The Evolving Blogosphere: Our 2023 Reading Picks
If you have been paying attention to the news at all, you are certainly aware that more and more people are experimenting these days with artificial intelligence, and specifically with chatbots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Sometimes the results have been alarming. But in the blogosphere, the use of AI is inevitable and it can be a useful tool. There is no doubt that legal blogging, and blogging in general, is entering a new era.
The danger with AI and blogging is online content can be generated from a simple prompt, and readers will be none the wiser. Worse, the content may be inaccurate or misleading. Through the years we have periodically blogged about some of the top-quality legal blogs out there, and we will continue to do so. Whatever challenges AI brings to the table, we expect there will be many more years of valuable content to highlight.
Here are some of the blogs we have had our eye on recently:
Artificial Intelligence Law Advisor
One of several blogs maintained by the law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, Artificial Intelligence Law Advisor covers regulation of AI in the United States and internationally. Recent posts have focused on copyright, AI regulation in the European Union, and discrimination in employment decisions.
LawDroid Manifesto is a newcomer to the blogosphere and is authored by Tom Martin. He is an attorney and founder of intelligent automation company LawDroid. Fans of legal AI tools will enjoy posts on topics ranging from the parallels between punk rock and access to justice movements, whether AI will replace lawyers, and developments in legal technology. Time will tell if the blog is simply a vehicle for pushing LawDroid products, but there is some interesting stuff here.
Stephen Embry, former law firm partner and editor of the ABA Law Practice Division’s Law Practice Today publication, publishes this blog, explaining it is “about the cultural gap between technology and innovation and the legal profession. It explores developments and issues that frame, illuminate, and bridge that cultural clash. It sits at the crossroads between the new and the old.” Embry has recently voiced his opinion on the New York ChatGPT controversy and blogged about good password practices for lawyers, as well as Pennsylvania’s efforts to provide young lawyers with trial experience.
In our 2022 Spotlight on Legal Blogs post we featured the Internet & Social Media Law Blog. This year we bring you the Social Media Law Bulletin. The blog “update[s] counsel and business leaders of regulatory, employment, litigation, and intellectual property developments that arise with social media.” Published by global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, posts address intellectual property, privacy, and influencers, among other topics.
Here at the law library, we always appreciate resources on Washington community associations, and The Seattle Condo Attorney Blog fits the bill. Blog author Kevin Britt is a Seattle attorney whose practice is focused on representing condominium and homeowners associations. This area of the law is complex. Posts on assessment collection, enforcement, and new laws could be invaluable to anyone who needs to keep up to date on community association law.
Ahead of Schedule: Development, Design & Construction Law Blog
“Ahead of Schedule focuses on legal matters critical to the construction industry, offering insights, analysis, tips and updates regarding the law of project development, design and construction.” One of several blogs published by Stoel Rives LLP, Ahead of Schedule has great content on construction contracts, risk management, and Washington specific topics.
For attorneys who are looking for inspiration in managing their well-being, as well as their practice, Attorney at Work gets the job done with a large volume of content created by 250-plus authors. With posts on tech, marketing, work from home, and well-being issues specific to the legal profession there is plenty here to be inspired by.
LegalPlanet, a collaboration between the UC Berkeley and UCLA schools of law, is an environmental law and climate policy blog that strives to “fill a unique space on the blogosphere, not only by bridging the worlds of law and policy, but also by translating the latest developments in a way that’s understandable to a mass audience.” With more posts than many blogs (sometimes several per day) there is no shortage of content here, including recent posts on the 2023 amendments to the National Environmental Policy Act, the effects of regulation on water innovation, and courts facing new climate crisis legal questions.
The last blog we are highlighting is one that represents itself with the tag line “Thought Leaders on Laws and Regulations Affecting Health Care and Life Sciences.” Blog contributors are attorneys from Epstein Becker Green, a national law firm with a prestigious healthcare law practice. While some readers will appreciate that the blog regularly includes podcast content, those who want to stick to reading will find useful posts on privacy and security, Medicaid/Medicare, health employment, and more.
If you are looking to find more blogs, you can use sites such as Law-Related Blogs in Washington State, LexBlog, Justia BlawgSearch, LawProfessorBlogs.com, and AALL Computing Services SIS. Additional archives and blog finders are ABA Journal Blawg Directory, Open Legal Blog Archive, and Library of Congress Legal Blawgs Web Archive. We are always happy to provide blog recommendations. If you need to find a blog on your research topic call us at 360–357–2136 or email us at library.requests@courts.wa.gov. Check out our previous blog spotlights here, here, and here. (SC)
