This week at Lawline.com we are beginning a new blog series that will recognize some of the most notable legal blogs on the web.  As constant advocators of education, we recognize the importance legal blogs (or more appropriately named Blawgs) as they facilitate the exchange of information.

“Overlawyered,” although essentially critical of the legal system, is a blog I often visit to find unique legal news that other Law Blogs don’t typically pick up on.  The outlandish situations that he blogged about attracted my attention.  For example, a recent post talked about a Tennessee woman who is suing McDonalds for failing to provide a safe environment for their customers.  The woman was assaulted by a homeless man outside of the fast-food restaurant after she offered him a cheeseburger.  Another post was about a former convict describing his jail experience on Twitter. The posts are normally witty and partially entertaining as they are comparable to “weird, but true.”

Walter Olson, founder of Overlawyered, created the blog with intent of underlining the mishaps of the American legal system.   The blog began in 1999, and is considered to be one of the first legal blogs on the internet.  Olson is not a lawyer himself but is well versed in the field after authoring several books on the American legal system.  He says he initially founded the blog as a method to keep “notes for future use.”  Olson says when writing posts for Overlawyered, he often anticipated that internet users would later be able to refer back to them when doing research on related topics or issues.  He feels this, as well as blog interaction, was a major asset to his prominent longevity in the blogosphere.

Olson acknowledges the importance of social media and blogs for professionals today.  He was reasonably well-known as an author before he established his blog, but he now concentrates on turning his blog readers into his book readers.  This exemplifies that blogs have potential to be the primary resource point. Furthermore they can successfully serve as an avenue to promote what used to be the primary creation.

To check out Overlawyered go to http://www.overlawyered.com.