Overlawyered
{{Short description|Tort reform law blog}}
Overlawyered was a law blog on the subject of tort reform run by author Walter Olson. Founded in 1999, it is "widely considered to be the oldest legal blog and is also one of the most popular", according to Law.com.{{cite news|url=http://www.law.com/jsp/legaltechnology/pubArticleLT.jsp?id=1202426527551|publisher=Law.com|title=How to Build a Better Law Blog|author=C.C. Holland|date=2008-12-08}}
Content
The subject of the site is alleged absurdities,{{cite news|url=http://www.courttv.com/news/cow/072501_overlawyered_ctv.html|publisher=Court TV|title=Chasing the Ambulance Chasers|author=Adrien Seybert|date=2001-07-25|access-date=2009-03-22|archive-date=2008-08-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080830021417/http://www.courttv.com/news/cow/072501_overlawyered_ctv.html|url-status=dead}} excesses,{{cite news|work=Forbes|title=Seventh-Amendment Follies|author=William Baldwin|url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2005/0411/020.html|date=2005-04-11}} and abuse{{cite news|url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2000/May-01-Mon-2000/opinion/13452638.html|publisher=Las Vegas Review Journal|date=2000-05-01|title=Editorial:Our overlawyered society}} of the American tort law system.{{cn|date=October 2023}} Its regular readership includes thousands of lawyers in the United States, as well as physicians, and readers in other countries considering American-style tort systems.
On April 26, 2013, Olson announced the blog had affiliated itself with the Cato Institute, where he is a senior fellow.{{cite web|url=http://overlawyered.com/2013/04/overlawyered-now-cato-institute-blog|title=Overlawyered: now a Cato Institute blog|first=Walter|last=Olson|date=2013-04-16|access-date=2013-04-28}}
Dispute
In 2010, aviation tort lawyer Arthur Alan Wolk sued Overlawyered, Olson, and contributors Ted Frank and David Nieporent for libel over a post written by Frank.Jacob Sullum, Reason, [http://reason.com/blog/2010/08/06/lawyer-trying-to-protect-his-r "Lawyer Trying to Protect His Reputation As an Effective Advocate Misses Deadline for His Libel Suit"], August 6, 2010{{cite web |url=http://www.whiteandwilliams.com/CM/Publications/COURTDISMISSESDEFAMATIONCLAIMAGAINSTLEGALBLOG.asp |title=COURT DISMISSES DEFAMATION CLAIM AGAINST LEGAL BLOG - Law Firm White and Williams LLP Attorneys Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |website=www.whiteandwilliams.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718040753/http://www.whiteandwilliams.com/CM/Publications/COURTDISMISSESDEFAMATIONCLAIMAGAINSTLEGALBLOG.asp |archive-date=2011-07-18}} Judge Mary A. McLaughlin ruled that Overlawyered is a "mass medium" and dismissed the case because Wolk did not file within the one-year statute of limitations.Shannon P. Duffy, The Legal Intelligencer, [http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202464319845 Discovery Rule for Libel Doesn't Apply to Blogs, Says Federal Judge], August 6, 2010Jeff Blumenthal, Philadelphia Business Journal, [http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/blogs/law/2010/08/overlawyered_blog_case_testing_statute_of_limitations_for_defamation.html Overlawyered blog case testing statute of limitations for defamation], August 6, 2010 Wolk appealed his loss. In 2011, Wolk and Overlawyered reached a settlement.{{cite news|last1=Sullum|first1=Jacob|title=HIT & RUN BLOG Update on Arthur Alan Wolk's Lawsuit Against Reason|url=https://reason.com/blog/2011/09/19/update-on-arthur-alan-wolks-la|access-date=22 December 2015|publisher=Reason Magazine|date=September 19, 2011}}
Termination
References
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External links
- {{official website|http://www.overlawyered.com/}}
Category:American legal websites
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