♫ Yeah yeah yeah yeah
I feel so alive
Now is the time
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Let’s shout it out…♫

Music and lyrics by Wally Lopez, recorded by Jasmin Villegas.

Now is the time to nominate deserving blogs for the 2013 Clawbie Awards!  There were so many to consider that, as usual, I had a very hard time just picking three.  I am going to confine my nominations to BC Blogs, thinking that there are so many others back east that can nominate blogs in their jurisdictions that together we can help unearth the best in Canada. So with no further ado:

1.  BC Law Watch Blog: Dye & Durham  is BC’s full-service legal registry expert. “Founded in 1874, Dye & Durham Corporation (D&D) has been a reliable provider of timely and accurate information for well over a century. With 150 employees and 5 locations, we are also the largest, most comprehensive provider of legal support services in British Columbia and across Canada.”   They have just done a great job in keeping the legal profession up to date on the developments within the legal profession in British Columbia with their BC Law Watch Blog.  They also tweet at @bclawwatch.  A ‘must read’ if you practice law in BC and they are a fine example for other similar legal service blogs in other jurisdictions.

2. J.P. Boyd on Family Law Blog: John-Paul Boyd is the executive director of the Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family, a non-profit society affiliated with the University of Calgary. Before joining the institute, John-Paul practiced for thirteen years as an arbitrator, parenting coordinator, collaborative practitioner, mediator and litigator in Vancouver, BC.

John-Paul is the founding author of the public legal education wikibook JP Boyd on Family Law (originally published as JP Boyd’s BC Family Law Resource) and its syndicated companion blog, J.P. Boyd 0n Family Law.  A wonderful resource on all matters involved with family law.

3.  Eric Magraken’s BC Injury Law Blog: Again this year Eric has continued his wonderful blog on BC Injury Law and its developments.  I constantly refer young lawyers who are interested in setting up a blog to visit Eric’s site and learn from his fine example.

Honourable Mentions:  I can’t just leave it here.  Here are the ones that fully deserve a mention, if I could only nominate more (and these are not limited to BC Blogs):

1.  Stanley Rule’s Rule of Law Blog: I love the clever name but there is much much more to Stanley’s blog than just a clever name.  As Stanley says: “I am a lawyer at the law firm of Sabey Rule LLP who works with people, assisting them with estate planning, probate and estate administration. I also assist people in resolving disputes about wills and estates. In this blog, I write about some of the legal topics that I deal with in my law practice, and about other legal issues that interest me. In doing so, I hope that I help others learn more about law, and that I encourage discussion about law and law reform. I hope that, in some small way, I help nurture the rule of law.”

2. Samantha Collier’s Social Media for Law Firms Blog: Samantha’s blog is clever, eye-appealing and full of great content.  Not surprisingly: “Samantha Collier assists lawyers, law firms and legal industry consultants in their social media marketing efforts. The author of Social Media for Law Firms, winner of the 2011 Canadian Law Blog Awards in the Best Practice Management Category, Samantha is also recognized in ”The 24: Canada’s Top Legal Social Media Influencers” from The Counsel Network.”

3.  Jordan Furlong’s Law21 Blog:  Jordan is one of the judges and as such his blog is ineligible for an award.  But he doesn’t need one.  His blog is simply excellent in terms of setting forth his views in looking forward to where the legal profession is heading…even if others do not agree with him.   In Jordan’s own words: “I’m a lawyer, speaker, industry analyst, and consultant based in Ottawa, Canada. I’m a principal with the global consulting firm Edge International and a senior consultant with legal web development company Stem Legal Web Enterprises. I specialize in delivering dynamic and thought-provoking presentations to law firms, practice groups, and legal organizations at a time of unprecedented marketplace change.”

4.  Dan Pinnington’s Avoid a Claim Blog: Dan’s work on attempted frauds against lawyers and law firms is just the tip of the iceberg on this blog.  This is a wonderful blog and just worth anyone’s time, particularly if they suspect that they have received an email or other fraud solicitation.

5.  Slaw.ca: Simon Fodden’s brainchild is the leading legal blog in Canada, hands down.  Another ‘must read’ by all lawyers of every practice area in Canada.

Those are my nominations for 2013.  Yeah Yeah Yeah let’s shout it out!~