OK, so end-of-year top blogging lists are as inevitable as the rubber-stamped holiday card. Having said that, we’re going to do it anyway (and we’re not even going to pay lip service to objectivity). Here, in no particular order, are those legal blogs that generated the most conversation around the Avvo offices in 2009:

1. Myshingle – Carolyn Elefant is the fairy godmother of solo practitioners, offering advice from the philosophical to the pragmatic. She’s also willing to jump into any fray on behalf of solos – providing the first defense of the 5 solo practitioners targeted with felony prosecution in the Total Attorneys case.

2. Above the Law – People Magazine meets legal blogs. If blogs were magazines we’d have a stack of Above the Law in the men’s room.

3. WSJ Law Blog – Ashby Jones filled some big shoes when Peter Lattman left WSJ’s Law Blog – which remains one of the best sources for insightful commentary on breaking legal issues.

4. Simple Justice – Scott Greenfield is described thusly in Avvo’s office: “that guy is an abrasive ass – but I love reading his blog.” I think Scott would agree.

5. Robert Ambrogi’s Lawsites – Through blogging his thoughts, Bob Ambrogi has arguably become the legal industry’s most insightful commenter. If you really want to stay up to speed, tune in to Lawsites.

6. Social Media Law Student – Rex Gradeless is on the list because of the Paris Hilton effect: he’s famous for being famous. But if you still have your head in the sand about social media, Rex spoke last week on a Martindale Hubbel panel based entirely on his ability to become the most followed Twitter lawyer – - – while still in law school.

7. The Legal Satyricon – Easily the most NSFW of legal blogs, it’s a rare day that we aren’t chuckling at Marc Randazza’s tales of First Amendment and political “asshattery.”

8. What About Clients? – Sure, we’d all love a little work-life balance, but Dan Hull and crew offer a constant (and literature-steeped) reminder that being a lawyer is all about service to one’s clients.

9. My Law License – Brian Tannebaum provides a knowledgeable, insider’s view of bar regulation and the legal marketing industry. And he’s not afraid of a fight. He also holds legal blogging’s best disclaimer “You pay for legal advice. This is free.” (Which we’re pretty sure he lifted from Greenfield.)

10. Citizen Media Law Project Blog – Besides lawyers of course, we here at Avvo love coffee, peanut M&Ms and the First Amendment. We’re also kinda fond of the concept of open government. CitMedia does a great job delivering news and notes on the last two.

To everyone on this list – and the rest of those legal blogs that entertained us, provided us with great information, or both throughout 2009 – keep up the good work. We’re looking forward to more of the same in 2010.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 10th, 2009 at 10:50 am by Josh King, VP of Business Development and General Counsel and is filed under Josh King Posts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.