Overlawyered » legal blogs http://overlawyered.com Chronicling the high cost of our legal system Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:11:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 New Liberty Fund law site — and an interview http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/new-liberty-fund-law-site-and-an-interview/ http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/new-liberty-fund-law-site-and-an-interview/#comments Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:20:05 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=26810 The great people at Liberty Fund have just launched a new website called Library of Law and Liberty that promises to be of much interest. Among its debut features: a substantial audio interview in which Richard Reinsch, editor of the site, asks me about my book Schools for Misrule and law schools’ role in reform movements since the Progressive Era. Outstanding legal scholars Michael Greve (AEI) and Mike Rappoport (University of San Diego) will be blogging for the site. Other front-page attractions include Michael Greve discussing his new book The Upside Down Constitution, my Cato colleague John Samples reviewing Eric Posner and Adrian Vermeule’s new book on executive power, Ilya Somin on federalism and individual freedom, and Philip Hamburger and commenters on judicial review.

You can listen to my audio interview on Schools for Misrule at this link.

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/new-liberty-fund-law-site-and-an-interview/feed/ 0 January 9 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/january-9-roundup-2/ http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/january-9-roundup-2/#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 05:12:45 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=26676
  • Illinois now requires showing of ID, signing of log to buy drain cleaner. So long as you’re not trying to vote! [Consumerist via @amyalkon]
  • Tribute to no-longer-anonymous Ken White of Popehat and his work defending bloggers from legal threats [Scott Greenfield; earlier; Ken's defense in Maryland of blogger Aaron Worthing; new case of science blogger in Texas]
  • Politicos mobilize against risk that Wal-Mart will bring fresh produce choices to Harlem [Greg Beato] India frets about whether to allow chain stores, recapitulating a debate U.S. once went through [Tabarrok, MR]
  • Colorado legislators honored at a luncheon where I spoke [CCJL]
  • HHS launches initiative to audit health providers for compliance with HIPAA data privacy law, and many are unprepared [American Medical News, Dana Thrasher, Dom Nicastro/HealthLeaders Media]
  • New scholarship on effects of Twombly/Iqbal [Drug and Device Law series first, second, third, CL&P]
  • Congratulations to the outstanding Abnormal Use for winning the ABA’s “Blawg 100” vote for best torts blog; we feel pretty good about placing third without mounting a campaign. While exploring that site, don’t miss its stellar coverage of the tendentious documentary “Hot Coffee”.
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/january-9-roundup-2/feed/ 1     ABA “Blawg 100″ — take a moment to vote for Overlawyered http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/aba-blawg-100-take-a-moment-to-vote-for-overlawyered/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/aba-blawg-100-take-a-moment-to-vote-for-overlawyered/#comments Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:50:48 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=26214 I’m pleased to announce that Overlawyered has been named by the American Bar Association as one of its “Blawg 100″ noteworthy legal blogs. It’s not our first appearance on the list, but it’s always gratifying when it happens.

    And here’s the good part: you can vote for us. In particular, you can go to this page:

    http://www.abajournal.com/blawg100

    You’ll need to register (which only takes a few moments) and then vote for your favorite in each of a list of categories. (They put Overlawyered in the “Torts” category.)
    ABABlawg100FiveVoteFor
    The nominations include many of our favorite and most-linked blogs, including Lowering the Bar, Prof. Bainbridge, Volokh, Jon Hyman, Daniel Schwartz, Abnormal Use, Eric Turkewitz, and Russell Jackson, to name a few. A number of these are also in the “Torts” category which means you’ll need to resist the urge to vote for them and select Overlawyered instead. Please take a moment to vote now. Thanks in advance for your support!

