Book Reviews
Wisconsin Probate System: Forms and
Procedures Handbook
By William F. Mundt and Michael R. Smith (Madison, WI: State Bar
CLE Books, 1996). 750+ pgs. $135. To order, call (800)
728-7788.
Reviewed by Stephanie G. Rapkin
Sometimes I wonder what practitioners would do without State Bar CLE
Books. There are many helpful books out there for lawyers written by
lawyers that truly assist in understanding the subject matter. But it is
only the State Bar CLE books that meet the nut and bolt needs of the
busy practitioner. CLE books teach efficiency in the actual practice of
law, and Wisconsin Probate
System is no exception.
This book shows how to simplify the management of informal, formal
and summary procedures in probate. It also provides letters of
representation and outlines for interviewing the client and tracking
estate assets. The authors have not ignored the law; they provide a
summary of the statutes one uses in a wills and estates practice, along
with the appropriate citation to the Wisconsin Statutes.
The authors provide the requisite forms and letters for probate for
the Wisconsin courts. And, for legal assistants who prepare the
documents, the authors have provided guidance on certain items,
including what information must be confirmed with the lawyer who is
supervising the probate proceeding. About the only thing the book can't
do is make the estate accounts balance.
The accompanying document assembly program (sold separately for $395)
is still a DOS-based program. It requires at minimum MS-DOS 3.1, 8 MB of
hard disk drive space and 4 MB of memory. It uses WordPerfect 5.1 for
processing. CLE Books is working on a Windows-based operating system for
Windows users.
The benefit to using the document assembly program is that it very
quickly and efficiently produces the documents needed for most estates.
It does this without retyping everything and by storing all the
information on client data that is needed. This in turn frees up
secretarial time, which always means more productivity and availability
for other matters.
Can attorneys handle an estate without this book? Yes, but why
struggle when CLE Books makes it so easy? The book and document assembly
program together are the easiest and fastest way to streamline and
automate a wills and estates practice.
Newsgathering and the Law
By C. Thomas Dienes, Lee Levine and Robert C. Lind
(Charlottesville, VA: Michie, 1997). 983 pgs. $105.
Reviewed by Brian W. Blanchard
The bookshelves of many reporters, editors and news directors are
crowded with media law guides; hornbooks and journal articles for
lawyers on legal issues affecting journalists are no less plentiful. Yet
this carefully compiled volume is a welcome new resource for the legally
inclined reporter or the attorney whose practice includes media law. It
is well edited and appears to be authoritative.
Newsgathering and the Law focuses on law defining the right
of news organizations to collect information and the rights of others to
keep news organizations from doing so. Many traditional media law topics
are mentioned only where they directly affect this newsgathering right.
For example, "criminal trespass" has four entries in the index,
"defamation" only two. This focus allows the authors to give detailed
treatment to such important areas as public access to federal and state
government records.
Though organized and written as a conventional legal hornbook by
legal academics, the prose is refreshingly clear. Also helpful, the
authors have reasonably limited footnotes to citations and small
clarifying points.
This book also successfully presents the state of the law as it is,
without advancing personal policy preferences that would distract from
its reliability as a guide. Even the 15-page introduction describing the
newsgathering right strives for a neutral tone. Putting aside the more
mundane details of open records laws, media law is by nature highly
emotional for most journalists and many lawyers. Who lacks strong
feelings about such issues as televised courtroom proceedings? Or a
First Amendment-based right for public access to the government's search
warrant materials in a criminal investigation still underway? The
authors have largely succeeded in resisting the temptation to transform
descriptions of the law into calls for reforming the law, calls better
suited for other media such as law journal articles or op-ed essays.
One brief lapse arises in discussing reporters' uses of
misrepresentations. The authors say it is "not surprising" that
"journalists of all stripes have, with some frequency, been less than
candid with the persons from whom they seek to gather the news." Which
stripes of the Fourth Estate, exactly, would those be? It is not the
policy of editors who run modern newsrooms to allow any form of
misrepresentation except under the most unusual circumstances, and only
then with much thought about what justifies spending the precious coin
of credibility. If by "less than candid," the authors mean only that
reporters do not tend to tell sources all they know or all they are
interested in writing about, that certainly would not be surprising. But
that is not a misrepresentation. In making that statement, the authors
seem to be excusing some misrepresentation as simply part of the "game"
of newsgathering as it is played.
Another shortcoming appears in discussing unauthorized access to
computer systems, surely a topic of increasing importance. The
discussion is cursory, apparently because legislators and courts have
not yet evaluated liability in this area. It is surprising, however,
that the authors do not give readers the benefit of their learning on
closely related topics in this section. What will happen when those with
both press credentials and computer knowledge end up in court for
"snooping" in a private email system or other database?
