The saying, "kill all the lawyers," isn't all that absurd a notion in this day of litigation overload, if you ask judicial reformer-turned-Web publisher Walter Olson.

And what started out as an out-of-control file of favorite bookmarks has become overlawyered.com, the hub of all things legally absurd on the Net. The Web site has kept the Yale-educated and think tank fellow busy when he's not writing columns for Reason Magazine or books on the subject of judicial reform.

Need to read up on the latest on sexual harassment cases or zero-tolerance policies? Olson has it. His legal-system-run-amok clearinghouse runs the gamut of topics, from "fear of flirting" to "family law blues" to "frenzied skies."

It's the kind of site that could warm the heart of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in the mid-1990s when the GOP embraced legal reform as one of its hot button issues. Don't expect the trial lawyers association to be linking up anytime soon, however.

Uncovering the Absurd

In its own words, overlawyered.com provides information about a legal system "that too often turns litigation into a weapon against guilty and innocent alike, erodes individual responsibility, rewards sharp practice, enriches its participants at the public's expense."

"It helps stories reach a national audience that had only been known to a local audience," he notes.

It's no holds barred coverage of legal overkill has garnered praise from a wide array of sources, ranging from the New Republic to the National Review.

The Australian Web site, Crikey.com.au, proclaimed Olson's site, "The best lawyer bashing site in the world." It's come as no surprise to Olson who has observed a large contingent of readers from Australia and Canada, two countries considering moves toward an American-style legal system.

"They [the Australian and Canadian readers] look with horror as they can see around the bend what they'll see 10 years from now," he said

Despite his anti-lawyer slant, Olson assures that he hasn't been the target of any e-mail bombs from the American Bar Association and usually gets fairly apologetic feedback from attorneys intent on proving that they aren't all bad.

"Lots and lots of lawyers read this site. I'm sure there are some who have steam coming out of their ears but most of the lawyer e-mails are not disagreeable," he notes. "They get burned out by seeing the same sorts of things. It bothers them, too."

Double-edged Sword

Olson says he strives to achieve a delicate balance of latest news and indepth information to please both the addicts and one-time readers. The site's front page features a daily news digest that he describes as "frequent food pellets" to get his repeat customers to "keep on pressing the lever." Researchers seeking to get a fuller picture on the issue can resort to the site's search engine for specialized searches.

The "fascination" of working in a fledgling new medium with few clear-cut rules and a potential for interactivity far exceeding that of traditional news outlets prompted Olson to teach himself the basics of Web page design and development and still uses a basic HTML editor he downloaded off the Web for free.

"The Internet is so immediate. It so invites people to take that extra step of e-mailing usually and sometimes calling," he said. "There's really this sense of knowing you get from your readers ... If you missed some big angle, you find it out immediately."

Since its launch in 1999, the plainly designed Web site has averaged between 3,500 and 6,000 page views a day. The technical challenges of Web publishing have proven challenging for the author but are "all part of the fun."

Olson describes his site's design as "extremely plain vanilla" with a front page "big enough to mildly bother people with small connections" but without annoying advertisements that can bog browsers down. It was difficult for Olson in the beginning as it took inordinate amounts of time and energy to locate qualified stories to feature. But, after the first six months, the site took on a life of its own, thanks in part to readers flooding his e-mail box with story tips.

The site has a "double-edged sword" effect on the author's own bottom line. Information that used to appear exclusively in his books and columns appears on overlawyered.com. But the heightened exposure the site has brought him has opened up new opportunities he wouldn't normally have been offered.

Past Caught on the Web Columns