University of Alberta Faculty of Law sweeps up awards for online legal content

Two professors and a student group recognized at the 2020 Clawbies

Staff - 06 January 2021

University of Alberta Faculty of Law Professors Ubaka Ogbogu and Peter Sankoff, along with students from the ReconciliAction YEG team, have earned kudos for their respective online legal content at the 2020 Clawbies.

The Canadian Law Blog Awards, also known as the Clawbies, recognizes the best Canadian legal content on a variety of digital platforms, including blogs, podcasts, videos and social media accounts.

Ogbogu was recognized in the best Twitter account category for his savvy social media commentary during a turbulent year. Ogbogu’s tweets on public health, politics and racial inequality were applauded for being “a dependable source we could rely on for insight and clarity on these issues.”

Sankoff, who has garnered recognition from the Clawbies in the past for his podcast Paw and Order, his blog, and his video blogs, was named in the best innovative projects category for his 100 Interns project. The project, which raised $120,000 to help law students find work during the pandemic, was saluted for “exemplif[ying] the spirit of generosity we aim to recognize with the Clawbies.”

Regularly receiving accolades at the Clawbies since 2017, ReconciliAction YEG was recognized in the best blog category for 2020. The blog originated from the Law and Social Media class supervised by Professor Moin Yahya and Assistant Professor Hadley Friedland and is a student-run project. The students on this year's team are Sarah Kriekle, Teresa Holmes, Anita Cardinal-Stewart, Tamya Chowdhury, and Tyler Godard.

In 2020, the blog explored and evaluated the Truth and Reconciliation’s Calls to Action. The Clawbies praised the students for “their comprehensive, measured-yet-pointed, highly researched, well articulated assessment and grading of the implementation of the TRC’s calls to action.”

"I have such admiration and respect for this remarkable student team, who are applying their legal skills, creativity and social media savvy to provide widely accessible public legal education on important subjects,” said Friedland. “They are not just learning but leading the way."

Recipients of the Clawbies are nominated by members of the legal community, and the annual awards are intended to showcase the legal community’s freely accessible online content.