#Clawbies2015

What happens in December that’s in better taste than ugly sweaters and more reliable than snow? The Clawbies, of course! They are, in case you don’t know, a “celebration of excellence in law-related blogging in Canada (and beyond).” In that celebratory spirit, here are my nominations for this year’s awards, and also some other blog recommendations.

The nominations

1. Paul Daly’s Administrative Law Matters: I said I would keep nominating prof. Daly’s blog until it wins the Big Prize, a.k.a. the Fodden Award for the Best Canadian Law Blog, and possibly after that too, and will keep nominating him. For good reason, of course. Administrative law does, indeed, matter, and it is a tangled, intricate mess. Prof. Daly helps us see our way through it.
2. Sir Henry Brooke’s eponymous blog, for the “EuroCan Connection Award”: it has only been around for a few months, but this blog by a retired Lord Justice of Appeal is already an invaluable repository not only of recollections from a long and illustrious career, but also of thoughts on issues that matter well beyond England, and will matter well beyond 2015 ― notably the law’s and the courts’ relationship with technology, and their handling of multiculturalism and diversity.
3. Michael Geist’s eponymous blog: I’ve nominated prof. Geist’s blog before too, and the giant of Canadian legal academic blogging hardly needs either my endorsement or even a presentation, but it deserves continued recognition for helping us understand the complexities, present and future, of IP and telecommunications law and policy (which, incidentally, might have been the most under-discussed subject during the late election campaign and in its aftermath).

Blogs I Cannot Nominate ― But Someone Else Should

The Clawbies have a rule against self-nomination, and while I read it as preventing me from nominating blogs to which I contribute, I still want to put in a good word for them.

1. CanLII Connects: actually, I’m not quite sure whether it ought to counts as a single blog ― its list of contributors makes scary reading for anyone who’d want to compete with it ― not that anyone would want to, because it is a great public service (well, except my own posts, which are just self-promotion), as well as a shining example of the possibilities of online collaboration, which should put any technophobe or Luddite, in the legal profession or beyond, to shame.
2. The CBA National Magazine’s Blog: this one definitely is a blog, and it addresses a great variety of subjects, some more abstract, others very practical, from a variety of perspectives. In short, it’s pretty great, and well worth keeping at least an eye on.
3. The “Law” side of the Perspectives Blog of Policy Options: It would still be a good blawg if it stood on its own, but being part of a multi-disciplinary magazine and blog combo that pitches itself to people interested in policy rather than just lawyers makes it that much more interesting. It seems tailor-made for the Clawbies’ “Non-Lawyer Audience” category.

Blogs That I Might Nominate in 2016

These are a couple of blogs that are also worth keeping an eye next year, one of them recently-resuscitated, the other brand new.

1. Dan Priel’s Juristhoughts: prof. Priel’s thinking on legal philosophy is iconoclastic and if you are interested in the subject, you should read him whether or not you agree with what he has to say. At the very least, he’ll force you to ask yourself why it is that you believe the things you have always believed.
2. Université de Sherbrooke Faculty of Law’s À qui de droit: joining the likes of ABlawg and the University of Alberta Faculty of Law Blog, it’s a blog for the professors and students of a law faculty, who are already covering a wide variety of topics. While I’m at it, I’d like to salute two persons who have, I take it, inspired its creation: Edith Guilhermont, the tireless apostle of legal blogging in Québec (although, ironically, not yet a blogger herself ― nudge nudge!), and Maxime St-Hilaire, whom I have had the pleasure of hosting and the honour of debating here.

Finally, a word of special thanks to Michael Spratt for nominating Double Aspect. Happy reading, and blogging, in what’s left of 2015 and next year, everyone!

Author: Leonid Sirota

Law nerd. I teach public law at the University of Reading, in the United Kingdom. I studied law at McGill, clerked at the Federal Court of Canada, and did graduate work at the NYU School of Law. I then taught in New Zealand before taking up my current position at Reading. View all posts by Leonid Sirota