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/aba-blawg-100-take-a-moment-to-vote-for-overlawyered/feed/ 0     September 2 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/september-2-roundup-3/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/september-2-roundup-3/#comments Fri, 02 Sep 2011 05:17:11 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24312
  • Jury acquits ex-firefighter who claimed disability while competing as a bodybuilder [Boston Herald]
  • Authorities snatch kids from homes after parents busted with small amounts of pot [NYT, Tim Lynch/Cato]
  • “Case Study on Impact of Tort Reform in Mississippi” [Mark Behrens via Scheuerman/TortsProf]
  • When opt-in works: “More than 27,000 S. Korean users join class-action suit against Apple” [Yonhap]
  • Casino liable after customers leave kids unattended in cars? [Max Kennerly]
  • All is forgiven, says frequent investment plaintiff: “State Street Rehired by Calpers After Being Likened to ‘Thugs’” [Business Week]
  • Vintage comic book covers on law themes are a regular Friday feature at Abnormal Use.
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/september-2-roundup-3/feed/ 1     Attorney sues many legal bloggers, ABA, Washington Post… http://overlawyered.com/2011/05/attorney-sues-many-legal-bloggers-aba-washington-post/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/05/attorney-sues-many-legal-bloggers-aba-washington-post/#comments Fri, 20 May 2011 12:36:38 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=23052 After being widely criticized for his handling of a criminal case, a lawyer is now suing his critics by the dozen, including a raft of leading law bloggers; the case is already being dubbed “Rakofsky v. Internet.” A list of the many defendants is here (PDF) courtesy of defendant Mark Bennett, who has also compiled a compendium of blog posts that discuss the new action. Among defendants and others talking back: Eric Turkewitz, Colin Samuels, Scott Greenfield, Avvo, Keith Lee.

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/05/attorney-sues-many-legal-bloggers-aba-washington-post/feed/ 3     “FindLaw Legal Bloggers Sue for Overtime Pay” http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/findlaw-legal-bloggers-sue-for-overtime-pay/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/findlaw-legal-bloggers-sue-for-overtime-pay/#comments Thu, 21 Apr 2011 05:19:23 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=22636 It’s not getting one-ten-thousandth the coverage of Mr. Tasini’s suit against the Huffington Post, perhaps because it’s not based on quite such an exotic set of legal theories. FindLaw pays staffers to write legal blogs and the suit charges that they were encouraged/allowed to work unpaid overtime. [ABA Journal] Eric B. Meyer has more (”Working through lunch may create overtime issues for employers”).

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/findlaw-legal-bloggers-sue-for-overtime-pay/feed/ 0     April 14 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/april-14-roundup/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/april-14-roundup/#comments Thu, 14 Apr 2011 05:07:49 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=22513
  • “Raging Bitch”: Frederick (Md.) brewery says its beer label is a First Amendment issue [Frederick News-Post]
  • UK soccer: Sunderland fan sues club after being hit by stray Djibril Cissé shot [Guardian]
  • DirectBuy: “When 36 AGs Object to Your Class Action Settlement, That’s Not a Good Sign” [Karlsgodt] “Court reduces fees after CCAF objection to HP settlement” [Ted Frank] Russell Jackson on ink-cartridge settlements;
  • Time for Congress to repeal the Uniform Federal Drinking Age Act [Glenn Reynolds/WSJ via WSJ Law Blog]
  • Claim: business investment isn’t really much impaired by regulatory uncertainty [Lardner]
  • Update: “Righthaven drops suit against mildly autistic hobby blogger” [Romenesko, earlier] And it sues, then drops suit against, writer based on his article about one of its suits [ArsTechnica, PaidContent]
  • George Wallace hosts Blawg Review #304 at Declarations and Exceptions and #305 at A Fool in the Forest;
  • Suspicious website promotes nonexistent law firm [Brian Baxter, AmLaw Daily]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/april-14-roundup/feed/ 9     March 3 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/03/march-3-roundup-2/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/03/march-3-roundup-2/#comments Thu, 03 Mar 2011 05:08:06 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=21796
  • EU imposes unisex insurance rates [BBC, Wright]
  • Law blog on the offense? TechnoLawyer asserts trademark claim against Lawyerist over “Small Law” [Lawyerist]
  • “Pro-business Supreme Court” meme strikes out yet again as SCOTUS backs “cat’s-paw” bias suit theory by 8-0-2 margin [Josh Blackman, Schwartz, Fox; Lithwick locus classicus]
  • Subprime CDO manager sues financial writer Michael Lewis over statements in his book The Big Short [AW, Salmon, Kennerly]
  • Police in Surrey, England, deny advising garden shed owners not to use wire mesh against burglars [Volokh, earlier]
  • Patterns of intimidation: protesters swarm Speaker Boehner’s private residence [Hollingsworth, Examiner] Unions fighting Wal-Mart in NYC plan actions at board members’ homes [Stoll] Report: GOP lawmakers in Wisconsin fear for personal safety [Nordlinger, NRO] White House pushing street protests [Welch, Nordlinger] Age of Civility short lived [Badger Blogger, Althouse, Sullivan]
  • In clash with trial lawyers, Cuomo proposes pain and suffering limits in med-mal suits [NYDN, more: NYT] “Bloomberg looks to Texas for ideas on changing medical malpractice laws” [City Hall News]
  • Hey, should we seize his drum set? Infuriating video on cop raids and forfeiture laws [Institute for Justice, Michigan]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/03/march-3-roundup-2/feed/ 1     Schools for Misrule: some early blog reactions http://overlawyered.com/2011/03/schools-for-misrule-some-early-blog-reactions/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/03/schools-for-misrule-some-early-blog-reactions/#comments Wed, 02 Mar 2011 05:27:01 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=21783 Several interesting reactions to my book already from around the blogosphere:

    • University of Illinois law professor Larry Ribstein (who commented at my speech there last week): “There was a good turnout and a lot of deserved buzz for this very interesting book. … The book deserves a lot of attention, particularly from law professors and their students as a source of critical perspective on trends in legal education. There is little doubt that the ideas Olson criticizes are hatched mainly in law schools rather than by practicing lawyers and judges, and have led to costly and questionable litigation.” And a response from Scott Greenfield, who says the book’s premise that law professors have great influence over the state of the law “warms the cockles of lawprofs’ hearts given that most of the legal profession considers their influence marginal at best.”
    • Ted Frank: “should be required reading for law students, and deserves a place on any Federalist Society member’s bookshelf.”
    • Alan Crede writes a lengthy and thoughtful review at Boston Personal Injury Lawyer Blog. He notes that on, e.g., the work of legal clinics, “the traditional taxonomy of liberal and conservative breaks down when you start to deal with many fine-grain legal issues.” And: “There are at least two law professors – Tim Wu and Elizabeth Warren (who is now in the Obama administration) – who possess rock star cachet in progressive circles” and can hardly be charged with any sort of airy unwillingness to engage with the demands of practical law reform. Crede generously concludes “whether you agree with Olson’s conclusions or not, there is a lot that you can learn from ‘Schools For Misrule.’”
    • Perhaps my favorite review so far (aside from the great one in Publisher’s Weekly) is from Ira Stoll at Future of Capitalism. It begins: “Of all the possible explanations for Barack Obama, one of the most intriguing is that, like Bill Clinton before him, he was both a law school graduate and a law school professor.” Stoll summarizes many of the book’s themes, particularly as regards “public interest”, human-rights and institutional-reform litigation, and includes this takeaway: “Any donor or foundation wanting to reshape legal education would find Mr. Olson’s book a fine place to begin.”
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/03/schools-for-misrule-some-early-blog-reactions/feed/ 2     February 28 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/02/february-28-roundup/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/02/february-28-roundup/#comments Mon, 28 Feb 2011 13:08:21 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=21738
  • Feds indict activist for handing out “jury nullification” tracts outside courthouse [Volokh, Greenfield] Anti-abortion billboard taken down after demand by NYC pol; co. says fear of violence was spur [NY Times]
  • Pigford class action (USDA bias against black farmers) defended and assailed [Friedersdorf and readers, Daniel Foster/NR, Mark Thompson/LOG, earlier here, here, here, etc.]
  • Avik Roy on Pennsylvania defensive-medicine study [Forbes]
  • Backstory: Scott Walker battled AFSCME for years as Milwaukee County exec [Aaron Rodriguez, Hispanic Conservative] “Wisconsin’s teachers required to teach kids labor union and collective bargaining history” [Daily Caller]
  • “The return of the $0 Costco fuel settlement” [CCAF]
  • Historic preservation vs. the obesity crusade: should a vintage Coke sign in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood come down? [SFGate]
  • Law blog that covers a single beat closely can turn itself into a valued practice tool [Eric Turkewitz on John Hochfelder's New York Injury Cases]
  • “Soda suits: Banzhaf browbeats school officials” [five years ago on Overlawyered]
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