A Brief Note to Ted Frank at overlawyered

Ted: There’s no need to refer to me on your weblog as “Mr. Schaeffer.” It sounds entirely too formal. Please just call me “Evan,” or if you prefer, “Schaeffer” in the familiar journalistic shorthand.

Of course, I noticed how you took the opportunity to try out my analysis of the Janet Jackson case on some other class actions. Don’t worry, I’m not mad. I understand how these sorts of petty theft can happen in the blogosphere. Considering that I pinged your site, you could even say I didn't have a very tight grasp on my wallet.

In any case, I believe your post demonstrates that my analysis doesn’t travel very well. There are vast differences between the Janet Jackson case and many other class actions. Like the appellate judges say, my post should be limited to the facts of the case I was discussing. In the meantime, links to some other things I’ve written about class actions can be found here.

Comments

[Ted Frank]

Petty theft?

Pro bono proofread:
"In the meantime, links to some other things I’ve written about class actions can be found here."
-->
"Meanwhile, here are links to some of my other writings on class actions." or, preferably,
"See, for example, my other posts on class actions."

Do the appellate judges say holdings should be limited to the facts of the case at hand? I thought that was a common criticism of Bush v. Gore that such an unusual statement was made.

[Evan]

This might explain why overlawyered is the best-edited weblog I know. (Though praise ends there.) As a testament to Ted's superior skills as a copyeditor, I am going to leave my "in the meantime" in the post for all to see. (If forced to make a change, I'd go with alternative #1.)

[Ted]

A friend found this year-old post googling for me (which tends to happen when one's name is in the title) and thought I was unduly obnoxious in my comment. If so, it wouldn't be the first or last time, and I apologize, but I think in this case the friend misunderstood that "pro bono proofread" was a reference to Evan's (now-expired) offer to pay his blog-readers for finding ways to improve the writing in his posts.