Canadian Lawyer magazine names top blawgs

Canadian Lawyer magazine has published a list of what columnist Gerry Blackwell considers the Top 10 legal blogs in the country.

A few years ago, blawging — blogging by lawyers — was almost unheard of. Now dozens are doing it in Canada; scores, possibly hundreds, are doing it in the U.S.

The list ranges fairly widely in style and content, though it acknowledges that tech-related practitioners are more likely to blog. The factors that make a good blog, says Blackwell, are:

• consistency -- posting at least weekly
• lively writing
• well-designed site
• posts should not be dissertations ("a common failing among some Canadian blawgers")
• blog should be focussed ("if it's about family law, don't tell us about your vacation")
• it should engage readers, foster discussion
• it should make it 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 necessarily mean a dull or worthless blog.

Anyway, here's CL's list:

• MICHAEL GEIST
• LAW21
• LAW FIRM WEB STRATEGY
• eLEGAL
• SLAW
• THE BIZOP NEWS
• TORONTO ESTATE LAW BLOG
• LAW IS COOL
• LIBRARY BOY
• RULE OF LAW