In earlier rounds john2010 and nandiireywal triumphed in the best student and best qualified lawyer blogger category, followed by nandiireywal winning the funniest post, LegalPoet performing a clean sweep in the most useful post category and folly_nariman winning with the most well-written post. Each picked up Rs 5,000.
Now, with only a little bit of further ado, first of all a huge thank you goes out from Legally India to the judges Sanjay Bhatia and Aniket Sengupta, who throughout immense work-loads, sickness and health have managed the task of impartially reading and judging all the entries in this competition, which I think is fair to say has been spectacular and exciting for all involved.
Also a massive thank you to the donor of Rs 20,000, which created the best social justice blogging category. The donor wishes to stay anonymous but please put your virtual hands together for this brilliant initiative to encourage quality blogging.
As an aside, as originally envisaged when the competition first started, bloggers who are feeling generous or want to remain completely anonymous even from Legally India can choose to have the winnings donated to a charity or organisation of their choice (although there is no pressure either way: we promise that a blogger’s identity and choice in this matter will remain confidential, unless they tell us otherwise).
And finally, the biggest thanks and virtual applause should go to all the bloggers who participated, bared their souls and shared their joys, braving the world of the sometimes ruthless internet rather than just friends and family. It takes more than you think, even when blogging anonymously. Existing bloggers, do continue blogging and expressing yourself whenever you feel the need. And new bloggers who have not yet put finger to keyboard, give it a go (you have full control about whether reader comments get published or not). In the meantime, do let Legally India know if, how and in what format to best continue the competition.
Now, done with all the ado, the moment you all have been patiently waiting for: the winners of the remaining Rs 95,000 of prize money.
Special prize for social justice blogging: 2 x Rs 10,000
socialmath: Behind Maoist Lines: Perspectives on the State v. Subaltern debate, and
napster: Nari Adalat: A social experiment !
Favourite overall post: Rs 10,000
john2010: When things go wrong
| Ranked Best (4 points) | Second (3 points) | Third (2 points) | Fourth (1 point) | |
| Popular vote | LegalPoet: Puppy Training: The ABCs Of a National Law University: Part I- Adjusting (32%, 29 votes) | LegalPoet: 15 CV TIPS: Make RECRUITERS pounce on you like DOGS ON BONES (winner most useful post) (27%) | LegalPoet: INTERNSHIP: Hidden Camera reveals the INTERN, a name change and his DEATH (25%) | LegalPoet: ABCs (Ragging) (24%) |
| Sanjay Bhatia | JOINT FIRST: folly_nariman: Mooting as the Professionals Do It (winner best quality of writing post) (3.5 points) john2010: When things go wrong (winner best student post) (3.5 points) | N/A | Legalbeagle: Ruses of a reluctant intern | LegalPoet: Puppy Training: The ABCs Of a National Law University: Part I- Adjusting |
| Aniket Sengupta | nandiireywal: Weekly Round-up: BARELYLEGALINDIA. COM/ ISSUE 1 (winner funniest post) | nandiireywal: The Pursuit of Happiness (winner best qualified lawyer post) | folly_nariman: Positive Interaction and my Observations | nandiireywal: The Recruit: Part 1 & The Recruit: Part 2 |
| Kian Ganz | nandiireywal: The Recruit: Part 1 & The Recruit: Part 2 | folly_nariman: Positive Interaction and my Observations | john2010: When things go wrong (winner best student post) | danishsheikh: 365 Days without 377 |
| Final aggregate result: | john2010: When things go wrong (5.5 points) | LegalPoet: Puppy Training: The ABCs Of a National Law University: Part I- Adjusting (5 points, wins on tie-breaker popular vote: 10.5%) | nandiireywal: The Recruit: Part 1 & The Recruit: Part 2 (5 points, on tie-breaker popular vote: 5.8%) | folly_nariman: Positive Interaction and my Observations (5 points, on tie-breaker popular vote: 1.8%) |
The best legal blogger, demonstrating overall blogging excellence: Rs 65,000 in total
- First prize: Rs 30,000 cash award: LegalPoet
- Second prize: Rs 20,000: nandiireywal
- Third prize: Rs 10,000: legaldrift
- Highly commended prize: Rs 5,000: john2010
| Ranked Best (4 points) | Second (3 points) | Third (2 points) | Fourth (1 point) | |
| Popular vote | LegalPoet (54% with 50 votes) | Joint second (2.5 points each) legaldrift (37%) napster (37%) | N/a | False News With Balls (34%%) |
| Sanjay Bhatia | LegalPoet | nandiireywal | john2010 | sss |
| Aniket Sengupta | nandiireywal | legaldrift | LegalPoet | john2010 |
| Kian Ganz | nandiireywal | LegalPoet | john2010 | legaldrift |
| Final aggregate result: | LegalPoet (13 points) | nandiireywal (11 points) | legaldrift (7 points) | john2010 (5 points) |
The Judges and their views
All judges decided completely independently from each other, without any consultation and without knowing what others voted for or what the outcome of the popular vote was.
