Overlawyered » Philip K. Howard

March 21 roundup

Walter Olson — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 04:11:06 +0000

Shame on DoJ: “Systematic concealment” of evidence when feds prosecuted Sen. Ted Stevens [WaPo, Caleb Mason/Prawfs] NYT notes feds’ losing streak in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act prosecutions [NYT, our latest]
Italy: tax officials stop luxury cars, demand drivers’ most recent tax returns [Secular Right]
Pinterest: casual users (perhaps especially casual users) might be opening themselves to copyright liability [DDK Portraits, WSJ Law Blog] And in case you needed a reminder not to publish photos grabbed from random web sources… [Webcopyplus]
In new Atlantic special report, Philip K. Howard collects papers on outdated government law and regulation from contributors Robert Litan, Julie Barnes, Mark Warner, Jim Cooper;
Institute for Justice sues IRS over its new licensing requirements for tax preparers [Ilya Shapiro and Chaim Gordon/Cato, Paul Caron/TaxProf, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Barton Hinkle]
“It is acceptable to refer to all court proceedings as a ‘trial,’ because seriously, you ever sat through one of those things?” [@FakeAPStylebook]
Christopher Booker series on child-snatching by UK authorities [Telegraph: first, second, third]

Tags: Child Protective Services, humor, Italy, Philip K. Howard, photography, prosecutorial abuse, taxes, taxpayers, United Kingdom

March 21 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“One nation, under too many laws”

Walter Olson — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 18:40:50 +0000

Philip K. Howard’s latest, for the Washington Post:

Once enacted, most laws are ignored for generations, allowed to take on a life of their own without meaningful review. Decade after decade, they pile up like sediment in a harbor, bogging the country down – in dense regulation, unaffordable health care, and higher taxes and public debt.

Time, he says, to revisit the “sunset law” idea, under which laws would expire unless affirmatively reenacted, and radical simplification as well.

Tags: Philip K. Howard

“One nation, under too many laws” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“Drowning in law”

Walter Olson — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 16:36:05 +0000

Author Philip K. Howard’s latest op-ed tells of the “legal quicksand” faced by small business owners, who

face legal challenges at every step. Municipalities requires multiple and often nonsensical forms to do business. Labor laws expose them to legal threats by any disgruntled employee. Mandates to provide costly employment benefits impose high hurdles to hiring new employees. Well-meaning but impossibly complex laws impose requirements to prevent consumer fraud, provide disability access, prevent hiring illegal immigrants, display warnings and notices and prevent scores of other potential evils. The tax code is incomprehensible.

All of this requires legal and other overhead – costing 50% more per employee for small businesses than big businesses.

[New York Daily News]

Tags: Philip K. Howard, small business, workplace

“Drowning in law” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Young Walter Olson

Ted Frank — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 05:18:56 +0000

Starting at 11:20, though I imagine, given the April 19, 1995, date, that not many people were watching on C-SPAN at the time. Now’s the chance to catch up.

Tags: on TV and radio, Philip K. Howard, Walter Olson

Young Walter Olson is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“Four ways to fix a broken legal system”

Walter Olson — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:49:36 +0000

Author Philip K. Howard (The Death of Common Sense, Life Without Lawyers) gives a talk at the famous TED conference:

Tags: Philip K. Howard

“Four ways to fix a broken legal system” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

February 10 roundup

Walter Olson — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 12:03:43 +0000

Man who shot dogs sues blogger whose critical account of episode allegedly put him in false light [Christopher Comins v. Matthew Frederick VanVoorhis, Florida, Citizen Media Law; Greenfield (free speech attorney Marc Randazza assisting VanVoorhis)]
Appeals court revives Pennsylvania couple’s trespass suit against Google over Google Street View pics of their home and pool [Legal Intelligencer, ABA Journal]
“Rich Guy Sues to Keep $380/Month Rent on Park Ave.” [Gothamist]
“Think Davis-Bacon on steroids” — Obamaites mull SEIU-driven “High Road” policy to push federal contractors into union practices [Daily Caller, Michael Fox via PoL]
Federal judge’s 49-page sanctions order blasts Adorno & Yoss, two lawyers and client over bad faith conduct of trade dress suit [Fulton County Daily Report]
“Terrorist who killed US medic wants C$10 million from Canadian taxpayers” [CanWest/Canada.com via David Frum]
“Massachusetts Woman Sues Real Estate Broker over Second-Hand Smoke in Condo” [Somin, Volokh; case settles]
“Our litigation process encourages radical polarization” — part II of Q&A with author Philip Howard [WSJ Law Blog, link to part I]

