Slaw, a collective blog of legal writers, recently cleaned up at the 2008 Canadian Law Blog Awards (CLawBies).

Slaw contributors and Slaw itself cleaned up this year, demonstrating the enormous impact the site has on legal commentary in Canada.

Law is Cool, another site Omar contributes to, was a recipient last year of the Legal Culture Award, and came in as a runner-up this year.

Here are all the entries where Slaw won a category or was a finalist:

1) Best Canadian Law Blog (or Blogger) Award: Law21 – Anyone that says it’s impossible to break into blogging these days needed to watch Jordan Furlong this past year. Wherever you went in 2008, Jordan’s thoughts were cited and more frequently revered.  Law21 received the most nominations, both from fellow bloggers and via email. But mostly, Jordan’s blog is the 2008 winner because it became a fixture for anyone trying to think critically about legal practice.  Runner up: Slaw – Once again a bridesmaid, though I do try to make up for it below. Not that Slaw can’t win, but solo blogging is a tough gig to do well, and in 2008 it simply felt right to let Jordan bask in the spotlight.

3) Legal Culture Award - Slaw evolved in 2008, drawing in more Canadian blogging talent (see Omar & the Daves!) and producing even more quality commentary.  Despite my own involvement, this year’s nomination process (and Blawggies award) support what I’ve always known: Slaw has become a beacon for what Canadian law blogs have to offer.   Runner ups: Law is Cool, Precedent.

6) EuroCan Connection Awards – This award was envisioned to recognize some of our European law blog friends who frequently highlight and link to Canadian law blogs. In 2008, Charon QC reached out to many Canadian law bloggers, myself included. The work he did late in the year creating a Canadian Law Blog Pageflake just sealed the deal.  Runner Up: Our 2007 winner Nick Holmes became an occasional contributor to Slaw in 2008, and earns a finalist nod this year for doing so.

9) Best Legal Technology Blog – (TIE) This may seem a bit odd, but this award is a tie between Slaw and the great big gap in Canadian legal technology blogs. We web-geeks may be plentiful over at Slaw, but what Canada really needs is a few Mac Lawyers or iPhone JDs.  Or even a run of the mill (but competent & unbiased) legal technologist.  So let it be known, the gauntlet has been dropped for 2009!

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.