Subjects:  1. Civil Procedure    2. Constitutional    3. Interpretation and constructio    4. Interpretation and construction    5. Judicial process    6. Law    7. Legal Profession    8. Legal Reference / Law Profession    9. United States    10. Civil law (general works)    11. Constitutional & administrative law    12. Courts & procedure   

Reviews (4)

Awesome Book!
This is the best book for those of you looking into the paralegal profession.It helped me land my first paralegal job.A must buy!

The Most Complete Paralegal Job Search"How-to" Available
Andrea Wagner tells you everything you need to know to get your first paralegal job. Everything. This honest and to-the-point book offers examples of everything you'll need for your job search and detailedinformation about how to use each piece of paper and each opportunity. Thepractical advice on where to look for jobs, who to talk to when you findthem and how to dress for the big day are critical. The list of probableinterview questions along with potential responses to difficult orinappropriate questions will give you confidence, and the advice on how tonegotiate better compensation will enable you to get what you're worth.Wagner also provides an impressive list of legal buzzwords that will helpyou sound like an old-timer once you are on the job. If you're seriousabout getting your first paralegal job, do yourself a favor. Buy this book.

Excellent resource for paralegals of all experience levels
In my job as Career Development Coordinator for a major ABA-approved paralegal school, I frequently recommend this book to current students and graduates alike.I recommend it to new paralegals as a step-by-step guideto finding a job, and to experienced paralegals as a great tool for makingsure that your job-search skills are as sharp as your legal skills. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Careers - General    3. General    4. Job hunting    5. Law    6. Legal Profession    7. Legal assistants    8. United States    9. Vocational guidance    10. Law / General   

Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Ethics & Moral Philosophy    3. General    4. Government - U.S. Government    5. Handbooks, manuals, etc    6. Law    7. Law (General)    8. Legal History    9. Legal Profession    10. Legal System    11. Legal assistants    12. Paralegals & Paralegalism    13. Philosophy Of Law    14. Politics / Current Events    15. United States    16. Business & Economics / General    17. Jurisprudence & General Issues    18. Jurisprudence & philosophy of law   

Reviews (1)

Brilliant overview of organizations at work
We spend our lives in organizations, but how often do we have a chance to think about them clearly? Kelly sets a standard for thinking about a profession that everyone finds fascinating.This book is to non-fiction what Grisham's are to fiction: Kelly brings the practice of law to life. The book combines thorough, long-term research with an engaging style. Kelly analyzes several different types of law practices: their histories and likely futures. Through him we meet the lawyers, but more importantly, we meet the practice of law. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Law    3. Legal Profession    4. Legal Reference / Law Profession    5. Sociology    6. Law / General    7. Legal skills & practice   

Reviews (2)

A Misfire Worth Reading
Charlotte Rampling, beautiful and tear-stained, has a minor breakdown midway through The Verdict--she's fallen for Paul Newman, the lawyer she's been assigned to seduce and spy on by her boss at the big, evil law firm.James Mason, the suave evil boss, consoles her with a drink and an apothegm:"You don't get paid to do your best," Mason says."You get paid to win."That scene (expertly written by David Mamet) explains the legal profession in America and provides a summary of Kronman's argument. Kronman, the current Dean of Yale Law, bemoans the extinction of lawyers of sound judgment, prudence, and a concern for a range of interests--the client's, the law's, society's, etc.Lawyers who were actively involved with their community and their country, who were looked to as figures of wisdom, not avarice.But Kronman is more diagnostic than prescriptive.He's right--that breed of lawyer has all but vanished.Still, he provides little in the way of practical suggestions for correcting the problem.And his focus is on the profession and the law schools.His focus should be on the free market.Elite American law schools are catering to the needs of the large firms, which are catering to the needs of their corporate clients.To graduate marketable lawyers, the schools have to create skilled technicians.The hiring partner at a Wall Street Firm wants to know that an applicant has the stamina necessary to put in the hours, and the intelligence and tools needed to grind out competent work.No one is interested in his or her views about what might be a more prudent approach to the client's problem; his or her judgment is not only not demanded, it's unwelcome.Kronman's focus is too narrow.The legal profession has become the law business.Because that's what's demanded by clients, who pay the tab.So I think he should have examined the underpinnings of the free market system, which I favor but which is responsible for the shift in legal education and law practice.Also, how does one teach prudence?How does a vocational school--or perhaps any school--instil sound judgment?Furthermore, prudence and judgment are qualities that, like beauty, are in the eye of the beholder.Finally, Kronman's assertion that much of the problem arose when the large Protestant law firms started hiring Jews, African-Americans, women, and associates from the working classes and from second and third-tier schools sounds not only wrong, but bizarrely priggish and elitist in all the wrong ways.Kronman, as far as I can tell, has never practiced law for any length of time, nor has he toiled as a judge.He's spent his career locked in the Ivory Tower of academia, and his book is the high-toned result.

