'Ed,' anonymous Blawg Review editor, has died
“Ed,” the anonymous editor of the now-defunct Blawg Review, has died.
His death was reported Wednesday in a series of tweets sent out by his son over the @BlawgReview Twitter feed, Robert Ambrogi’s Lawsites reported.
The tweet said Ed, an abbreviation for editor, had died after a courageous battle with esophageal cancer.
“I believe it would have been his wish for Ed to remain anonymous,” one tweet said, “and so I will respect those wishes.”
Blawg Review, begun in April 2005, described itself as a “carnival of law bloggers,” in which each week’s host rounded up his or her picks for the best posts of the week. It published its last post in July 2012. Ambrogi called it a “must read” for those who follow legal blogging.
Ambrogi, who had met Ed on several occasions, called him “a pleasure to know—smart, witty and kind.”
He posted a photo of Ed, wearing an eye mask to conceal his identity, on his blog.
Other legal bloggers also posted tributes today. “Newcomers to the blawgosphere might not know of Ed, as Blawg Review wore out as too many lawyers became self-promoters rather than members of the blawgosphere,” New York City solo Scott Greenfield wrote at Simple Justice. “It reflected a golden age of blawgging, where we weren’t in it for the money or phony prestige, but for the good we could do and the camaraderie of being part of something more important than ourselves. And Ed was at the helm.”
Toronto litigator Antonin Pribetic wrote at The Trial Warrior that he had kept in touch with Ed and met him in person a number of times, but “never asked him who he really was.” Ed was a very private person, Pribetic wrote. “In fact, all that I could pry out of him was that he was a fellow Canadian, had practiced corporate law, but was since retired. He enjoyed his anonymity, but solely to promote the blawgosphere and each of the blawggers who contributed to his Blawg Review.”
