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Book Reviews
Civil
Warriors: The Legal Siege on the Tobacco Industry
By
Dan Zegart (New York, NY: Dalacorte Press, Dell Publ., 2000).
368 pgs. $20.76.
Reviewed by Michael McCann
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Appropriately subtitled, Dan Zegart's behind-the-scenes account of the
birth and maturation of tobacco litigation is at once entertaining and
significant. Its cast of characters - including flamboyant plaintiffs
attorneys, cunning defense lawyers, whistleblowers known only by code
names, attorneys general, and a host of sympathetic victims - rivals many
works of fiction. The fact that Zegart's book is a work of investigative
journalism makes its story that much more remarkable.
Civil Warriors revolves around Ron Motley, a veteran of years of asbestos
litigation that made him a multimillionaire and the revered leader of
a large plaintiffs law firm. In 1993 Motley assembled an army of his high-powered
friends to assail the tobacco industry, the nation's most culpable, but
as yet untouchable, collection of corporate wrongdoers. Writing in a nontechnical
style that makes his book suitable for lawyers and nonlawyers alike, Zegart
(who is not a lawyer) traces the progress of Motley's team from enlisting
state attorneys general as clients, through discovery, several trials,
and the dramatic global settlement negotiations that purported to end
the courtroom tobacco wars. Civil Warriors is an excellent weekend read
for anyone curious about the work and lifestyles of the lawyers who practice
high stakes class action litigation.
In addition to its sheer entertainment value, Zegart's book also raises
several troubling ethical questions. How, for example, are attorneys to
defend a client who continues to perpetrate a large-scale fraud upon society?
How is the scientific community to avoid being muzzled by an industry
that knowingly produces products that kill? And how are plaintiffs class
action attorneys to structure settlements to benefit themselves and the
class members they represent? Although Civil Warriors does not attempt
to answer these questions, it is valuable for merely having raised them.
It would be a fine addition to anyone's library.
Michael McCann,
Georgetown 1997, is a law clerk for the Hon. Terence T. Evans, U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
When
Government Was Good: Memories of a Life in Politics
By
Henry S. Reuss; foreword by John Kenneth Galbraith (Madison, WI:
The University of Wisconsin Press, 1999). 185 pgs. $22.95.
Reviewed by Timothy Kiefer
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Henry S. Reuss represented Milwaukee in the US House for 28 years, from
1955 to 1983. A self-described "cog in our democracy" who never found
national renown, Reuss chaired the House Banking Committee from 1975 through
1983.
The son of an M & I Bank executive, Reuss was born and grew up in Milwaukee.
After earning his law degree at Harvard in 1936, Reuss practiced law at
the Milwaukee firm of Quarles Spence & Quarles (now Quarles & Brady).
Reuss dedicates his autobiography "to the electors of Wisconsin, gratefully,"
but at the beginning of Reuss's political career the voters did nothing
to earn his gratitude. Before finally winning election to the House in
1954, Reuss lost races for Milwaukee mayor in 1948, state attorney general
in 1950, and US senator in 1952.
Reuss's primary committee assignment was the House Banking Committee,
a committee that Reuss acknowledges "became increasingly irrelevant" during
the 1960s and 1970s. Reuss was elected committee chair in 1975. He claims
that the committee was "reborn" under his leadership, but the committee
remained low-profile, dealing with unglamorous legislation such as the
Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980.
After his retirement from Congress in 1983, Reuss practiced law for
three years as a senior partner at a large Washington law firm. He also
became of counsel to the Milwaukee firm of Charne & Tehan. Reuss claims
that he avoided lobbying and instead concentrated on civil matters such
as wills and immigration. While there is no reason to doubt the strict
truth of his claim, the implication that Reuss went back to being an ordinary
lawyer is disingenuous. When he reentered the practice of law, Reuss was
70 and had not practiced law for three decades. It is hard to believe
that a large Washington law firm would have made him a partner if it were
not for his congressional connections.
Reuss retired from the practice of law in the mid-1980s. In 1995 Reuss
and his wife moved to northern California.
When Government Was Good has the virtue of brevity, compressing 86 years
of life into just 185 pages. The book should prove valuable as a record
of Cold War-era politics in Wisconsin and the US House. Nevertheless,
Reuss's decision to wait more than 15 years after his retirement from
Congress to publish his memoirs means that much of the book is primarily
of historical interest.
Timothy Kiefer,
Harvard
1998, is a visiting professor of law at Peking University Law School,
Beijing, China.