RESCUING THE FADING IDEALS OF ADVOCACY
This is a very interesting book by Yale's Law School Dean, Anthony Kronman about law schools,legal teaching, the practice of law, Courtsand the governing principles of law firms nowadaysin the United States.Read more

Subjects:  1. Ethics    2. Ethics & Professional Responsibility    3. General    4. Law    5. Legal Profession    6. Politics / Current Events    7. Law / General    8. Legal skills & practice   

Reviews (4)

Broad introduction with a lack of depth
...so if that's what you want, then this book is for you.However, if you're using this for your first look at contract theory, you may well be disappointed (as I am).I don't credit Salanie for leaving out the technical details of the models, because he doesn't effectively convey the depth of the models in his largely intuitive treatment.I'm all for intuition and simplicity, but his book leaves me with more questions than answers after reading it.
well chosen topics, poorly written
The topics and papers discussed in this book are great, in that sense, it's a good book. However, the book is very poorly written. A good book (with some minor problems)
Salanie's book covers the standard areas of contract theory; adverse selection, moral hazard, signalling etc, along with chapters on thedynamics of complete contracts, incomplete contracts and a final chapter onthe empirical work on contracts. The material on dynamics and incompletecontracts is most welcome as many other books in this area do not cover it.Perhaps more space could have been given over to incomplete contracts giventhe increasing importance of them. Read more

Subjects:  1. Contracts    2. Economic aspects    3. Law    4. Legal Profession    5. Legal Reference / Law Profession    6. Contract law    7. Economic theory & philosophy   

Subjects:  1. Court of Appeals    2. Courts - General    3. Courts of last resort    4. History    5. Law    6. Legal Profession    7. Legal Reference / Law Profession    8. New York (State)    9. New York (State).    10. 20th century    11. Courts & procedure    12. Jurisprudence & General Issues    13. Law / Criminal Law    14. New York   

Reviews (129)

A MUST HAVE!!!
GREAT BOOK!Will help ensure your success in law school.Buy this 12 months out to start working on the suggested readings - You'll be glad you did!

not really necessary
My thoughts on this book can be summed up with a quote from "Law School Confidential" that starts their chapter on the summer before law school:
Excellent, insightful, and helpful
I love this book. It is very helpful and insightful. If I hadn't been lucky enough to stumble across this book I definitely wouldn't feel as prepared as I do now. I'm not sure how it will help the final outcome as I haven't started law school yet (3 more weeks) but I feel as if I have a great advantage over other incoming 1Ls already. Also, I really didn't find the author's "negativity" to be that bad at all. And, even if you find it to be, you'll be that much happier when you get to law school and things are better than you expected. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Graduate School Guides - Law    2. Handbooks, manuals, etc    3. Law    4. Law schools    5. Law students    6. Legal Education    7. Legal Profession    8. Reference    9. Study and teaching    10. United States    11. Advice on education    12. Legal skills & practice    13. USA   

Subjects:  1. Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice    2. Law    3. Law firms    4. Law partnership    5. Legal Profession    6. Legal Reference / Law Profession    7. Practice of law    8. United States   

Reviews (7)