Sanjay Bhatia
Sanjay Bhatia is the Mysore-based head of operations at legal process outsourcing (LPO) company SDD Global Solutions. He graduated from NLSIU Bangalore in 1993 where he was a particularly active participant in the "pre-historic equivalent of internet blogging" - the law school's iconic notice board "19(1)(a)". Between 1997 and 2000 Bhatia also wrote for the Hindu Business Line.
Social justice blogging: My main focus was to see how much original socially relevant information was contained in the posts. Almost all the posts were well written. However, it was obvious from a bare reading that many of the posts relied heavily on information found in reports, judgments, surveys, and the like. Under the circumstances, it was difficult to determine which portion of the blog was truly original. This is why it is important to cite/quote authority when you are relying on other sources. Even when you are not directly lifting language, it is important to acknowledge the source which accuracy. Failure to do so sometimes weighs against the other parts of the blog which may contain the writer's analysis.
Special mention to Let Me’s blog Chetan Bhagat have we learnt nothing from Gandhi?
Kian Ganz
Kian Ganz is the Mumbai-based editor of Legally India and appreciates good blogging and writing since he spends far too much of his day on the internet.
This was so difficult, in all categories.
Social blogging: A very tough choice here with many quality posts. Ultimately here I looked for original and courageous new stories, preferably with original research. [I second Sanjay Bhatia’s point here that there were not nearly enough references and links in almost all posts backing up the author’s arguments].
I found napster’s post on Nari Adalat a comfortable winner in this category for the choice of topic of ‘women’s courts’, which have not been widely reported, and the enthusiasm and personal nature of the post.
Socialmath’s post Behind Maoist Lines: Perspectives on the State v. Subaltern debate I thought was very closely behind napster, with the only clincher being that a lot of debate has already been done on the issue. However - and this is a big however – socialmath’s approach was one of the most balanced and considered on the topic I have read, telling the story that the mainstream press all too often sweeps under the carpet. Plus some good analysis to tie it into the law.
Legaldrift’s entry Selling their bodies killing their souls: Plight of widows in Vrindavan and Mathura I thought again was very strong on the originality front, picking an issue that is not at the top of most people’s minds. This epitomises social blogging, in my opinion. It could have been the top post for me if it had contained more references and sourcing – occasionally I did not know where some of the facts or figures came from or if they were correct.
John2010’s The 26/11 Judgement fails the maturity test and how we can still salvage justice I rated very highly for articulating the potentially unpopular view of not presupposing the death penalty for Kasab. Again, social blogging should challenge the orthodoxy and the often rabid media noise around events that are in the news. Topical blogging such as this does it.
Special mention for me went to anirban1’s the law education paradigm, which I thought was a well thought-out (if a little too long) analysis on an issue that went to the crux of the bar exam and legal education in India with great timing. I also rated social math’s post on the Bhopal Verdict- Not so bad and legaldrift’s detailed analysis Insight to Bhopal Gas Tragedy: A case lost before trial. Danishsheikh’s Queer Pride also deserved special mention in this category I thought.
