Legal blogs have been mainstream since the mid-2000s. Originally they seemed very modern, but now they seem rather ordinary. One has to ask “what are they for?” That is where the topic becomes interesting again.
Blogs are pretty normal now; but they are not necessarily called blogs and are used in a number of ways:
- individual thoughts on current legal developments – the classic blog;
- industry updates for clients – most large law firms have extensive blogs, suites of blogs or update sites, including Pinsent Masons (OUT-LAW), Simmons and Simmons (Elexica), Herbert Smith, Kingsley Napley, Field Fisher, Hogan Lovells, Clyde and Co …;
- law updates for lawyers – many of the blogs described below are in this category, with leading examples being the ICLR Blog, Current Awareness from the Inner Temple Library, Free Movement Immigration Law Blog, Panopticon, UK Human Rights Blog and the UK Supreme Court Blog;
- subscription information services – free and paid;
- magazines which provide information in a more literary way than just nuggets of information but which are still purveyors of legal information topics (for example this Newsletter);
- news sources – this was a new idea in the early 2000s but this has largely been overtaken by Twitter where the news can be found literally as it happens.
A selection of good legal blogs
Below is my personal selection of interesting legal blogs. Apologies to all the other excellent legal blogs not mentioned! There is a more extensive list of legal blogs (from which this selection is drawn) on my web page www.venables.co.uk/blogs.htm. Links to all the blogs listed below will be found there.
Nick Holmes maintains probably the most comprehensive (and up to date) catalogue of legal blogs anywhere in the infolaw Lawfinder Blogs section.
Azrights News and Media covers intellectual property, internet, technology, online business law, litigation, branding and all things digital. The blog is provided by Shireen Smith, the firm’s founder. People who will find this blog useful range from one-person startups to established international tech PLCs, as well as all those interested in business and entrepreneurship, internet and technology and intellectual property and media law.
BarristerBlogger comes from criminal barrister Matthew Scott of Pump Court Chambers, who specialises in serious crime, including murder, serious sexual and violent offences, offences against children as well as cases involving drugs and fraud. His blog provides legal comment, argument and discussion on these topics. He won the Comment Awards 2015 Best Independent Blog.
Current Awareness from the Inner Temple Library provides up-to-date information regarding new case law, changes in legislation and a wide variety of legal news, which library staff think will be of interest to lawyers practising in England and Wales. The content is selected and updated daily with a wide variety of entries on most days.
Cyberleagle, Graham Smith’s blog on law, IT, the internet and new media. Graham Smith is a private practice lawyer based in London, dealing with IT, internet and intellectual property issues. Fewer topics covered than in some blogs, but in considerable detail.
DavidsonMorris Immigration Blog is very comprehensive and informative in covering all aspects of UK immigration law with real time updates on changes to legislation, as well as keeping an eye on global immigration.
Family Law from LexisNexis provides analysis of market issues for family lawyers. The increasing demise of family legal aid, the economic downturn, changes to the court system and a raft of legislative changes are reshaping the family law market. Family lawyers need to adapt their services, whether by changes to fee structures, increased use of ADR or simply by being more responsive to client needs.
Family Law Blog comes from Andrew Woolley and his team, at Family Law Firm. The blog covers recent case law and other interesting cases and provides their views on a wide variety of family law related issues.
Family Lore is a blog from solicitor John Bolch covering serious and not-so-serious posts on the subject. The second blog Family Law Focus for more serious material which provides family law news, including legislation articles and a full list of blogs around the world on family Law.
Free Movement on immigration law was founded by barrister Colin Yeo and is written by him and other legal experts in immigration. It provides updates and commentary on immigration and asylum law and is a key source for information and procedure on this topic.
Gherson, an important immigration firm, maintains a blog on wide ranging Immigration topics including Brexit issues, business immigration, extradition, human rights, EU Law, nationality and immigration issues around the world. The blog is kept well up to date with several substantive posts a week.
ICLR Blog provides news, analysis, comment and updates from ICLR’s case law and UK legislation platform and includes Weekly Notes from ICLR. The posts are categorised by legal topic so that threads 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.
Ipkat has been covering copyright, patent, trade mark, infotech and privacy/confidentiality issues from a mainly UK and European perspective since 2003. With frequent posts, this is a very significant resource.
