TypePad Featured Blogs

The (new) Legal Writer

Raymond Ward is an appellate lawyer living in New Orleans, and the author of The (new) Legal Writer, “a collection of resources for lawyers and other writers”. Inspired to take up blogging by a fellow attorney (and TypePad customer), Raymond enjoys the fact that his TypePad package gives him three separate blogs. The (new) Legal Writer allows him to write posts that will interest anyone interested in the fine points and nuances of writing on the job, such as how to write for a client, when to use the passive voice, and when emotion should come into play in preparing documents. There’s a library of categories and associated posts in the sidebar, including legal blogs, links to books and grammar, and more.

Future Lawyer

Rick Georges is a lawyer – and a firm believer that technology can be an invaluable tool for those practicing the law. And as author of Future Lawyer, Rick expresses that opinion virtually every day, with posts on the latest technology, and how those in the legal profession can benefit from it. Technology is in fact taking us in areas undreamed of just a few years ago, and its impact on workers of every occupation is bound to be dynamic. Cases in point, as pointed out by Rick: file sharing of professional documents right from your blog or website, a years-early verdict on the “next” version of Windows, and thoughts on the future of Palm. A virtual library of Categories can be found here, from Computer Security to Weblogs, along with links to law and tech blogs. Here’s one professional’s take on tech and how it impacts his job – and it’s interesting reading for every worker.

Tax Prof Blog

A blog can do many things: entertain, communicate, inform. And in the pages of Tax Prof, you’ll encounter the latter, in the form of rulings, information, opinions – all overseen by Blog Editor Paul Caron, Associate Dean and Professor of Law at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. Primarily a resource for students and those in the legal profession, the blog’s posts cover areas such as megachurches and a “groundbreaking” IRS settlement. Topical categories include articles on areas such as tax news and conferences (among many others). Many of these posts will link you to further reading on the subject at hand, making for a robust network of facts and figures. This is a blog targeted to a specific core audience interested in how the government and the law determine the actions that will affect every taxpayer.

Chicago Police Department

The Chicago Police Department Weblog is online and ready to help the men and women in blue "serve and protect." You could add the verbs "inform and engage" to that familiar law-enforcement slogan and you'd be reflecting what many police departments, large and small, already understand -- that talking with the communities they serve is a  key to affecting change and  reacting to challenges. Chicago's force has been blogging since the beginning of this year and you can already see the breadth of information that they're willing to share -- from crime statistics to technology initiatives to a prayer for a fallen officer. It's clear that this resource will not only benefit the citizens of Chicago, but also the officers of the department that protect its neighborhoods.

Home Office Lawyer

Grant D. Griffiths is a WiFi-loving, Mac-toting, comfy sweats-wearing, family law attorney who works from home and encourages other lawyers to do the same. Home Office Lawyer reports on all sorts of tech tools that enable him to work from home, law office management, marketing, and many innovations newsworthy for bloggers of all genres. Check the left nav-bar for a list of other like-minded attorneys and if you're interested in following suit (not filing suit) read his new book, Ten Ways To Benefit By Being A Home Office Lawyer (Howtomakeitrain.com). He is also the author of four other blogs including Kansas Family and Divorce Lawyer. Clients need not worry about a lack of formality, Griffiths wears a suit to trial.

POGO Blog

Are your government officials corrupt, incompetent, or both? What you don't know won't hurt you, right? Unfortunately, it doesn't really work that way. Knowledge is power. And if you don't want to remain powerless, check out the POGO blog from the Project On Government Oversight. Their mission is to keep tabs on how Washington is wielding its authority. Categories like Congressional Oversight, Government Fraud, and Energy and the Environment might seem par for the course for this subject, but Watching the Watchdogs and Revolving Door contain juicy articles worthy of any good gossip blog. If you've ever wanted to know facts like: NASA Inspector General Robert Cobb is golfing buddies with former NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe, or details about the scandalous security at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, then this is the place for you. POGO welcomes  "information about waste, fraud, or abuse involving the federal government" and is open to taking anonymous tips.

Hybrid Blog

Visit the Webby-award-winning Hybrid Center and you'll find a ton of useful information about vehicles that are using fuel-efficient, emissions-cutting hybrid technology. A production of the Union of Concerned Scientists, the site offers news, reviews , and technical overviews of cars and trucks that consumers can buy to make a personal choice about their own impact on the environment. The Hybrid Blog complements the main web site and serves as an open dialogue about the issues -- political, commercial, and technological -- that surround fuel-efficiency and hybrid vehicles. Comments are open, so responses and additional information is encouraged. One look at the wealth of content the blog has shared over the past year and you realize that a blog serves really well as it's own kind of "hybrid vehicle" -- it shares the road with normal web sites, but it beats them hands-down for time-and-effort efficiency.

China Law Blog

China Law is a gorgeous blog that covers, what else, law in China. It focuses on business law -- helping companies that want to operate in the world's most populous country, and helping Chinese companies that want to operate abroad. Edited by Dan Harris and Steve Dickinson, members of a specialized international law firm in Seattle, the blog offers links, clips, and commentary from mainstream media coverage, other blogs, as well as first-hand experience on the ground in China, where Dickinson is based.

Underneath Their Robes

Underneath Their Robes is all about the judges. In the words of this delightful blog's author: "UTR is a combination of People, US Weekly, Page Six, The National Enquirer, and Tigerbeat, focused not on vacuous movie stars or fatuous teen idols, but on federal judges." We certainly couldn't have said it any better than that. Nor could we have ever imagined that such an oddly wonderful blog might grace the TypePad servers. Look no further than posts like "Superhotties of the Federal Judiciary" and you'll be instantly transfixed by the site's mindblowing conceit, if not by actual juxtapositions like the word "hottie" next to a picture of Supreme Court justice David Souter. If it's wrong to stalk members of the Federal bench like they're Brad and Angelina, then Underneath Their Robes is guilty. Case closed.

Ernie the Attorney

Ernie the Attorney is the personal blog of a lawyer living in New Orleans. See the world through his lens as he makes his ways through the aftermath of Katrina and discusses current events both in the media and in his immediate setting.