Larry Bodine wrote in wondering if we knew how many legal blogs are in existence. It's an interesting question that is wide open to speculation. I don't think anyone can say for certain without conducting an extensive blawg census, but here goes.

According to one report at the Blog Herald, the total number of blogs in the world is greater than 34 million. Of that total, an estimated 14.5 million are English language blogs.

Beyond noting that Japan, France, the UK and Germany have made their mark on the legal blogsphere, I have limited knowledge of international blawgs. So, rather than make an outlandish claim using the worldwide estimates, I'll limit my pontification to the 14.5M number (which presumably includes blogs from the UK).

After researching a few relevant blogging centers (blawg.org, blogbook.org, my detod, lexblog and blogger), I generously estimate that one out of every 100 blogs could qualify as "law related." Note that "law related" is a broad term that includes the entire spectrum of blawgs (those edited by lawyers, professors, students, and other legal professionals) as well as political and personal blogs where law is frequently discussed.

Doing the math, 1% of 14.5 million is 145,000. One hundred forty-five thousand "law related" blogs in the English speaking blogsphere -- do you believe it? I'm not sure I do. I think the number of strictly legal blawgs is much smaller.

Did I mention that I'm not a licensed statistician?