The ABA Journal and LexBlog, a global leader in legal publishing, have teamed up to present American Legal Blogger to bring together, in one place, blogs, podcasts and other insights and guidance from blogging lawyers worldwide.
The platform, now live at AmericanLegalBlogger.com, is a way to amplify voices within the legal community to share cutting-edge commentary and other significant issues, ideas and materials while enabling lawyers to connect with people for good through their thought leadership.
“We’re very excited to work with the global leader in legal blogging, LexBlog, to amplify the voices of lawyers everywhere,” says John O’Brien, editor and publisher of the Journal.
The Journal, the flagship publication of the American Bar Association, has a long history of promoting independent legal blogging, including regularly highlighting top blogs in its former Blawg Directory, a comprehensive directory of more than 4,500 law blogs that ran from 2007 to 2019.
That Blawg Directory—along with the Journal’s popular Blawg 100, which canonized the best publications law blogging has to offer—featured many publications launched with technology and strategy provided by LexBlog.
“Marking two decades of legal blogging, this initiative serves as a significant milestone in recognizing the pivotal role of lawyers as citizen journalists on both a national and international scale,” says Kevin O’Keefe, the founder and CEO of LexBlog. “The American Legal Blogger will continuously showcase the latest blog posts from the legal blogging community, highlighting the dynamic and evolving nature of legal discourse.”
O’Keefe says the idea stemmed from conversations within the community. He describes it as a collaborative effort, borne out of the collective realization of the absence of a central platform for blog posts.
Law blogs represent a body of law today much the way that law journals and law reviews have. However, without a global archive like American Legal Blogger, there is no effective way to cite legal blogs nor for blogs to be accessed on research and artificial intelligence platforms.
The Journal and LexBlog, both with a long history of supporting legal bloggers and blogs, are fulfilling the mission to highlight credible legal blogs in a single destination, shining a light on legal bloggers, whether they be practicing lawyers, law professors or law students, with an interest toward helping enhance a body of secondary law.
“LexBlog’s dedication to empowering legal voices through technology underscores our commitment to a more informed and engaged society,” O’Keefe says. “We eagerly anticipate celebrating the ongoing achievements of these individuals and firms, reinforcing the vibrant community of legal professionals committed to excellence in legal journalism.”
American Legal Blogger features curated news and commentary from legal professionals across the United States. If you are a U.S. legal professional/blogger and are not yet listed on American Legal Blogger, please request inclusion by visiting AmericanLegalBlogger.com and clicking on the “Submit Your Blog” button.