This is a personal selection of blogs which I feel are of use to lawyers, derived from my 100 Best Legal Blogs page where links to all the blogs will be found.
See also Nick Holmes’ Lawfinder: Blogs which catalogues over 400 law blogs with associated feeds; and, as to what makes a good blog, see his article “Writing out loud” in Legal Web Watch February 2016.
Azrights News and Media covers Intellectual Property, Internet, Technology, Online Business law, Litigation, Branding and all things Digital. The blog is edited by Shireen Smith, the founder of Azrights. Lawyers will be interested in her comments on business and entrepreneurship, internet and technology and intellectual property and media law.
Barrister Bard comes from David Osborne, a successful and experienced barrister. His fields of expertise range from crime, prison law and personal injury, to family and matrimonial law. He is also an acknowledged authority on human rights and a bestselling author and public speaker.
Binary Law is Nick Holmes’ blog, primarily on legal information issues: how it is authored, edited, managed, processed and published; who uses it, why and what for; its syntax and semantics.
Conscious Solutions Blog comes from Conscious Solutions, headed by David Gilroy. It carries posts from different members of the company on topics from SEO to social media to technical issues, always up to date.
Corporate Law and Governance comes from Robert Goddard of Aston Business School covering news on corporate law and governance, capital market regulation, financial reporting and the legal environment in which companies (of all sizes) operate.
Curated Media’s Blog provides expert tips on how solicitors can attract and convert more clients online through effective content marketing. There are regular posts on current topics, always well presented.
Davidson Morris Immigration Blog provides a very comprehensive and informative blog covering all aspects of UK immigration law with real time updates on changes to legislation, as well as keeping an eye on global immigration issues.
ECHR Blog provides commentary on cases and issues at the ECHR. The blog is compiled by Antoine Buyse, of Netherlands Institute of Human Rights (SIM), Utrecht University.
Employment Law Blog is written by Charles Price, an employment law specialist and barrister with No5 Chambers. He covers topics relating to cases in employment law, such as how harassment is being used in claims against employers.
Employment Law Update is the blog of Philip Henson, head of employment law and partner at City of London solicitors DKLM LLP reviewing employment related case law, government consultations and legislative changes. It also includes practical tips on employment tribunals, and day to day HR advice; a city focus section looking at regulation and risk; mediation in the work place and links to helpful resources.
Eutopia Law comes from members of Matrix Chambers’ EU law group covering interesting developments in EU law, particularly as they affect lawyers’ practice areas, and contributes generally to debates on topical issues. The name is a pun on Thomas More’s Utopia (published in 1516). “Utopia” is already a pun in Greek: it can be understood as meaning both no-place (ou-topia) and good-place (eu-topia). Eutopia is a further extension of the pun.
Free Movement Immigration Law Blog is written by members of the immigration team at Garden Court Chambers in London. It provides updates and commentary on immigration and asylum law.
Gill’s Blog comes from solicitor Gill Steel and covers topical matters relating to wills, probate, trusts and tax. The blog, together with her main site LawSkills is a mine of information on these topics and she also provides many sorts of legal training in these specialist areas, as well as consultancy.
Great Legal Content is a blog from Berners Marketing and provides “Comment, advice and marketing resources for ambitious lawyers to promote their expertise via world class content”. There is a series of posts on this topic, each one worth reading carefully.
Hallam Blog is a great source of information on marketing and new media topics. Sue Hallam provides short tutorials on many useful subjects, like a glossary of social media terms, how to use Google Tag Manager, growing social media connections and…. lots more.
(Sir) Henry Brooke provides a blog, subtitled “Musings, Memories and Miscellanea” based on a long and successful career in the law – he is a retired Lord Justice of Appeal and former chairman of the trustees of BAILII, as well as a proponent and champion of IT in the law courts. Instead of writing a book about his life, he is bringing it out in stages, in this blog.
HotDocs Limited provides document generation technologies, resulting in intelligent templates that guide the user through document creation. There is an interesting HotDocs Blog relating to topics surrounding the use of HotDocs for legal documents.
Ian Gould is an experienced solicitor relating to actions against the police and he is head of litigation at David Phillips & Partners. He provides his thoughts and opinions relating to misconduct by the police and wrongful arrest.
ICLR Blog chooses the most important legal developments to describe and comes out mostly as “Weekly Notes from ICLR”. For example, a recent post included the latest developments relating to human rights legislation (or lack of), the employment law of footwear, protection of intellectual property and a plea for students to slough off their intellectual bubblewrap. The posts are fully categorised by legal topic so that the “thread” can be followed through to the present position. Prepared mainly by Paul Magrath, Head of Product Development and Online Content at ICLR, this blog deserves to be at the top of any lawyers “must look at” sites.
IDRAK by Scott Morrison covers Islamic law relating to banking and finance. He provides a primer on Islamic contract law and its sources, before introducing the principal commercial areas: company law (partnerships and corporate governance; the limited liability company), trusts, investment structures and instruments (including sukuk: Islamic investment certificates), insurance, the law of agency/guaranty and wills. It also provides relevant English authorities,
IPKat has been covering copyright, patent, trade mark, infotech and privacy/confidentiality issues from a mainly UK and European perspective since 2003. This is a very significant resource.
Information Overlord is a blog on Information Management and Librarian issues with a media and technology law slant from Clifford Chance Information Officer Scott Vine.
Jack of Kent (David Allen Green) provides “A critical and liberal blog about law, policy, and other things”. He provides frequent and in-depth posts on the legal and societal issues of today. He is a Barrister and a Solicitor and also writes for The Guardian, The Lawyer and New Scientist.
