NSRLP Blog Wins 2016 Clawbie
Professor Julie Macfarlane's "Representing Yourself in Canada" Blog Wins Non-Lawyer Audience 2016 Clawbie Award
Congratulations to Dr. Macfarlane on her most recent award for her work on A2J. According to the Clawbies, "The National Self-Represented Litigants Project at the University of Windsor is at once perhaps the most important and most unsung access to justice initiative in North America. Regular updates on everything A2J-related, as well as a conversational tone and a commitment to practical solutions makes this blog, led by NSRLP leader Prof. Julie Macfarlane, one of our current favourites and a runaway winner in this category.”
Dr. Macfarlane explains that the NSRLP blog "aims to raise awareness of the reality that the majority of ordinary Canadians can no longer afford legal representation for litigation. The blog has been crucial in advancing a national conversation on access to justice that includes both legal professionals and the public. We are honoured by this award which we share with our editor, Cynthia Eagan, and our guest bloggers."
The Clawbies have never had a specific checklist of criteria against which nominees are judged. But they say they believe very strongly that the best law blogs have always answered, and still answer today, to four key characteristics.
1. They are practical, offering implementable insights and real-world solutions for readers more than airy reflections on the state of the law.
2. They are genuine, delivering the authentic voice and actual opinions of the lawyers who write them.
3. They are conversational, engaging the reader as an interested and intelligent observer who has as much to contribute as she has to learn.
4. They are about improving the legal system, either by expanding the knowledge base of citizens and clients or making law better for society.
You can access the NSRLP blog here.