Thanks to Baylen Linnekin for his guestblogging contributions last week. Be sure to check out his handsomely executed “irreverent food blog”, Crispy on the Outside, whose recent topics include bacon thefts in Lancashire, a new California menu-labeling law, and Quebec’s recent legalization of yellow margarine; of particular interest are his food law and banned categories.

Greetings. I’m Baylen Linnekin. I am a 3L at American University in Washington, DC–where I serve on the editorial board of the Administrative Law Review–and co-proprietor of the libertarian food blog Crispy on the Outside.

I’m a big fan of Overlawyered and will be guestblogging here for the remainder of the week. (You may have noticed my first posts yesterday.) I’m particularly interested in food law–foie gras and bacon dogs are under legal attack, you know–and will likely be offering a few thoughts in that area in the coming days.

Many thanks to Daniel Schwartz who has been filling in over the past week. Check out his work at his Connecticut Employment Law Blog.

Ever wonder who that “Schwartz” is listed under the “Other Law Blogs” links on the right of this page is? (Go ahead and check, I’ll wait.)

Well, it’s none other than me, Dan Schwartz, your guest blogger for the week.  I’m honored to be guest-blogging here for the week — nearly one year after I started my very own Connecticut Employment Law Blog.  When I’m not blogging, I’m a lawyer for Pullman & Comley, a terrific medium-sized firm that represents lots of businesses in Connecticut and beyond.   I’m a mere cub next to Overlawyered’s grizzled vets, but I’ll try to keep up with the pace this week.

So what do I blog about? Well, the blog’s title is that obvious, but it’s a little more than that too.  Crazy laws and strange cases are always ripe for discussion, but so does the item that passes beneath the radar.  Too often, employment cases are given short shrift with important details left out.   Litigation is much more complex than just winners and losers and sometimes the “loser” of the case may actually be the “winner” if they’ve done better than a settlement demand, for instance.

What’s on the agenda this week? You’ll just have to check back.  But keep forwarding those tips, suggestions and feedback.  And my sincere thanks to Walter and the Overlawyered team for the opportunity.

Thanks to Jason Barney for holding the fort in my absence last week. We’re expecting another guestblogger along soon as well.

Hello again!  Walter Olson has welcomed me back to help fill in while he’s away.  Don’t forget to check in at Overlawyered’s sister site, PointofLaw.com which also has a guest blogger this week.  I’ll hit some high points on joint & several liability, wrongful death and might even pick on John Edwards a bit.  You’re welcome to send along any story leads, with special encouragement for leads not picked up on by the national media–many of which come from your local paper or television station.

August is traditionally a prime month for guestblogging opportunities at Overlawyered (as likewise at my other blog, Point of Law) and this year is no exception. One outstanding new volunteer has already stepped forward and will be joining us, but that leaves room for several more. It’s a short commitment (just a week or two) and makes a great way to try out blogging if you’ve never had a go at it, or interest a new set of readers in your blog if you’ve got one already. As always, past guestbloggers and hopeful newcomers are equally welcome to drop me a line: editor - [at] - thisdomainname.com.

Off-topic: Commentary magazine, with which I go way back, and Alarming News threw a pleasant cocktail get-together for New York City political bloggers last night at a bar on Avenue A and 13th (around the corner from the first place I ever lived in New York). I met most of the attendees listed here, along with some others not listed including Fallen Sparrows and the mysterious proprietor of opera blog An Unamplified Voice.

Also, in case it was not clear, I’ve now completed the writing project for which I took the week off. Many thanks to Andrew Grossman (Heritage Foundation) and Jim Copland (Manhattan Institute) for filling in in my absence.

I’ll be mostly absent for the next week because of a deadline, and I believe Ted may be tied up for the next couple of days as well. Fortunately, we’ve got two excellent guestblogger prospects on deck, so you’ll be well provided for in the mean time.

Yesterday the Manhattan Institute released a new report by my colleague Jim Copland, “Trial Lawyers Inc. — Asbestos“. As I note at Point of Law, even as a longtime observer of asbestos litigation I found it quite an eye-opener. I’m happy to announce that Jim Copland will be joining us tomorrow for a guestblogging stint to explain some of his findings.

With a deadline looming for me, I expect to be posting less this week. Fortunately Peter Morin, who’s guestblogged here before, has agreed to step in to fill the gap. Check out Peter’s regular site, WaveMaker.

Thanks to Jason Barney, from the Seattle area, for filling in while I met a deadline. Remember, if you’re interested in guestblogging, that it’s fine to approach us well in advance; we’ll probably need some help before and during the holidays, for example.

Ted and I both have onerous deadlines to meet over the next two weeks, so we’ve got an opening for a guestblogger or two who might like to drop by for a week’s stint. Those who’ve guested before are welcome to consider a return engagement, too. Contact editor - [at] - this domain name.

Thanks to Skip Oliva for helping fill in here again over the past week. Skip’s posts drew notice from, among others, Prof. Bainbridge and Liberal Order. You can read more of his work at the Voluntary Trade Council blog and the Mises Economics blog.

It’s time to end my week of guest-blogging here. Thanks again to Walter Olson and Ted Frank for indulging my ramblings. Since I’ve used most of my posts to dwell on the evils of antitrust regulation, I’d like to try and go out on a more positive note.

Continue Reading »

Our thanks to Steve Hantler of Chrysler for some provocative posts which stirred considerable reader interest. His post on global warming litigation drew links from (among others) Prof. Bainbridge and New York magazine’s “Intelligencer”.

Next up in this summer’s series of weekly guest bloggers is something new for us: a prominent voice from the business community. Steven Hantler, Assistant General Counsel for Government and Regulation at DaimlerChrysler, directs the automaker’s class-action, consumer-litigation and litigation-communications functions; outside the company he’s known as a tireless advocate for lawsuit reform, on which he’s become a veteran of state legislative initiatives and electoral battles. While new to blogging (so far as I’m aware), he’s the author of numerous articles in law reviews and more popular outlets, most recently in the magazine Directorship where he rated and assessed the fairness of each of the fifty states’ court systems from a litigation defense point of view (PDF). He’s also closely associated with the American Justice Partnership, which has links to many of his writings and speeches.

Also, and entirely unrelated to the above, check back tomorrow afternoon, Tuesday, for an announcement which may be of interest to some readers, especially those of a political bent.

Our thanks to Ron Coleman who enlivened the site this week. His posts have stirred considerable comment around the blogosphere, especially the one on Rachel Corrie’s family’s suit against Caterpillar, discussed by (among others) Prof. Bainbridge, Jonathan Zasloff, Megan McArdle, and Zasloff again.

And stay tuned as another guestblogger is on deck to join us in the coming week.