DISCOVERING THE FLAWS INLEGAL PRACTICE
A very interesting diagnostic of the major flaws in the U.S. legal system, by Deborah L. Rhode, Professor of Law at Stanford Law School. Well written, this book unveils many of the fundamental reasons for the perception that the public at large has of the lawyers and their trade..... The chapters titled Lawyers and their discontent, The advocate's role in the adversary system, and the Regulation of the profession, are truly revealingvis a vis the current problems that plague legal practice. Professor's Rhodesuggestions as to possible solutions towards a betterment of the workings of the legal system are thought provoking. Interesting Mix of Fact and Opinion
Rhode's assessment of the U.S. legal system's problems is presented clearly and comprehensively, and, to some extent, persuasively.I found the writing at times dry, typical of what one might expect in an academic paper.However, if you're interested in the law, you are likely to gain some insight from Rhode into the legal system's woes as seen by those within and outside the profession. Although the book appears to be thorough, well researched, and documented, Rhode sometimes mixes her own biases and opinions with the facts, without making a clear distinction.For instance, with respect to hiring, mentoring, and promotion of lawyers in law firms, Rhodes states that disfavoring women and minorities stigmatizes and subordinates the entire group, while disfavoring white males does not.On this issue, her point is that preferential treatment is needed to remedy discrimination encountered by certain groups, which requires disfavoring members of other groups (presumably straight white males).In this example, her statements related to affirmative action are largely passed off as fact.Presumably, the reader is expected to accept these comments at face value, without substantiation or discussion of alternative views or approaches that address problems of employment discrimination.From her mixing of fact and opinion on this topic, readers may wonder what is really accurate in this book, and what is not.

anotherpointing out and failure of tangible remedy
I have a shelf of 20 books describing the shortcomings of legal practice today. I do not find anything new in Rhode Members of the legal profession are worried, and the public holds much of the profession in low regard. Yet, we must have the law and at its best it truly holds our society together, and establishes standards of free discussion of evidence.Read more

Subjects:  1. Ethics & Professional Responsibility    2. Law    3. Legal Profession    4. Legal Reference / Law Profession    5. Law / General    6. Law | Legal Profession    7. Laws of Other Jurisdictions & General Law    8. USA   

Subjects:  1. Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice    2. Business & Economics    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Business Law    5. Business/Economics    6. Commercial law    7. Contracts    8. General    9. Legal Profession    10. Paralegal Services    11. United States    12. Business & Economics / General    13. Financial, taxation, commercial, industrial law   

Reviews (1)

A great guide for paralegals or anyone considering the field.
This book is a great overview of the paralegal field.It briefly covers every aspect of being a paralegal.This would be a great book to read if you are considering becoming a paralegal but aren't sure if it's the right career for you.I have completed a degree in paralegal studies and found this book to be a great review of all the areas I have studied.I'm sure it will be a handy reminder for those areas of paralegal practice that I don't use on a regular basis. I recommend it to everyone from beginning paralegals to those with years of experience.The author has done a great job of writing in a manner that keeps everything simple enough for anyone to understand but detailed enough to be of use to anyone involved in the paralegal field. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Career And Vocational Guidance    3. Career/Job    4. Careers - General    5. Careers / Job Opportunities    6. Legal Profession    7. Legal assistants    8. Paralegal Services    9. United States   

Reviews (1)

Need Job Search Advice? Just Ask the Job Goddess
This book is a compilation of Ms. Walton's popular Job Goddess advice column which appears in publications nationwide. The book is mainly targeted to questions raised by law students and recent graduates.There is a lot of helpful advice for such stumpers as "How do I get ajob after failing the bar exam - threetimes?" Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Career/Job    3. Careers - General    4. Careers - Job Hunting    5. Careers / Job Opportunities    6. Law    7. Legal Profession    8. Practice of law    9. Reference    10. United States    11. Vocational guidance    12. Business & Economics / General   

Reviews (1)

