The ABA Journal’s contest for best general legal weblog ends momentarily (Wed., Jan. 2) and as of this writing we’re still lagging a mere 50 or so votes behind the front-runner, not an impossible margin you’d think to overtake in a last-minute surge. Unfortunately, we’ve more or less run out of winning tactics that wouldn’t mire us in an embarrassing degree of groveling, nagging, cheating, conniving, etc.

Quite a few folks associated with the American Bar Association have been open-minded and even friendly toward Overlawyered over the years, but we have reason to believe that some others high up in that organization regard us as the web equivalent of hot buttered death. Who can deny that it would be amusing to tick off that second group by having Overlawyered win the ABA’s own contest? Perhaps readers in comments can suggest vote-winning techniques we haven’t thought of. (Beg Michelle Malkin and Glenn Reynolds to send their readers to cast ballots for us?). Okay, here’s one: recommend that your readers vote for us, and we’ll give you a grateful shout-out (within reason) in this column.

P.S. Thanks to Caleb Brown, who does the Cato Institute’s podcast series, for filling in over the holidays. Check out his site Catallaxy.net. And stay tuned for another guestblogger we expect to be joining us in the not too distant future.

[Bumped Wednesday morning for continued prominence. First we pulled to within a dozen votes of QuizLaw, it seems, and now (around midnight EST) they’re back ahead by 40.]

And: a most grateful thanks for the boost to:

• Larry Ribstein (Ideoblog);
• Sam Munson (Commentary mag’s Contentions);
• Carter Wood (NAM Shop Floor);
• Ron Coleman guesting at Dean Esmay’s and also at his own site, Likelihood of Confusion;
• Hans Bader (Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Open Market);
• Eugene Volokh (Volokh Conspiracy);
• Alan Lange (Mississippi’s Y’All Politics);
• David Rossmiller (Insurance Coverage Blog);
• Dave Zincavage (Never Yet Melted);
• Tom Kirkendall (Houston’s Clear Thinkers);
• Not endorsements, exactly, but we won’t quibble: Angela Gunn (USA Today “TechSpace”), Robert Ambrogi (LawSites), and David Lat (Above the Law);
• Sean Higgins (JeremyLott.net);
• Point of Law (wait a minute, that’s me).

P.P.S. Melancholy sequel (just 19 votes short!) here.

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