Robert Ambrogi's LawSites

I am honored to say that this blog is included among Avvo’s Favorite Legal Blogs of 2009. I appreciate the honor and appreciate being included among such a stellar lot of legal blogs.

The ABA Journal has released its Third Annual Blawg 100, its listing of the best legal blogs as selected by the Journal’s editors. I am proud to say that three projects in which I am involved made the list:

• Legal Blog Watch, which I co-author with Bruce Carton of Securities Docket and formerly with Carolyn Elefant of MyShingle.com. Of Legal Blog Watch, the Blawg 100 said it “is often first on the legal news scene, alerting readers to the posts that are particularly noteworthy.”
• Lawyer2Lawyer, the legal-affairs podcast I cohost with J. Craig Williams. The Journal says “it’s one of the best sit-back-and-examine-a-legal-topic discussion shows.”
• This blog, LawSites, about which the editors say it “posts reviews of Web-based research and practice management tools and directs readers to publications and events that help them bone up on Web 2.0.”

Needless to say, I’m honored to be included on this list of stellar legal blogs. Thanks to the editors at the ABA Journal for this recognition and thanks to my partners at the Legal Talk Network, which produces Lawyer2Lawyer, and at Law.com, which publishes Legal Blog Watch. Congratulations to everyone else on the list.

The Massachusetts Bar Foundation is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year. I am honored to serve as a trustee of this important charitable organization, which is dedicated to ensuring equal access to justice and to enhancing the administration of justice and understanding of the law.

I urge companies, law firms, lawyers and other members of the legal community to support this 45th anniversary. Here are four ways you can do that:

1. Become an anniversary sponsor. Anniversary activities will culminate with a celebration dinner and fundraiser on Jan. 14, 2010, at the Colonnade Hotel, Boston. Sponsors will be featured at the dinner and in publicity and other materials throughout the year. CLICK HERE to download a PDF of the MBF’s sponsorship opportunity guide.
2. Donate items to the online silent auction. As part of the anniversary initiatives, the MBF will host an online silent auction of fun and unique items. This is an ideal opportunity for vendors to donate a product. CLICK HERE to donate an item for the silent auction.
3. Purchase an ad in the dinner program. The sponsorship guide includes information on program ads.
4. Attend the dinner. Tickets are not yet on sale, but save the date of Jan. 14. I will post a notice when ticket sales open.

I believe deeply in the importance of this organization and the charitable work it supports throughout Massachusetts. I hope you will join me in adding your support.

My latest Web Watch column is up at Law Technology News (free registration required). This month’s column reviews:

• Example-Motion, a document-sharing site. 
• WhichDraft.com, a document-assembly site.PatentSurf, USCodeSurf and Case-Law, three related legal research sites. 
• Casemakerdigest, a new case-digesting service. 
• DASH, a new Harvard University site for obtaining scholarly articles by faculty and students.
• The National Domestic Violence Pro Bono Directory, a resource for lawyers who volunteer their services to domestic-violence victims. 
• Capital Cases Resources, a collection of resources on capital cases.

As part of its programming to help judges better manage death-penalty cases, the National Judicial College has developed a Web site, Capital Cases Resources. The site provides resources for state trial judges who sit on capital cases, but one need not be a judge to find it useful.

A featured resource is an overview of Supreme Court jurisprudence regarding capital punishment. Written by Indiana University criminal law professor Joseph L. Hoffmann, it provides a case-by-case walk-through of the substantive and procedural issues decided by the court.

Other sections provide links to circuit- and state-specific case law and legal materials. Another compiles articles and publications on key topics, such as jury selection.

Earlier this week, I posted my unofficial tally of results for the readers’ choice awards in the ABA Journal Blawg 100. The ABA Journal has now released the official results, and they vary quite a bit from what I reported. It appears that the ABA disqualified significant numbers of votes. So, let me now present the official tally of the winners in each category, along with a comment indicating whether it changed from my earlier report:

• News: Above the Law. (No change.)
• Crime: Defending People. (Change from Simple Justice.)
• Professors: Jonathan Turley.(No change.)
• Niche: Patently-O.(No change.)
• Technology:TechnoLawyer Blog. (Change from FutureLawyer.)
• Quirky: BabyBarista. (Change from Living the Dream Blog.)
• Careers: Temporary Attorney. (No change.)
• Students: Thank You Ma’am.(No change.)
• Podcasts: Tie between Lawyer2Lawyer and LexisNexis Legal News & Litigation Report. (Change from L2L as the leader.)
• Regional: China Law Blog. (No change.)

Thanks again to everyone who voted for Lawyer2Lawyer as top podcast. And congratulations again to all the top vote getters.

Update 1/7/09: The official results are now in, and they differ from the below. See my post here.

Polling ended yesterday for the readers’ choice awards in the ABA Journal Blawg 100. The ABA Journal has yet to release the official results, but based on the numbers of votes showing on the site, here is my unofficial tally of the winners in each category:

• News: Above the Law.
• Crime: Simple Justice.
• Professors: Jonathan Turley.
• Niche: Patently-O.
• Technology: FutureLawyer.
• Quirky: Living the Dream Blog.
• Careers: Temporary Attorney.
• Students: Thank You Ma’am.
• Podcasts: Lawyer2Lawyer.
• Regional: China Law Blog.

Thanks a million times over to everyone who voted for Lawyer2Lawyer as top podcast. And congratulations to all the top vote getters.

For the third year running, Dennis Kennedy’s Blawggie Awards have named Lawyer2Lawyer as the best legal podcast. This year, we tied for best with Denise Howell’s This Week in Law. Lawyer2Lawyer also won the Blawggie in 2007 and 2006.

Lawyer2Lawyer was recently selected as a top legal podcast by the editors of the ABA Journal and is currently in a neck and neck competition for first place in the ABA Journal’s readers’ poll. (Please vote if you haven’t already.)

Here is what Dennis Kennedy said about L2L:

Bob Ambrogi’s and Craig Williams’ Lawyer2Lawyer Podcast is the longest-running weekly legal podcast and has more than 100 episodes. They cover many legal topics, which is both a plus and a minus, since an episode might stray outside your area of interest. But they generally do a great job of finding broad enough topics and getting excellent guests on leading edge topics.

Two projects of mine, a blog and a podcast, are included on the ABA Journal’s second annual listing of The Blawg 100, the editors’ picks of the best legal blogs. Legal Blog Watch, the Law.com-sponsored blog I cowrite with Carolyn Elefant, won recognition in the News category, and Lawyer2Lawyer, the podcast I cohost with J. Craig Williams, won a place in the Podcast category.

Still to come are the readers’ choice awards. The winner in each category wins admission to the ABA’s annual Techshow. Head on over and cast your ballot before voting ends Jan. 2.