The
Spirit of American Law: An Anthology
Edited
by George S. Grossman (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2000). 556
pgs. $19.20.
Reviewed by Richard E. Garrow
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This anthology is a collection of 33 pieces - the work of approximately
33 writers, and divided into three time frames. The first two frames begin
in 469 BC (Socrates) and end Sept. 26, 1986 (Chief Justice William H.
Rehnquist, oath of office). The elapsed time is 2,455 years.
The Socrates "trial" ended in 399 BC. The charges were corrupting youth
and disrespect of the gods of the City. Some writers say the jury was
499 persons strong.
Fast forward 1,465 years to Oct. 14, 1066, and William I The Conqueror's
victory at the Battle of Hastings - a good starting point for Anglo-Saxon
law.
In 1627 Sir Edward Coke seems to be lead counsel for several gentlemen
jailed by the King. The suit is known as the case of The Five Knights.
The issue, habeas corpus.
The essay about Sir William Blackstone is of a time not so long ago.
Between 1765 and 1769, Blackstone published 2,000 pages of his work in
four volumes - the Blackstone Commentaries. Harvard, Yale, and Columbia
law schools used the volumes as law text books. The first American editions
were published in 1771-1772.
The anthology's second part begins with the Federal Convention. Thirty
men begin, behind closed doors, on May 25, 1787, to draft a constitution.
Shortly after Sept. 12, 1787, the US Constitution is completed. At the
close of the convention, the members totaled 55 men. With that many opinions,
four or five men came forward and probably took charge - George Washington,
Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson, among them. Slavery
has been in the world for thousands of years. Negro slaves reached Virginia
in 1619. Additional essays discuss slavery in two basic themes - economics
and the dignity of man.
Wisconsin lawyers should know the Dred Scott case (1857), secession
of states story, and the Plessy v. Ferguson case (1896). In Plessy
the court approved separation of the races as long as equal facilities
are provided for blacks and whites. Every lawyer understands the doctrine
of stare decisis. Years are passing by, lawsuits are tried, legislative
action takes place, and in 1968 Congress passes one more Civil Rights
Act.
Special attention is given to certain Supreme Court justices, including
John Marshall, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., Louis D. Brandeis, Felix Frankfurter,
Earl Warren, and William H. Rehnquist.
Attention grabbing for me, having lived through the time, is the Hoover-Roosevelt
era. Roosevelt's Supreme Court packing plan and the growth of the alphabet
government (NIRA, SEC, WPA) reminds us of the very recent past.
The civility issue, which we talk about now, also is included. The story
of the Chicago Eight trial is about assembly and parade permits and the
charge of intent to cause a riot. Judicial temperament, courtroom control,
and lawyer behavior are features of this case.
The book's last 74 pages (Part III) are for the futurists among Wisconsin
lawyers
The book is a collection of material to read, study, and enjoy an essay
at a time. The time will be well spent. The 33 essays average 15 pages,
and I have mentioned very few. I recommend that the book be in your library.
Richard E. Garrow,
U.W. 1951, is a sole practitioner in Manitowoc.
Resisting
12-Step Coercion
By
Stanton Peele and Charles Bufe, with Archie Brodsky (Tucson, AZ:
See Sharp Press, 2000). 204 pgs. $11.96.
Reviewed by Maura F.J. Whelan
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Resisting 12-Step Coercion: How to Fight Forced Participation in AA,
NA, or 12-Step Treatment responds to the growing trend of mandated
attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programs as an element
of criminal sentencing. Increasingly, employers also are requiring such
treatment for employees judged to have drug or alcohol problems. The authors
of this volume have spent much of their careers combatting this practice.
Peele has his own Web site devoted to the topic; Bufe founded the See
Sharp Press with the express purpose of publishing books on this theme.
The authors attack the "coercion" of alcoholics and addicts into 12-step
treatment on several fronts. They argue both that the religious nature
of the programs violates the constitutional separation of church and state
and that 12-step treatment programs are ineffective. Further, they question
the fundamental premise of most modern treatment programs: the disease
model of addiction and the addict's need for complete and permanent abstinence
from the addictive substance.
The chapter outlining the faith-based roots of Alcholics Anonymous and
analyzing the continuing religious nature of 12-step programs is the book's
most interesting and compelling. This aspect of the programs has been
the basis for successful court challenges, including a Wisconsin case,
Kerr v. Farrey, 95 F.3d 472 (7th Cir. 1996). The arguments against the
actual efficacy of 12-step programs are less successful, principally because
it is difficult for readers not versed in statistical analysis to be sure
that the authors' assessment of the several studies cited is accurate
and balanced.