Joe Reevy provides commentary from many leading industry figures on matters relating to the management and business development of law firms. There is an additional interest in the blog since it is generated automatically from other material produced by Joe, using his legal marketing website LegalRSS.
John Spencer, solicitor and Director of Spencers Solicitors, uses his personal blog to write on issues within the personal injury sector. John is a prominent campaigner for claimant rights, access to justice and comprehensive reform to certify complete transparency across the personal injury legal sector.
The Justice of the Peace Blog comes from “A Magistrate of independent mind and a libertarian bent”. He says “Having been many years a magistrate with a long awareness of the declining freedoms enjoyed by the ordinary citizen and a corresponding fear of the big brother state’s ever increasing encroachment on civil liberties I hope that my observations within these general parameters will be of interest.”
Justis Blog is a major source of information. The Justis editorial team are immersed in the law every day and whilst they are working they spot developments in the courts & changes to legislation that are of particular importance to practitioners and add them to this blog. Items cover everything from the latest case digests and legal commentaries to helpdesk articles on product-related issues.
Kim Tasso’s Blog on “Observations on the management and marketing of professional services firms in the UK” is a very informative and lively resource with frequent postings on current management and marketing topics as well as interviews with key suppliers and commentators.
Laurence Kaye on Digital Media Law is an extensive and thought provoking blog about the future of digital media. Laurie Kaye is publishing & digital media partner, Shoosmiths LLP.
Legal Action Group Blog provides up to date comment and analysis on legal aid and access to justice issues. LAG is a national, independent charity to promote equal access to justice for all members of society who are socially, economically or otherwise disadvantaged.
Legal Practice Solutions from Allan Carton and colleagues at Inpractice UK provides “thoughts on building a more profitable legal practice”. The blog covers analysis, research, proven techniques and innovative solutions in all aspects of management to help lawyers and managers develop a more successful and profitable legal business.
Legal Project Management Limited is a blog from Antony Smith, a solicitor who now helps lawyers become more productive and profitable by the application of project management techniques to all aspects of their business.
The Magistrate’s Blog is billed as Musings and Snippets from an English Magistrate (Justice of the Peace). The blog is anonymous. The blogger describes cases he comes across with vital facts changed, but where an element of interest (legal or humorous) comes to light.
Nationwide Employment Lawyers provide news and comment on employment topics.
NIPC is written mainly by barrister Jane Lambert and contains news and comment on English, European and overseas intellectual property, technology, media and entertainment and competition law. NIPC stands for Northern Intellectual Property Chambers.
Panopticon is a blog about Information Law from 11KBW’s Information Law Practice Group covering data protection, freedom of information, the protection of private information under article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, breach of confidence, and the regulation of surveillance. The name comes from Jeremy Bentham’s proposed new model prison, in which constant surveillance would be a tool for moral regeneration; it has become an metaphor in debates about the benefits and the dangers of systematic information-gathering.
piBlawg is a collaboration between piCalculator, a site to calculate damages (“Making Ogden Easy”) and leading chambers 1 Chancery Lane. The blog provides an up to date commentary on all legal aspects of personal injury and clinical negligence case law and has frequent (and lively) posts from quite a few contributing barristers.
PI Brief Update Blog contains news and views in the personal injury world, led by barrister Tim Kevan. The blog is designed to complement the free email newsletter PI Brief Update Law Journal (PIBULJ).
Planning Law Blog comes from Martin H Goodall, a Solicitor who has specialised in planning law for more than 30 years. The blog provides covers issues affecting Town & Country Planning, recent changes in planning legislation and judicial rulings in planning cases.
ScotsLawBlog provides the most recent news relevant to Scots lawyers and businesses. There is a facility for law firms, lawyers and law students to display their own legal knowledge and skills as “guest bloggers.
Social Economy Legal covers the social enterprise and charity sector in Northern Ireland and Britain. It covers topics like Reform of Industrial & Provident Societies, Charities & Trading Subsidiaries, Social Franchising, Community Interest Companies (CIC’s) and Credit Union Reform in Northern Ireland.
Tela is a major Digital Agency with a blog on how solicitors can attract and convert more clients online through effective content marketing. Their blog includes thoughts for online marketing in 2016, writing transparent and semantic content and how many legal firms are missing a trick with their social media.
UK Constitutional Law Association (UKCLA) is the British section of the International Association of Constitutional Law. The UKCLA Blog is a valuable repository of expert comment and analysis on matters of constitutional law in the UK and further afield.
UK Human Rights Blog is associated with One Crown Office Row’s Human Rights Update, a database of well over 1,000 reports and commentaries on human rights dating back to 1998. Adam Wagner, the General Editor, founded the Blog in 2010. The cases are taken from domestic courts and the Strasbourg court involving human rights points that demonstrate the impact of the European Convention on domestic law.
UK SC Blog comes from Matrix Chambers and the Litigation Department of Olswang LLP. It says “This blog is dedicated to the UK Supreme Court. This blog has been set up to provide commentary on the UK Supreme Court and its judgments.”
Washminster is written for everyone interested in the work of Britain’s Parliament and the US Congress (Washington and Westminster!). It covers Practice, Procedure, History and current issues. The blog is written by David Morgan, who tutors in Law for both Leicester University and the Open University.
Delia Venables is joint editor of the Newsletter. Email delia@venables.co.uk. Twitter @deliavenables.
