar- ily mean a dull or worthless blog. So, my top 10, in no particular order: MICHAEL GEIST (www.michaelgeist.ca) Geist is a University of Ottawa law pro- fessor specializing in privacy, copyright, and internet law. His blog is a must-read for lawyers interested or involved in these fields. Geist has been blawging lon- ger than almost anyone in Canada — in one form or another since 1998 — and he's prolific. He doesn't necessarily post every day, but he does most days, some- times more than once. The site is profes- sionally organized and copiously linked, and it's a rare post that doesn't garner multiple comments. His seminal post, "My Fair Copyright for Canada Prin- ciples" (posted Jan. 17), elicited almost 40 responses within five days. LAW21 (www.law21.ca) Subtitled "Dispatches from a legal pro- fession on the brink," this is a relatively 24 M ARCH 2008 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com new blog (launched Jan. 7) by Jordan Furlong. He's the editor-in-chief of the National magazine but his blog is unre- lated to the publication. It covers trends in the business and culture of lawyering. A sampling of posts in one five-day pe- riod: new lawyers graduating into reces- sion; Avocats Sans Frontières; new ap- proaches to compensating associates; a young, debt-laden law school grad who now tries to talk others out of joining the paper chase. Posts are consistently well written, and, despite being so new, the blog is already pulling comments. LAW FIRM WEB STRATEGY (www.stemlegal.com/strategyblog) The blog site of Stem Legal, Steve Mat- thews' firm. Most of the time, it covers exactly what its name suggests: law firm marketing using the internet. Matthews blogs about once a week. When he sticks to the knitting, he provides lively reading and interesting discussion points — as with posts on guerilla marketing for law firms, use of RSS feeds, and sponsoring web sites. But he also sometimes posts filler, such as the egregious "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" parody, which he didn't even write himself. Gong! eLEGAL (www.canton.elegal.ca) Long-time blawger David Canton, of Harrison Pensa LLP in London, Ont.,