Respect the blog: legal scholars' increasing reliance on law blogs

Author: Brian T. Hodges

Although the legal profession is quick to adopt any new technology or gadgetry that could improve productivity, when it comes to legal scholarship the profession has … well …  more than its fair share of Luddites.  The prevailing attitude that was beaten into my head back in law school was that if it ain’t chiseled in stone, it ain’t worth a second glance.  I was surprised, therefore, to read last week’s post on Concurring Opinions reporting on the increasing reliance on blogs in legal scholarship.

Since 2006, legal journals have cited law blogs 5,460 times, with prominent blogs like The Volokh Conspiracy racking up over 400 citations.  PLF's Liberty Blog was cited by legal journals in 2009 and 2010.

Judicial reliance on law blogs, however, is lagging behind legal scholars.  Over the same 4 year period, judicial decisions have cited blogs a paltry 39 times.  As law blogs continue to gain respect in the legal community, I would not be surprised to see this number increase.