When we first launched Law is Cool in 2007, we were pleasantly surprised to receive a Canadian Law Blog Award (CLawBie) only months after being online.

This year Steve Matthews is asking that we nominate blogs that we read.

1. Without question my top pick would be Jordan Furlong‘s Law21.  Jordan has years of experience in the field, and provides unique insights and perspectives that can’t find anywhere else online.  He’s also been an incredible support for us law students starting out, sending us notes and updates on a number of issues.
2. My next pick would be Garry Wise, of the Wise Law Blog.  His site is updated with amazing frequency for a guy who runs his own practice.  He’s also been instrumental in trying out some new initiatives like a video series (featuring me), and the Wise Law Reader.  Innovation is always great in a conservative field like law, and early adopters will always catch my attention.
3. One of my more recent top picks would be David Canton’s e-legal, a lawyer here in London that I have yet to meet in person (we have to change that David).  He regularly publishes articles in newspapers on tech related issues, and his site is a great way to keep track of what he’s up to.

Donna Seale also mentioned some of the difficulties of just picking three, so I’ll note some honourable mentions, including her site:  Connie Crosby, The Court, Rob Hyndman, Michael Geist, Legal Post, Stem Legal, UofA Faculty (despite their politics)

Steve also mentions that through the nomination process we automatically submit our own site.  Please don’t consider this site at all, it’s used for personal use only.  Do consider Slaw and Law Is Cool though, and I will disclose that Jordan and David are contributors at Slaw, and The Court has contributors at Law Is Cool.  It’s really tough avoiding conflict of interests here.

Due to a recent move to Slaw, responsibilities at Law is Cool have been shifted to others on the team.

Devin Johnston has taken on the role as the new director of podcasts on the site.  Legal podcasts are still cutting edge and innovative, and the site was one of the first to develop them in the Canadian legal community. 

The visibility this created for the site and participants were tremendous, and led to the 2007 CLawBie Award and Canadian Lawyer‘s Top 10 Canadian Blogs.

A few law firms in Canada are using podcasts to communicate with the public and develop clients, most notably Hull & Hull, Osler and Gowlings.

Devin launched his first podcast today, with amazing success.  He will definitely do a great job on the site.