Legal Schnauzer Earns A Prominent Place In Survey Of The Top 50 Independent Law Blogs In N. America

Legal Schnauzer ranks among the top 50 independent law blogs in North America for 2012, according to a recent survey by a media-relations software and research company in Chicago.

Our blog, which launched in June 2007, ranks at No. 37 in a survey conducted by Cision, which describes itself as "the leading global provider of media relations software services and solutions for public relations professionals."

The top five blogs on the list are (1) Above the Law; (2) The Volokh Conspiracy; (3) Grits for Breakfast; (4) TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime; and (5) The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. (The full rankings can be viewed at this link.)

I must confess to being late to the party on this. Cision released the rankings on November 16, 2012, and I didn't find out about it until one evening last week. How did it come to my attention? Well, that requires another confession: In pursuit of self-satisfaction (and glorification?), I was Googling my own blog. The first four pages of results produced material I had seen before, but on page five, I happened to spot something that referenced "Legal Schnauzer and top 50 law blogs."

My immediate response? It was something, "What the hell?" (And yes, when a new phone directory arrives, my first act is to check and make sure my name is in there.)

When I clicked on the link and discovered that a media-relations company in Chicago had kindly included me in its list of top 50 law blogs, I was dumbfounded. What was my exact reaction? After wetting myself three or four times in glee--and running down the stairs to break the news to Mrs. Schnauzer at the top of my lungs--I thought I handled myself with professional aplomb.

In a moment of trying to channel Sally Field, I might have said something along the lines of, "They like me, they really like me!"

Seriously, this is a pretty nice achievement--and the recognition is deeply appreciated. On top of that, I have no idea how Legal Schnauzer came to make the rankings. I don't recall ever hearing from anyone at Cision, before or after the rankings came out. I don't recall anyone telling me they were nominating my blog for such a survey. 

I have learned that Cision conducts surveys of top blogs in a variety of fields--education, automotive, public relations, food, travel, weddings, PR and marketing, consumer electronics, etc.

Kristen Sala, senior manager for electronic media, wrote the blog post that introduces the top 50 law blogs for 2012, and here is how she describes the process used for compiling the rankings:

Law surrounds us daily. It affects all of us, from a politician running for office, to the head of a successful PR firm, to the author of an independent blog who works out of the comfort of her home. The law has even made its way into a few prior CisionBlog posts, including our piece outlining Twitter's copyright infringement policy, and our Q&A on content publishing and distribution.

In light of this ever-present topic, we ranked the top 50 independent law blogs in North America. The list was created using Cision's media database, and blogs are ranked based on our Cision Influence Rating. Reaching out to varied audiences, these blogs cover a range of law-related issues. Some offer tips to future law professionals on how to get into law school, while others offer tips to seasoned attorneys on how to keep themselves organized or argue a case. There are blogs that approach law from an outside perspective, offering unbiased updates on recent trials and cases; while others focus on one branch of law and might offer consumers an inside scoop on taxes or copyright.

Here is the Cision top 50 for 2012. As you can see, our little blog is in some lofty company:

Top 50 Independent Law Blogs in North America for 2012 by Roger Shuler