Paralegal's Guide to Freelancing
I found it to be very helpful and it gave me an idea of how successful Ican become on starting my own freelancing business. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Careers - Other Specific Fields    2. Careers / Job Opportunities    3. Legal Profession    4. Legal assistants    5. New business enterprises    6. Paralegals & Paralegalism    7. Small Business    8. United States    9. Vocational guidance    10. Courts & procedure    11. USA   

Editorial Review

We have all heard the derogatory jokes comparing lawyers to slimy, venomous invertebrates. And we have laughed. On the scale of public contempt, the legal profession ranks somewhere between tabloid journalists and telemarketers. What should be a good and honorable vocation is collectively vilified as devious and mercenary. In Read more

Reviews (12)

influential exploration of nuances of adversary theorem
Intended for popular consumption, Zitrin & Langford provide a riveting, accessible exploration of the ethical ambiguities posed by the adversary theorem in legal practice.
What Moral Compass?
The only moral compass I've seen yet is whether or not they can get away with justifying their acts with regard to clients. Much of that depends upon the nature of their confidence and where they sit in the "pecking" order of human beings, a.k.a., to whom they were married (denoting family power), where they went to school (usually denoting family power), and what firm they are with (often denoting family power), or who they know (as a result of family power). Therefore, the ethics displayed say a lot more about who's who in family power than about the topic of morality - since it is family power not God who governs the universe. For example, if you come from the right family, you can be a judge, and many have, or even a President, provided you are not a woman. This has been the history for most professions since the nation was founded.

More questions than answers
I am afraid that I don't share other reviewers' enthusiasm for this book. Others have noted that it is rather short on solutions to the problems that it outlines. However, it seems to me that this book doesn't know which audience it is aimed at.Read more

Subjects:  1. Ethics & Professional Responsibility    2. Legal Profession    3. Legal Reference / Law Profession    4. Social Science    5. Sociology    6. Sociology - General    7. Social Science / Sociology / General   

Editorial Review

The title of criminal defense lawyer Roy Black's first book alludes to the renowned legal dictionary, and the reference is appropriate: Black is beyond a reasonable doubt the definitive defense attorney. Considered among the best advocates for the accused in the United States, he has had clients that included William Kennedy Smith and Marv Albert. But in Read more

Reviews (12)

Black's Law Is An Eye Opener
Do you sometimes wonder why anyone could possibly want to defend the scum, the losers, the obviusly-guilty-because-the newspapers-said-so?Well, if you think that way you will find a very good answer in this book. Roy Black describes four different cases which seemed impossible to defend, yet he did and did it well. He lets you in on what it's like to be on the defense side of the aisle. His writing style is smooth and flowing and each of the cases was so interesting I found it hard to put the book down. For me this was one of those books you can't help but read fast because it's fascinating, yet want to read slow so it lasts longer. For any True Crime genre fan, this is a MUST read.

Excellent Step by Step Understanding of Casework
I really enjoyed "Black's Law." He tells four different seemingly story-like narratives about four different cases. He discusses in detail every aspect of trying a case from research to voire dire. If you are interested in either legal strategy or just in a good story, you should read this book.

Legal Education for all
A great book. Written by a expert in communication. Each case brought you into the defense, you believe in the actions brought forward to give not only a legal defense by our constitution but to see a inocent person never is incarcerated,if that ever comes to pass. I would hope Mr. Black will write more, he is able to take a very complicated subject and break it down to a laymans understanding. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Criminal Law    3. Criminal Law - General    4. Criminal Procedure    5. Criminal justice, Administration of    6. Defense (Criminal procedure)    7. General    8. Law    9. Lawyers    10. Legal Profession    11. Legal Reference / Law Profession    12. Legal System    13. Practice Of Law    14. United States    15. Biography: general    16. Black, Roy    17. Courts & procedure    18. Law / General   

Reviews (5)

Scattered Text From The Great One.
Judge Posner offers his thoughts on many topics correlating to the profession.
Posner is overrated.
he's really not that bright. Go read Lon Fuller instead.