The authors do not provide a convincing alternative to the status quo.
They firmly oppose "coercion" from any source - government, employer,
or family - but do not address the resistance of most substance abusers
to entering treatment on their own. The "controlled drinking therapies"
they propose as one alternative are extremely controversial. Indeed, the
leading program of this kind, "Moderation Management," recently has been
renounced by its own leader. Nevertheless, the present volume is a good
starting point for policymakers seeking a better solution to a problem
that consumes millions of dollars from accidents, crime, medical bills,
lost productivity, and the countless broken lives.
Maura F.J. Whelan,
Univ. of Pennsylvania 1986, practices law in Madison.
To
Review a Book...
The following books are available for review. Please request the
book and writing guidelines from Karlé Lester at the State Bar of
Wisconsin, P.O. Box 7158, Madison, WI 53707-7158, (608) 250-6127,
klester@wisbar.org. Reviewers
may keep the book they review. Reviews are published in the order
in which they are received. To purchase any book reviewed in this
column, please visit the State Bar's Web site, www.wisbar.org/bookstore/
for secure online ordering, or contact the publisher, or ask your
local bookstore to order it for you.
Publications and videos available for review
- Asset Protection Planning Guide: A State-of-the-Art Approach
to Integrated Estate Planning, by Barry S. Engel, David
L. Lockwood, Mark Merric (Riverwoods, IL: CCH Inc., 2001).
660 pgs.
- Commercial Arbitration at Its Best: Successful Strategies
for Business Users, by Thomas J. Stipanowich & Peter H.
Kaskell (Chicago, IL: ABA Business Law Section of Dispute
Resolution, 2001). 539 pgs.
- Compensation Plans for Law Firms, 3d Edition, edited
by Jim Cotterman (Chicago, IL: ABA Law Practice Management
Section, 2001). 140 pgs.
- Fair Disclosure & Insider Trading Reforms: Reg. FD, Rule
10b5-1 & 10b5-2, by James Hamilton & Ted Trautmann (Riverwoods,
IL: CCH Inc., 2000). 88 pgs.
- Full Disclosure: The New Lawyer's Must-Read Career Guide,
2d ed., by Christen Civiletto Carey (New York, NY:
American Lawyer Media, 2001). 299 pgs.
- Game, Set, Match: Winning the Negotiations Game, by
Henry S. Kramer (New York, NY: American Lawyer Media, 2001).
360 pgs.
- The Lochner Court, Myth and Reality: Substantive Due Process
from the 1890s to the 1930s, by Michael J. Phillips (Westport,
CT: Praeger Publishers, 2000). 224 pgs.
- The New Article 9 Uniform Commercial Code, 2d Ed., edited
by Corinne Cooper (Chicago, IL: ABA Business Law Section,
2000). 462 pgs.
- Managing Partner 101: A Leadership Guide for Building the
Successful Law Firm, 2d Edition, by Lawrence G. Green (Chicago,
IL: ABA Law Practice Management Section, 2001). 130 pgs.
- Modern Trial Advocacy, Law School Edition, by Steven
Lubet (South Bend, IN: National Institute for Trial Advocacy,
2000). 453 pgs.
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Search, by Kathy Morris (Chicago, IL: ABA Career Resource
Center, 2000). 71 pgs.
- OSHA's New Ergonomic Standard: A Cost-Effective Guide to
Complying with the November 2000 Final Rule, by Deborah
Kearney (Rockville, MD: Government Institutes Division, 2001).
300 pgs.
- Practices and Principles: Approaches to Ethical and Legal
Judgment, by Mark Tunick (Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press, 2001). 256 pgs.
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Guide to Plan Design and Compliance, by Barry R. Milberg
(Riverwoods, IL: CCH Inc., 2000). 248 pgs.
- Reflections of a Radical Moderate, by Elliot Richardson
(Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2000). 284 pgs.
- The Revenge of Brand X: How to Build a Big Time Brand on
the Web or Anywhere Else, by Rob Frankel (Encino, CA:
Rob Frankel, 2000). 272 pgs.
- The Supreme Court, by William H. Rehnquist (New
York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001). 302 pgs.
- Unbundling Legal Services: A Guide to Delivering Legal Services
a la Carte, by Forrest S. Mosten (Chicago, IL: ABA
Law Practice Management Section, 2000). 176 pgs.
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