best blogs for in-house lawyers

Ten Things: Best Blogs (and Other Media) for In-House Lawyers (2023 Edition)

Hello everyone and season’s greetings from the penthouse of the “Ten Things” world headquarters in Dallas, Texas![1]  I will start this post by wishing everyone a fantastic holiday season and all the best for 2024.  As most of you know, 2024 is year 10 of the “Ten Things” blog and it is also the year the long-awaited(?) productivity book comes out.  I am in the final stages of submitting everything to the ABA.  More news on that as things progress. And if you are looking for some fun in January, please join me and a host of others who will be presenting at Laura Frederick’s (of How to Contract fame) ContractsCon 2024!  I will be there discussing indemnity clauses but the agenda is jam-packed with far worthier speakers and topics. So, I hope to see you in person in Las Vegas in January!

But, on with the business at hand.  Like every year, I end 2023 with a blog featuring all the other people you should be reading (or listening to) as part of your day-to-day in-house life.  For me, the hard part is choosing just a few to highlight.  There are so many great content generators out there fighting for your (and my) attention.  Unfortunately, I cannot list everyone (and I rarely repeat listing anyone I have listed in the past, i.e., I just assume you know they are still worth your time – they are!). [2]  And, if you are interested in past winners, you can start by reading last year’s edition of “Best Blogs (and Other Media) for In-House Lawyers.” Instead, I try to list some new voices for you to check out.  And, same as always, there is no particular order to my list (literally I am just typing as I find things in my Post-it notes, faulty memory, and Google Keep folders).  Okay, where was I…? Right, enough yakking, let’s get on with the 2023 edition of Best Blogs and Other Media for In-House Counsel!

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Ten Things: Best Blogs (and Other Media) for In-House Lawyers (2022 Edition)

Hello everyone and greetings from Copenhagen!  Mrs. Ten Thing’s family is from Denmark, so we have been fortunate enough to spend these holidays in Switzerland and Denmark.  It’s been chocolate, beer, and a lot of eating!  And no matter where you may be, I wish you a fantastic holiday season and all the best for 2023.  Speaking of 2023, we are now into the ninth year of the “Ten Things” blog.  How did that happen?  (Hopefully, no one out there is screaming “unfortunate accident!”).  Seriously, thank you all for sticking around for the ride, for the suggestions for topics, and, most of all, for the encouragement to keep on writing!  I don’t think my shelf life has expired yet, so I plan to keep it going at least until the magic ten-year mark.  I am also starting to work on the “Ten Things” podcast.  But don’t get too excited just yet.  That is probably a project for later next year as first I have to bear down and get the next book – on productivity – into the hands of the ABA before they send around the goon squad to make sure I am feverishly writing away.  It is kind of a Charles Dickens vibe – if Charles Dickens was lashed to his desk with piano wire and reminded daily to get writing or else the dog, grandma, and Tiny Tim get it in the head.  But I did sign on the line so the ABA will get their &%$#@ first draft soon enough.

But I digress.  A lot.  As usual.  So, let’s right the ship and get back on course.  I am excited about the final “Ten Things” blog of 2022 because, like every year, I end it by writing about all the other people you should be reading (or listening to) as part of your day-to-day in-house life.  And, as always, there are a lot of great content generators out there fighting for your attention.  Like in past years I am going to highlight a few that I follow and enjoy.  But I cannot list everyone because I handicapped myself by calling my blog “Ten Things” and not “One Hundred Things” and I am nothing if not slavishly true to the numerical predicament of my own making.  Which is a very long-winded way of saying, I am going to just list ten.  And, like always, there is no particular order to my list and I will not list past “winners” – even if they are still some of my favorites (and they are, like Presnell on Privileges, Mel Scott’s Counsel podcast, and Contract Nerds).[1]  If you want to get more recommendations, check out past editions of my “Best Blogs (and Other Media) for In-House Lawyers,” starting with the 2021 edition.[2]  Okay, enough with the tangents and ABA bashing, let’s get on with the 2022 edition!

