A new blog on human rights law was launched last week by 1 Crown Office Row, the barristers' chambers headed by Philip Havers QC. The UK Human Rights Blog looks a bit like the UK Supreme Court Blog run by Matrix Chambers and the solicitors' firm Olswang. No doubt they'll be competing to see which of them can put up the quickest and most authoritative blog every time the Supreme Court delivers judgment in a case involving human rights (which is pretty often).

Other chambers do instant case analyses, of course, though they don't call them blogs: one thinks, for example, of the defamation and privacy specialists 5RB. These are all excellent resources and the help to point both solicitors and clients to experts in their fields. And unlike drinks parties, everyone can enjoy the benefits.

In the old days, lawyers used to charge for explaining how the law had been changed by the latest decision from the courts. So, of course, did freelance journalists. Let's hope that chambers' marketing policies will not stop the rest of us from earning the occasional crust.