Favourite overall post: Nandiireywal’s The Recruit: Part 1 & The Recruit: Part 2 was for me the standout overall post. Perhaps I am biased due to London nostalgia (although he does not make London sound like an altogether pleasant place) but I thought this post ticked all the boxes of what I like about blogs: creativity, humour, information and a strong narrative voice.
Folly_nariman’s Positive Interaction and my Observations was also a personal favourite of mine and a strong contender for the top spot – it was perhaps the first thing I read that laid bare law school in India to me and hinted at what the experience was like. The best comedy and satire can have that effect and folly_nariman’s did just that with her post. Plus, it was very funny.
John2010: When things go wrong (also winner best student post). Highly moving and personal writing that addressed an important subject and similar to Folly’s post, opened up a little bit of the law school world to me. Like the others in this list it is a post I have re-read many times and that is impossible to forget, which is high praise in the fast-moving blogosphere.
Danishsheikh’s 365 Days without 377 was my personal top choice for best-written blog post and it was also a post that changed me and made me understand the world a little differently.It successfully brought the 377 judgment out of the abstract and laid out its significance through a very personal story.
Most other posts in the shortlist too could have been included in that list, so I will not list them all.
The best legal blogger, demonstrating overall blogging excellence: Again, a tough category but there were two clear winners. For me either nandiireywal or LegalPoet were a shoo-in for the top spot. Both very different blogs but both bloggers showed a dedication to their art and craft and consistently produced quality posts. Anyone who has read their posts would agree. In the end, the self-consistency, originality and charm of the (semi-fictional?) Nandii universe won it for me and it was the blog that I could imagine returning to repeatedly for updates on life at Colby Hewitt & Richards LLP. Read any of his/her posts and I can guarantee you will be delighted.
However, for me LegalPoet was not more than a whisker behind, if at all. LegalPoet’s dedication to the blogging cause was unmatched and he knew and understood his audience perhaps better than any other blogger in the competition. His articles were entertaining, thoroughly useful for law students and those seeking a career in the law, and often exhibited a strong, egalitarian sense of social justice. If you enjoyed his writing, do seek out the new blog Lawctopus, which he and friends launched yesterday, promising even more career advice and other help for law students.
The third and fourth places were almost impossible to decide on. Ultimately I found john2010’s to be the most consistently well-written and challenging of the blogs dealing with law school life. His posts were almost always fresh, showed a willingness to experiment with the platform and exhibited a fine edge. Very strong contender, also for the top spots.
Now any of the honourable mentions below could also have crept into fourth place, but legaldrift’s blog I found to be the most consistent and challenging, although I (and others) may not always have agreed with her views. A firebrand of the old school, I was amazed by her width of topics and the fervour with which she approached them. Legaldrift was not afraid to take a stand on whatever issue was on the her plate and never hid behind often legal opinions couched in qualifications. Also her posts all appeared to have been thoroughly researched.
For me honourable mentions for best bloggers go to both napster and sss, who posted a mix of thought-provoking, entertaining and personal posts. Sss’ posts were particularly daring and creative in choice of topics, while napster managed to give a unique spin and voice to many timeless subjects.
I found that anirban1’s legal analysis and some of the other topics were great, although the posts would have much benefited from more editing in length.
I thought False News With Balls also deserved special mention. The format and ideas for the blog were brilliant but postings were occasionally a little hit-and-miss.
Finally, Bihari Babuu had a lot of potential initially, despite the potential for political incorrectness, but unfortunately the blog persona seemed to fizzle out after a few posts.
Aniket Sengupta
Aniket Sengupta is a Mumbai-based finance partner at Luthra & Luthra and a 2000 graduate from NLSIU Bangalore. Sengupta loves good writing. Catch-22 is one of his favourite books and Douglas Adams is one of his favourite authors.
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PS- Lawctopus.com is a website and NOT a blog! :-)
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