Walter Olson is a commentator, author and critic best known for his work on the American litigation system. A longtime senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, the think tank in New York City, he has written three widely acclaimed books on the American litigation system: The Litigation Explosion, The Excuse Factory, and The Rule of Lawyers.  On the web, he founded and continues to run Overlawyered.com, widely cited as the oldest blog on law as well as one of the most popular, as well as the Manhattan Institute's PointOfLaw.com.

His writing appears regularly in such publications as the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, and he has been a columnist for Great Britain's Times Online as well as Reason. He has advised public officials and major candidates from the White House on down and has given testimony before Congressional and regulatory panels.  His approximately 400 broadcast appearances include all the major networks, CNN, Fox News, PBS, NPR, and "Oprah".  The Washington Post has dubbed him an "intellectual guru of tort reform".