Great essays. His other books are better.
Another reviewer noted that this is the best intro to Posner. It probably is. The essays here touch on legal reasoning, economics, philosophy of law, sexuality and many other topics, giving the reader a 'survey' view of Posner. Most books of essays, though, have a cohesiveness that I did not detect here, which is fine, so long as the intention is ONLY to get a sampling. Read more

Subjects:  1. Legal Profession    2. Legal Reference / Law Profession    3. Reference    4. Jurisprudence & philosophy of law    5. Law / Legal Profession   

Reviews (1)

Great gift for anyone considering the law as a career
This book is full of motivational, inspiring stories about people who have used their law degree both in traditional settings and to move beyond traditional settings.Easy reading.Each chapter is an individual story.I'd love to meet some of the folks included in this book! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Career/Job    2. Careers - General    3. Law    4. Legal Profession    5. Legal Reference / Law Profession    6. Practice Of Law    7. Law / General   

Reviews (2)

Realistic view of law practice
I only wish I'd read this before going to law school. Moll went around and conducted interviews of attorneys, former attorneys who've changed careers, law students, and people who are married to or are involved with attorneys. There are a great many interesting perspectives given by the attorneys as to their motivations and general feelings about the law, as well as a little bit about how they got to where they are. It's like a book full of informational interviews. I urge prospective law students to read this, and the rest of society might also enjoy learning what makes lawyers tick.

Good book about law
This book captures both the joys and pitfalls of wanting a career in law. I recently received an email message from someone discussing what they would do if they had their life to live over again. As someone whosuccumbed to the lure of the law, I certainly agree with those attorneys inthis book who would NEVER even consider going to law school if they couldgo back in time! For me, like some people in Moll's book, law school wasmore than a means to a living - it was a way to finally fit in. Tired ofbeing outsiders, some of us felt that law school would offer a way to bewith people like ourselves: smart; witty; analytical; quick at times withthe sharp tongue. Moll captures how this dream was more than deferred forsome attorneys in his book. Instead of encountering people like themselves- legal people who worked hard when they had to but were essentially goodat heart - they met mean, sometimes over-controlling attorneys, who were sojaded by their pasts that they imposed their anger on everyone around them(and even those far away) who didn't fit their mold of being a 'good littlelawyer.' Some attorneys in Moll's book love their jobs. Those, in my view,are either the exceptions or those who had the family backgrounds,connections and money to make the law work for them, even before theyentered law school. The others, like myself, have been disillusioned byattempting to work for and learning first hand about some of the mostpowerful attorneys who they at one time admired and sought out as mentors.It was especially revealing to consider the views of the minority attorneyswho Moll presented in his book. Many undertook law careers as a way to makethe world less of an uneven place for men and women of ethnicity. Whatmakes me really sad about some of the self-proclaimed great attorneys (somein this book; some that I've encountered personally) is the fact that theyprofess a love for the law and its notions about equality. However, it isthe same powerful attorneys who, at times, don't hesitate to use theircontrol to deny opportunities to and even eliminate the careeropportunities for those less powerful in the profession. It would behelpful for those lawyers to read - actually read - this book. Maybe Moll'sbook would lead some of them to the fact that becoming a mentor and ally toother legal professionals instead of attacking and seizing on otherattorneys' shortcomings would go far in making their lives less empty andin making the law more of what it purports to be -- a place of equality. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anecdotes    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. General    4. Law    5. Legal Profession    6. Legal System    7. Practice of law    8. Reference    9. United States    10. Education / Vocational Guidance   

Reviews (3)

Super Book!
Must read for trial lawyers.

Excellent for "Wanna-Be" Trial Lawyers
A must read for every law student who is interested in trial law, or is unsure of his or her abilities to be a succesful trial lawyer. This book educates and inspires.

Excellent Reading for future trial lawyers
F. Lee Bailey tells you what you need to know and what kind of qualities are essential to be a trial lawyer. It is detailed, yet efficient and written with brevity. I wish more successful trial lawyers had books out there like this!!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Careers / Job Opportunities    2. Civil Procedure    3. Law    4. Legal Profession    5. Practice Of Law    6. Reference    7. Trial practice    8. United States    9. Vocational guidance    10. Courts & procedure    11. USA