Tags: bloggers and the law, Google, labor unions, libel slander and defamation, NYC, Philip K. Howard, real estate, sanctions, terrorism

February 10 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Now in paperback: Philip K. Howard’s “Life Without Lawyers, Restoring Responsibility in America”

Walter Olson — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:12:20 +0000

The WSJ Law Blog interviews the well-known author (The Death of Common Sense, The Collapse of the Common Good), Covington & Burling lawyer, and founder of Common Good. I praised the hardcover edition last year.

Tags: Philip K. Howard

Now in paperback: Philip K. Howard’s “Life Without Lawyers, Restoring Responsibility in America” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“Nowhere is the argument over ‘over-lawyering’ more intense than in the field of medical malpractice….”

Walter Olson — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:51:58 +0000

CBS Sunday Morning this weekend profiled author, lawyer and reformer (Common Good/”health courts”) Philip K. Howard. Related: Progressive Policy Institute to press health-court idea on Capitol Hill? [AP/Washington Post]

Tags: health courts, medical malpractice, Philip K. Howard

“Nowhere is the argument over ‘over-lawyering’ more intense than in the field of medical malpractice….” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

April 24 roundup

Walter Olson — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 19:59:04 +0000

The customer who couldn’t be stopped? “Family of car salesman killed in 90 mph test drive gets $13M” [Obscure Store]
Arizona bar disciplinary authorities move toward possible suspension for two high-volume consumer lawyers [ABA Journal]
Trial begins on claim U.S. Army Corps of Engineers liable for Katrina levee breaks [John Schwartz, New York Times]
Always good for copy: now Jack Thompson is riling Utah lawmakers [GameSpot]
America’s Most Irresponsible Public Figure® (that’d be RFK Jr.) is now blasting Obama [Brian Ross, ABCNews.com "Blotter" via ShopFloor]
“Burning of Surreal Boat Sparks $1M Artists Rights Suit” [Heller/OnPoint News]
Nice profile of author Philip K. Howard [The New Yorker] And a big spread from the Examiner’s Quin Hillyer including a Howard profile, some tidbits on Washington politics and why overly legalistic schools can’t teach.
Law firm of Dewey, Cheatham, & Howe moves into Somali pirate defense [satire, h/t @trafficcourt]

Tags: art and artists, discipline, Jack Thompson, Katrina, Philip K. Howard, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., schools

April 24 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

February 3 roundup

Walter Olson — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 18:11:14 +0000

Lawyer charged with particularly awful pattern of thefts from disabled/incapacitated persons [NYTimes, Steven Rondos]
“Buy American” provisions in stimulus bill could start trade war [Postrel]. Parting blow to America’s taste buds: outgoing Bush admininstration slapped high tariffs on Roquefort cheese, Irish oatmeal [Cowen, MargRev]
In widening scandal of U.K. miners’-claim lawyers, one law firm found to have funneled more than £6 million to Arthur Scargill’s union [Times Online]
1936 Clarence Darrow piece on how to pick a jury makes a sort of time capsule of wince-worthy stereotypes [Deliberations]
Want to start up moving company in Oregon or liquor store in California? You might find your competitors can legally block you [Coyote]
Maybe there’s hope for Dahlia Lithwick, she “shares concerns” about lame lawsuits and judgment-warping liability fears [Slate, on Philip Howard's Life Without Lawyers]
Dear major banks: Regret to inform must impose high penalties for your unauthorized overdraft of our funds [Naked Capitalism]
“Ethics laundering”: how lawyers can use Internet to evade NY rules against client solicitation [Turkewitz]

Tags: chasing clients, Dahlia Lithwick, Oregon, Philip K. Howard, United Kingdom

February 3 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system