These are small criticisms. The book, well organized and thoughtfully
executed, has much to recommend it. It likely will become a mainstay in
a fascinating legal field.
The Altman Weil Pensa Archive on Economics
and Financial Management For Law Firms and Corporate Law
Departments
Susan D. Sjostrom, Editor (Newtown Square, PA: Altman, Weil,
Pensa Publications, 1996). $55. To order, call (610) 359-9900.
Reviewed by Robert J. Kasieta
This book is a treasure. It is a compendium of the best articles
published by Altman Weil Pensa Inc., a consulting firm specializing in
law firm management. Each chapter is a reprint of an article that was
included in Altman Weil's monthly newsletter, Report to Legal
Management. The book is organized by topics of interest and
importance to anyone having law firm management responsibility. Each
section contains articles that are as practical as they are wise. Topics
include profitability, compensation, billing, finance and accounting,
cost control, and miscellaneous issues such as promoting attorneys to
partner, owning or leasing space, and personal money management for
lawyers.
Each chapter is written by a different author. The articles ring with
authenticity because the authors clearly have practical experience. A
good example is chapter nine, "Formula-Driven Compensation Systems: Do
They Work?" The author, Peter A. Giuliani, does a masterful job of
cataloguing the benefits and detriments of objective compensation
systems for attorneys. He transcends theoretical concerns by noting that
one of the risks of formula systems is that they engender internal
competition. Giuliani appropriately and succinctly notes that when there
is internal competition at a law firm and clients catch on, they
generally move on.
Having a different author for each chapter sometimes is a weakness;
chapters often lack coordination and there are large holes in topic
areas. For example, the section on cost controls presents the reader
with random thoughts about physical plant and operational issues without
providing any structured approach to dealing with budgeting or cost
reduction. The chapters also quite often are repetitive because they
originally were written to be independent newsletters. For example, the
section on billing bombards the reader with the identical repeated
warnings of shortcomings of hourly billing. We need not be told ad
nauseum that hourly billing penalizes the technologically advanced,
efficient attorney. Still, this criticism is an inconsequential concern
when measured against the book's value.
In the area of law firm management, one frequently hopes that a book
might contain the "magic bullet" that will cure all of one's
organizational ills. After reading many such books written by management
gurus and pop psychologists, one realizes that no such magic bullet
exists. Rather, successful management is a composite of many helpful
books and articles, effective mentoring, leadership skills, lots of hard
work and a good measure of luck. Too many management books compel the
reader to commit to reengineering to cure financial and cultural
corporate woes. The Archive is wonderful in its lack of
doctrine. The reader can accept some of the book's suggestions without
having to conduct a firm retreat or undergo a mass spiritual conversion.
Most of the chapters, standing alone, provide insightful and practical
ways to improve any law firm.
Every Employee's Guide to the Law
By Lewin G. Joel III (New York, NY: Pantheon Books, 1997). $14.
431 pgs. To order, call (212) 572-2565.
Reviewed by Margaret S. Dewind
Most employees probably think that the balance of power in the
workplace is weighted in the employer's favor. This perception may
result from workers' ignorance of the variety of laws designed to
protect them. In Every Employee's Guide to the Law, Lewin G.
Joel III evens the scale by helping employees understand these laws and
by suggesting how employees can respond to violations of their
rights.
Joel has an ambitious agenda. He promises to sketch a roadmap of the
employment relationship, describe employment laws and regulations, offer
insights into employer strategies, outline employee options and their
risks, and explain how to file a claim. Joel meets these goals.
The book, as promised, is laid out like a roadmap of the employment
relationship. The chapters cover hiring, wage and hour laws, benefits,
discrimination, privacy rights, employment records, health and safety,
discipline and discharge, worker's and unemployment compensation, and
(briefly) unions. The law dealing with each area is described, and
tables summarize state details and variations. The book presents much
useful information, including common discrimination scenarios, OSHA's
general working conditions requirements, examples of situations in which
worker's compensation is and is not available, and addresses and phone
numbers of relevant state agencies. Joel generally is thorough, but the
coverage sometimes is uneven. For example, the discussion of the history
and mechanisms of the worker's compensation system could have been
shortened, while more text should have been devoted to issues raised by
the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The main strength of Every Employee's Guide is that the
author presents numerous practical strategies. Joel lays out the
advantages and disadvantages of different courses of action. For
example, while he suggests not answering objectionable interview
questions, he explains the risks of not answering. He also offers tips
for how to respond to workplace harassment. Though Joel sometimes adopts
an adversarial tone, he is sensitive to the difficulties and costs of
bringing legal action against an employer. He points out that quitting a
job is sometimes the best way to resolve an untenable work
situation.
