Dennis Kennedy gave me a Blawggie last week and tagged the winners (kinda/sorta) to come up with their own blog awards to honor and introduce those bloggers to other readers. So I have come up with my "Salutes". Like Dennis' they are subjective and are made up of my opinion only (more or less, I ran them by Mrs. Lawyer Dude and the Jr. Dudes too, but I am the only one who voted and so I am responsible for the choices.) Hence without further adieu, That Lawyer Dude Salutes:
1. Best Law Student Blog: Will Work For Favorable Dicta... Figures my first choice just stopped blogging. But I loved Energy Spatula's work (and her Blog persona name too.)Her stories were sometimes sad and sometimes crazy and often raunchy as Hell, but she was honest and true and had me pulling for her all the way. ES has graduated and moved onto a job. ES, Good Luck with the Job and "The Boy." I hope you come back soon.
2. Best NY Blawg: Sui Generis. Hands down my favorite NY Blog and one of my top five. It is a mixture of case briefs and law updates, commentary and even comedy. Every week Nicole Black has comedic breaks-funny and strange (and occasionally bizarre)transcript quotes to make us smile, as well as a weekly review of the top NY Legal stories in the tabloids and a round up of NY focused Blawg reports. I really enjoy reading her blawg. If you practice law in NY, reading Nicole's blawg is essential.
3. Best New Legal Blog: Environment Crimes Blog Blogger Walter James has quite a neat blog. It hits on criminal law topics as well as issues of Policy and Trial Techniques. His writing style is crisp and he has very good insight. I think you should check out this post and see what I mean. I hope Walter keeps at this for a long time. His teaching is spot on.
4. Best Technology Blog: Jim Calloway's Law Practice Tip Blog. I read a lot of blogs. Many of the tech blogs are the best written and most helpful of the bunch, and frankly this was one of the hardest categories to decide, but for me Jim makes Tech stuff chewable. I like to read Dennis Kennedy and Between Lawyers and I Heart Tech, but for breaking it down and using it in the office and at home, Jim Calloway does it. Jim is folksy and I can almost hear him speaking the words when he writes. He makes the hard stuff understandable. Even if you are a hardcore Techie, Jim may be keeping it too simple, but for the rest of us, Jim's tips are the right speed.
5. Best Family Law Blog: Divorce Hotline . Always well written, Janine teaches not just lawyers but clients about the issues in Divorce and Family law. She infuses her experiences with her knowledge. She is a true and honest voice in the blogosphere. Check out this post and you will understand what I am talking about.
6. Best Law Practice Management/Marketing Blog: Larry Bodine's Professional Services Marketing Blog. This category was filled with good blogs, My Shingle, What About Clients, From the 21st Floor, and Law Firm Internet Marketing Blog to name just a few, but Bodine has consistently had the information and ideas that have fueled my marketing and law practice management actions. I strongly recommend reading his blog. Reading the others is not a bad idea if you want to position your law firm for the next 20 years. Remember, the dinosaur becomes extinct.
7. Best Place To Find Blogs- Inter Alia Tom Mighell's Daily Blog of the Day and a compilation Blog of the Week, Inter alia doesn't necessarily teach you anything so much as points you to places you can be taught in. Tom finds the new, the funny, the informative, and gives you a synopsis. Half of my blog syndicator list probably came from Tom's suggestions. Runner up in this category Robert Ambrogi's Lawsites.
8. Best Constitutional Law Site: Fourth Amendment Law Blog. This category took in everything from civil rights law through constitutional and death penalty blogs. John Wesley Hall's Fourth Amendment law blog gets the latest and most important cases in front of us quickly with good analysis. I read it daily and if you are practicing in the criminal law arena you should be reading it daily too.
And finally 2 Criminal law categories
10. Best Public Defense Blog: Arbitrary and Capricious A&C is everything I am not. He is pity and short and to the point. He is a PD and proud of it. What we have in common is a respect for the rule of law and an appreciation for it as well. A&C is informed and usually a quick read. It is among my favorite, a Must Read for me. It should b for you too if your want to stay on top of what is happening, especially in the west coast legal world.
11. Best Criminal Law Site: A three way tie. Prof Berman's Sentencing Law And Policy Blog, White Collar Crime Prof Blog and DUI Blog. Since this is the first time I am doing this, I wanted to tell you about a bunch of blogs that I find helpful in practice and also for teaching me to blog. Sentencing Law and Policy is simple the resource for all things Booker. If you are not reading this blog you should not be handling cases in Federal court.
White Collar Law Prof Blog is also a wealth of important information and should be reviewed at least weekly if you are practicing criminal law. It doesn't only teach you what is happening in White Collar Crime but teaches practice oriented information that every lawyer could use. It is well written and biting. It is part of a network of Law Professor blogs all of which could be part of a regular reading list.
Finally DUIBlog is written by a lawyer (Lawrence Taylor) who uses his blog to market his practice. Nevertheless Lawrence's blog is informative and teaches not only DWI Law but the effect that the DWI witch hunt is having in diminishing constitutional protections. He analyzes the effect of "lobbying" groups like MADD and how they unfairly affect trials. It is a wealth of information and a study in how to do this blogging thing correctly if you are using it to market.
Well that's my best of 2006 list. Now go out and announce yours too. Dennis Kennedy is right, it is our job to let everyone know about who we are reading and why. It will make for better blogging and it is a good way to be sure that hard working lawyers we read get the recognition they deserve. Happy New Year all. See you in 'O7
And be sure to check out our sister blog Long Island (Criminal)Trial Law for her return in a revamped style in the second week of the new year.
Thank you, Counselor. I admire your blog projects too.
ReplyDelete(and you pegged it - sometimes I am "pity," particularly in the self-pity party post department, but I swear I'm working on that!)
I couldn't find an approprite place to post this so here goes.
ReplyDeleteCorruption is Routine
It is all about prosecutorial misconduct with the Duke case as a take off.
Testilying is featured as well.
Sadly our criminal justice system is broken. When the drug war ends (it teaches a LOT of bad habits) America and its justice system will be hurting for decades.
BTW as a member of the defence bar this might be of interest:
Is Addiction Real?
Addiction (as opposed to habituation) is superstition. People take drugs because they need them.
The drug war is a persecution of those who are genetically different and traumatized.
Here is a bit on the trauma:
Heroin
BTW the NIDA backs me on the genetic aspect.
Skelly: Thank you. You were one of the first to link here and I have been following you across country for 2+ years now. Of course I never meant pity I meant Pithy... I have a love hate relationship with Bloggers spell checker. As for self pity, it happens to the best of us... just as long as we never stay there too long.
ReplyDeleteM. Simon: this post recognizes great BLAWGERS not great BLUNDERS. I don't want to get off track but I will be Blogging Duke again soon. Thanks for stopping by.
TLD.