In today’s fast pace world, we are all looking for ways that help us be more productive and remain more informed. The legal industry is no different. Collaborating, keeping up with the latest industry news, staying abreast of changes in government and in the economy certainly helps attorneys improve their productivity and work performance for their clients. When it comes to online information as it is with any subject, there is a sea of legal news, research, columns and advice on the world-wide-web. I set out to find which ones were the most helpful to lawyers in general and in particular to those in South Carolina in order to cut through the clutter and reduce the information overload as a means to help the legal industry target sites and blogs that would be most helpful to case research. The following is a list of my findings that I hope will be helpful the next time you are searching for particulars for any specialty practice areas.
At http://www.Jdjournal.com , you will find articles on all facets of legal industry news, plus information about jobs, layoffs, business updates and more. Subscribe to the RSS feeds and subscribe to read and post comments about topics affecting attorneys today.
www.vault.com/wps/portal/usa/blogs deals with law-related subjects concentrating on how changes in the legal industry is influencing jobs for law students as well as practicing attorneys.
www.USlaw.com/law_blogs compiles a directory of law blogs. You can select blogs on legal topics pertaining to specific areas of law, as well as, read commentary on each legal subject area, review class action suits, download legal forms, ask questions, follow legal tweets, and assess the US law library.
http://research.lawyers.com/blogs/ , a link on Lawyers.com, an online source for every legal issue. Blogs are organized by topic as well as by specific legal bloggers plus you can search archived blogs by month and year.
Check out http://acslaw.org/acsblog. The American Constitution Society puts out blogs on law and policy. Three blog editors, as well as, guest bloggers discuss everything from constitutional interpretation to economic and environmental regulations to immigration and education policies. Hot topics cover the most pressing issues from health care reform to judicial nominees.
www.lexmonitor.com is a daily review of law blogs and journals. All legal practice areas are covered. Prominent topics are covered and subscribers can respond to related discussions. Featured blogs tackle case studies relevant to current happenings across the nation. A multitude of bloggers uses their expertise in various practice areas to give insight on today’s legal issues. Author profiles give you background on why this blogger is qualified in specific topics.
A few blogs that are state specific targeted like http://www.scfamilylaw.com , which is the South Carolina Family Law Blog. This blog gives information and on family law issues affecting the state of South Carolina. In addition to scfamilylaw.com, attorney, and Blogger, Ben Stevens also publishes http://www.themaclawyer.com, which discusses technology in the practice of law.
The South Carolina’s Information Highway http://www.sciway.net hosts blogs about life in the Palmetto State http://www.sciway.net/ccr/sc-blogs in addition to SC political blogs http://www.sciway.net/gov/sc-political-commentary keeping up with the latest news influencing South Carolinians.
In conclusion, keeping a list of favorites handy is an excellent way to build an online reference library that is accessible at the click of a link. This online tool can also eliminate the piles of printed research that often adorn desk and office files associated with a case.