One of Joel's recommendations seems impractical. Joel suggests that
employees save every scrap of paper relating to a job and its
performance, starting with the job notice and including interview forms,
evaluations and termination slips and that they make notes of events and
conversations relating to their jobs. Documentation may well be the key
to a successful employment claim, but this level of record keeping will
seem onerous to most readers.
The weakness of Every Employee's Guide is its organization.
Navigation within chapters is tricky. Section headings are neither
numbered nor lettered, and determining whether the author has moved to a
new topic sometimes is difficult. The tables are hard to find;
cross-references to them do not include page numbers. More use of
indentation and enumeration would have helped this book, which is
otherwise fairly easy to read and very interesting.
Despite its minor flaws, this book will be useful to all workers, not
just those with workplace problems or those contemplating legal action.
Every Employee's Guide to the Law should have a place on every
employee's bookshelf.
Virtual Justice: The Flawed Prosecution of
Crime in America
By H. Richard Uviller (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press,
1996). 320 pgs. $30. Hardcover. To order, call (800) 987-7323.
Reviewed by Labish Bergovoy
Reading this book was a virtual challenge. I selected this book to
review solely by its captivating title: Virtual Justice: The Flawed
Prosecution of Crime in America. Perhaps, I thought, it would paint
an accurate picture of, and project scholarly and reasoned solutions
for, our criminal justice system. Perhaps the author would dramatize a
lifelike character, with which many trial attorneys could identify and
commiserate the concerns we share. After all, it is almost common
knowledge that the prosecution system has flaws.
I began reading every page, hopeful not to miss a single line this
law professor wrote. The author introduced his reasoning behind the book
and the title. I paused, and then reread the introduction to make sure I
did not miss something.
The second time around, I began appreciating the value of my Bar
membership. One of the many perks is that I could review this book and I
did not have to pay for it. The effort, however, was not without cost -
I was obligated to read every page to draft the review.
Readers who already accept the author's theories and beliefs need not
buy a book that echoes their ideologies. Others who hold differing views
should wait to borrow it from a library if they want to read something
that will challenge the asserted benefits of Tagamet®.
The book certainly is well-written and readable. Prof. Uviller presents
predictable scenarios which he revisits to propel his position that "the
law of evidence - and the Constitution itself" - works against a jury
verdict in accord with historical fact; that is, a guilty verdict.
Uviller's assertion that the U.S. Constitution interferes with the
very same institution it created is a radically dangerous proposition.
Uviller even recommends replacing our justice system with a European
model. He even questions whether a police officer's bullet shot into the
back of a fleeing teenager constitutes a stop and seizure violating the
Fourth Amendment (of course it's not a seizure - most people survive
seizures and are able to respond to Miranda warnings). Does
this, perhaps, depict the "virtual justice" reflected in the book's
title?
Uviller wants the reader to believe the problem and solution are
related. His construct suggests that justice could be attained if only
we could excise a few basic obstacles. The reason we cannot more swiftly
fill our prisons is due, in part, to our constitutional protections.
Why would a law professor suggest the solution to our criminal
justice system resides in the demise of the Bill of Rights? The
Constitution does not promote injustice. Our democracy and freedom are
the fruit of the Constitution and its amendments.
The author is not simply suggesting pruning the tree. His fictional
depictions throughout the book are designed to make the reader agree
that constitutional safeguards virtually keep our under-armed,
struggling police and powerless judges from doing their jobs. He asserts
our Constitution burdens our overworked judges with technical motions
that might require the suppression of illegally obtained evidence. The
author wants readers to believe the reason we have so much crime and
recidivism is because crafty defense lawyers are generating and winning
so many (suppression) motions, surreptitiously invoking jury
nullification by the use of experts and injecting the Constitution into
our courtrooms.
Such notions remind me of the judge who informed my client that he
would not suppress any evidence in his juvenile case because he did not
believe our founding fathers intended the protections of the Fourth
Amendment to extend to teenagers engaged in criminal activity. He is
virtually correct. The forefathers originally designed our
constitutional safeguards to protect only white male landowners over the
age of majority. Uviller's remedies ignore our 200 years of
Euro-American history. He believes we can become a better, safer America
if we duplicate a criminal justice system similar to those enjoyed in
Europe.
This book is startling. It is depressing and painful to know that an
academician could hold views as seditious as these.
Wisconsin
Lawyer
