Co-Founder Sells Out of Law Professor Blogs Network

Way back in 2004, I wrote here about the launch of the Law Professor Blogs network by Paul Caron, editor of TaxProf Blog, and Joseph A. Hodnicki, co-editor of Law Librarian Blog. Over the years, the network grew to encompass 41 blogs edited by more than 100 law professors, law librarians and practitioners.

Today, the co-founders announced that Caron had bought out Hodnicki’s half-interest in the company, Law Professor Blogs LLC, and is now the sole owner. The announcement said that Hodnicki “must scale back” his involvement in the network’s affairs but would continue as co-editor of Law Librarian Blog.

“By selling my interest to Paul I am confident the blogs we have published will continue to be some of the best law-related blogosphere destinations for news, analysis and commentary on the topics they address,” Hodnicki said.

In 2004, the idea of even a single law professor blog was still on the cutting edge — let alone a network of law professor blogs. At that time, blogs were still largely perceived as frivolous and self-indulgent undertakings and certainly not the sort of scholarly pursuits appropriate to academia. Caron and Hodnicki deserve heaps of credit for taking a forward-thinking idea and building it into the successful network it is today.

I’m proud to say that I once shared an honor with Joe, insofar as we were both chosen in 2011 for the inaugural Fastcase 50, “honoring the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders.”