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Ten Things: Best Blogs (And Other Media) for In-House Counsel (2021 Edition)

Well, here we are at the end of another year.  I hope all of you are having a wonderful holiday season.  As usual, I like to take a few minutes every December to reflect back on the year and take stock of where we are with the “Ten Things” blog. It’s been a busy year for me, but I have enjoyed every minute of it.  I have published my fifth book, Showing the Value of the Legal Department: More Than Just a Cost Center, I have been a guest on several podcasts (thanks!), I have put on a large number of presentations (live and via webinar), and – of course, I keep cranking out the blog.  Somehow, we’ve already started “Ten Things” year number eight!  As my mom often asks, “How the hell did that happen?”  And I am excited for 2022, with plenty of things to write about for at least one more year.  That said, I always love getting (and writing about) suggestions from you, so feel free to send them my way.

As usual, we will end the year with what traditionally has been a post about the ten best legal blogs for in-house counsel.  I enjoy finding and reading the work of great writers, especially the up-and-coming “next gen.”[1]  They have a lot to say and it’s worth reading! Like last year, I am going to shake things up a bit and add non-traditional bloggers, i.e., podcasts and LinkedIn writers to my list.  I am also going to (finally) list my “Top Ten All-Time Hall of Fame Legal Blogs,” just to give some love to blogs I am still reading after many years.[2]  Sometimes you just have to reward the wonderfulness of sticking around (right, Boomer?)!  So, with no further ado, this edition of “Ten Things” sets out my 2021 list of best blogs (and other media) for in-house counsel:

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Ten Things: Best Blogs for In-House Lawyers (2020 Edition)

Just like I promised last week, it’s December and time for my annual list of top legal blogs for in-house counsel!  This is one of my favorite “Ten Things” blogs to write because it gives me a chance to recognize some of the best legal writers out there today.  It also means that the year is coming to an end, which in the case of 2020 really cannot happen fast enough.  After this blog posts, I’ll see you again toward the end of January 2021 as I am going to take a few weeks off and focus on my next book which is woefully behind schedule – and the ABA keeps sending its black-clad goons to my house to make sure I get back to work (the ABA is ruthless… and well-armed).  As usual, I will not list any past “winners” but I do encourage you to go back and check those blogs as well – they are all worth your time.[1]  Also, I realized at some point this year that in-house lawyers are truly starting to consume legal information in many different ways other than written blogs.  So, for the first time, I am going to point out some podcasts, LinkedIn writers, and Twitter feeds I think you might like. Which is a great reminder for anyone reading this blog: nothing is stopping you from writing your own blogs, posting LinkedIn commentary, or recording your own podcasts.  If you have something to say, join in.  It’s never been easier to do and your voice is just as important as anyone else’s – and any practical knowledge you can share with others is always welcomed.  With no further sermonizing, here is the “Ten Things” 2020 list of top blogs for in-house lawyers:

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Ten Things: Top Blogs for In-House Lawyers (2019 Edition)

Well, it’s time for the last “Ten Things” blog of 2019.  It’s been a pretty good year for the blog: it passed five years of “bloggership” and is approaching 4,000 subscribers, it was named one of the Top Thirty Legal Blogs by SimplyLegal, the post on “How to Read a Contract” was the most popular article of 2019 on InCounsel Weekly, and the ABA published the second “Ten Things” book.  It will be hard to top 2019.  I know I have said it many times but it bears repeating, I am eternally grateful to everyone who takes time to read the blogs, to pass them along to colleagues and friends, to re-post them on LinkedIn or Twitter, or – most importantly – takes the time to comment or drop me a note.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

As usual, I will end the year with my list of the ten best blogs for in-house lawyers.  And, as usual, I will not repeat any of the blogs I picked for 2015, 2016, 2017, or 2018.  But, I highly recommend that you take a minute to refresh yourself with these past “winners” as they are all still worthy of your time.  The good news is that there is a vast universe of blogs out there.  I read a lot of them and over the course of the year I file some away as particularly noteworthy, especially for anyone who practices as an in-house lawyer.  A good blog can be a lifesaver when you need to get up to speed on something quickly and you do not have the time or money to hire outside counsel or access expensive legal resources.  Without further ado, here is my 2019 list of the top ten blogs for in-house lawyers:[1]

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