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 Financial Times, The Lawyer and New Scientist. He is a major source of informed comment about Brexit.
JMW, a large and outward looking law firm in Manchester, provides an interesting blog covering many topics including family and children, sport, injuries, hobbies, marriage and cohabiting, divorce, pets… whatever is topical (and sometimes controversial) with a legal angle!
Landlord Law Blog comes from Tessa Shepperson, a solicitor working in residential landlord and tenant law. She also maintains the Landlord Law site which provides a lot of free information on issues for landlords and tenants and also sells a variety of “packages” of information and documentation from the site. The blog is newsy but serious and well informed.
Laurence Kaye on Digital Media Law comes from Laurie Kaye of Laurence Kaye solicitors. It is an extensive and thought-provoking blog about the future of digital media and the law which covers this.
Life Law NI is a Northern Ireland blog which aims to provide information on all legal matters surrounding family life. The blog highlights any special features of the law related to Northern Ireland and comes from Claire Edgar and Karen Connolly at the Belfast firm of Francis Hanna & Co.
Mathys & Squire is one of Europe’s most highly regarded intellectual property firms. They provide a News and Insights section with frequent posts on major IP topics in the UK, Europe and elsewhere.
My Scottish Law Blog comes from Bruce de Wert, a Scottish solicitor at Georgesons Solicitors of Wick and Thurso in Caithness. The blog is updated frequently with postings on Scottish divorce, Scottish powers of attorney, Scottish wills and topics relating to property law and estate agency.
Nationwide Employment Lawyers provide news, comment and information on a wide range of employment topics. The posts are particularly well catalogued and cross referenced so you can find the topic you are looking for with ease.
Nearly Legal housing law news and comment is a blog by a group of barristers and solicitors including Giles Peaker, one of the longest-standing legal bloggers who is experienced in housing and landlord and tenant law. The site provides updates, case reports and comment on housing law and related matters. The archives contain case reports on pretty much every relevant High Court, Court of Appeal and House of Lords case since 2007, as well as some county court and Lands Tribunal judgments. They also have updates on statute, links to other resources and a page of housing news feeds from other sites.
Panopticon covers information law and is maintained by members of 11KBW’s Information Law Practice Group. Information law is about the right to know, the right to keep private and the boundary between those rights. It encompasses areas such as 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 apparently comes from Jeremy Bentham’s proposed new model prison, in which constant surveillance would be a tool for moral regeneration; it has become an enduring metaphor in debates about the benefits and the dangers of systematic information-gathering.
Pink Tape is a blog on family law from barrister Lucy Reed at St John’s Chambers in Bristol. The blog aims to enhance the quality of public information and debate about legal matters and about family law in particular. She is also a founder member of the Transparency Project (see below).
The Transparency Project Blog describes itself as “Correcting, clarifying or commenting on media reports of family court cases; explaining or commenting on published Judgments of family court cases; and highlighting other transparency news.” Posts are frequent, varied and well presented. The The Transparency Project is a registered charity which aims to explain and discuss family law and family courts in England and Wales, providing useful resources to help people understand the system and the law better.
UK Human Rights Blog is associated with One Crown Office Row and aims to provide a free, comprehensive and balanced legal update service. The intention is not to campaign on any particular issue, but rather to present both sides of the argument on issues which are often highly controversial. Posts cover a huge range of legal issues, from human rights, to public, medical and environmental law. The blog has a searchable archive of case reports and comments dating back to 1998 and also delivers a weekly Rights Round-up. 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 and also explores the practical impact of these cases for practitioners.
UK Supreme Court Blog (UKSC blog) comes from Matrix Chambers and the Litigation Department of Olswang LLP, which is now part of CMS. The authors are solicitors and barristers specialising in litigation and with a particular interest in the work of the UK Supreme Court.
WardBlawg covers Scots and other laws from around the globe. It aims to provide content from the best minds in the Scottish legal profession, while also providing the most recent news relevant to Scots lawyers and businesses both those domiciled in Scotland and those established elsewhere looking to set up or develop their business in Scotland. The blog was started by Gavin Ward. The blog also deals with academic legal topics, particularly ones related to Scotland.
Delia Venables is joint editor of this Newsletter. Email deliavenables@gmail.com. Twitter @deliavenables. Delia’s Legal Resources site is at www.venables.co.uk.
