Book Reviews
How to Use the Internet for Legal Research
By Josh Blackman. New York, NY: FIND/SVP, 1996. $39.95. 221 pgs.
To order, call (800) 346-3787.
Reviewed by Jenina Mella
Still haven't found your entry ramp to the information superhighway?
Never fear; author Josh Blackman is here with the ideal vehicle for you
to become part of the Internet revolution.
There is no dearth of books seeking to explain the newly exploding
Internet to the novice user. In How to Use the Internet for Legal
Research, lawyers and other legal professionals have a guide
designed specifically for them. It not only covers Internet basics, but
persuasively makes the case for the Internet's importance as a powerful
research tool for lawyers.
At about 90 pages (not including an extensive directory of Internet
legal resources) any prospective Internet user would be hard-pressed to
find another guide that so concisely and clearly summarizes the broad
outlines of the Internet and the World Wide Web. The book is divided
into three parts: Part one covers Internet basics, including how-to tips
regarding hardware and software considerations in connecting to the
Internet; part two explains the Internet's practical uses, including
communications and legal research; and part three, which is a legal
research Internet directory of substantive law sites, mailing lists and
publications organized by jurisdiction.
While the tenor of this book is basic, its tone is respectful.
Blackman takes great care to define several of the important terms and
acronyms that are generally tossed about in mainstream Internet
discussions without clarification. Footnotes containing definitions or
clarification of terms appear in shaded gray boxes in the book's wide
margins for quick reference. The author also details the distinction
between the Lexis and Westlaw databases, which are known entities in the
area of computer legal research, and the Internet. Of local interest,
Blackman uses the example of a Milwaukee firm's use of an Internet web
site as a marketing and educational tool, including an informative
narrative about the firm's considerations in designing its web page, to
illustrate the Internet's applicability to law firms.
This book's emphasis is on elucidating the joys of Internet legal
research. But what makes it most comforting is that it points up the
pitfalls that accompany Internet legal research and acknowledges that
the manual research methods (read books), which have held the legal
profession in good stead for generations, still are the quickest and
most cost-effective ways to access primary law (cases and statutes) in
most situations. An entire section discusses the type of analysis a
legal researcher should go through in determining where to search for
the fastest and lowest cost source of the desired information, as well
as the advantages and disadvantages of each research method for solving
particular research problems. In this way, the book helps to put the
current usefulness of the Internet as a legal research tool in its
proper perspective.
While Blackman does his best to provide a comprehensive directory of
Internet legal research resources, the list provided here suffers from
the Achilles heel of all materials trying to provide some written
parameters to the subject - obsolescence. Luckily, most sites will
automatically forward you to the new web address where one has been
changed, so you are almost certain to find the sites that are listed in
the directory.
The book lacks a bibliography citing to other resources for using the
Internet as a legal research tool. A bibliography is needed, because
once you do merge onto the information superhighway you're likely to
have trouble finding an exit, at least without access to what else? More
information.
Jenina Mella, Indiana-Bloomington
1988, is a freelance legal editor and writer living and working in
Madison.
Altman Weil Pensa Archive on Strategic Planning and Management for
Law Firms and Corporate Law Departments
Edited by Susan D. Sjostrom. Newtown Square, PA: Altman Weil
Pensa Inc., 1996. $55. Paper. 362 pgs. To order, call (610) 359-9900,
ext. 435.
Reviewed by Joseph T. Leone
If you have ever been baffled by the odd practices of your firm's
management, I highly recommend this book.
This collection of short essays from the consulting firm of Altman
Weil Pensa should be mandatory reading for all lawyers who are
not actively involved in management issues. The essays, which
are excerpted from Altman Weil's monthly newsletter, are brisk,
well-written, subject-specific treatments of almost every aspect of law
firm management and planning. While reading the book won't make you an
expert, it paints an accurate picture of the immense competitive
pressures faced by law firms and how those pressures can be addressed on
a nominally rational basis.
The collection also contains some interesting, if somewhat
self-evident, survey data. For instance, one of the essays notes that
over the last 10 years, per lawyer overhead increased 80 percent, while
per lawyer revenues increased only 60 percent. It's no wonder we're all
logging so many hours.
The book itself is a hefty paperback of almost 350 pages. The text,
however, is double-spaced, which makes both reading and note-taking a
breeze. The essays are organized into three parts: Market Trends and
Strategic Analysis; Total Quality Management (TQM); and Organization and
Management. Even within the individual parts, each essay is largely a
stand-alone piece, which encourages the reader to jump from topic to
topic, rather than to read the volume from start to finish.
From a substantive standpoint, the essays are uniformly cogent,
although some are better than others. Interestingly, the essays on
strategic management espouse leadership mindsets that undoubtedly are
good for the bottom line but which also appear to be the root cause of
much of the dissension and bad manners experienced in law today. One
particularly illuminating passage notes "[A] martial orientation toward
competitors is essential. ... Competitors are viewed as the enemy."
The treatment of TQM is surprisingly candid in its admission that TQM
is not for everyone. Many, if not most, law firms have a culture of
personalities that precludes implementation of true TQM. The TQM essays
are equally candid that TQM is often perfunctorily rejected by law firms
due to the seemingly self-evident concepts involved (for example, do it
right the first time, walk the talk, and so on). But for those firms
able to do so, the concepts espoused here might signal a better way to
practice law profitably.
For those proficient with numbers, one of the essays on firm
management presents a formula for computing the value of a partner.
While I was unable to assess the validity of the formula using actual
numbers, I think a large law firm might glean some very interesting data
by uniformly applying the formula to its membership.
The only drawback to the collection is that it is peppered throughout
with blatantly self-serving references to Altman Weil Pensa surveys and
findings. But since the collection bears their masthead and is clearly
intended as a marketing piece, Altman Weil can't be held to task for
tooting its own horn.
Joseph T. Leone, Marquette 1992,
is an associate at DeWitt Ross & Stevens S.C., Madison, where he
practices intellectual property law.
Debating the Democratic Peace
Edited by Michael E. Brown, Sean M. Lynn-Jones and Steven E.
Miller. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1996. $17. Paper. 379 pgs. To
order, call (800) 356-0343.
Reviewed by James J. Casey Jr.
Edited by Michael E. Brown, Sean M. Lynn-Jones and Steven E. Miller,
Debating the Democratic Peace is a collection of articles by
political scientists debating the theory of democratic peace. The
theory, first articulated by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant 200
years ago, states that countries founded upon liberal (which is modern
conservative thought) or democratic traditions virtually never go to war
against each other. The book becomes a battleground between academics
supportive of the theory and those who find it specious. Separated into
three sections - the case for democratic peace, the case against
democratic peace and a point-counterpoint section - it is relatively
easy for the political novice to follow the discussions and the relative
merits of each position.
Drawing upon data sets that consider wars going back to the
British-Maharattan conflict of 1817-18, those authors in favor of the
theory show that democracies rarely go to war with each other, and that
democratic peace is the result of common characteristics of democracy
embodied by these countries. In short, it never really pays -
politically, economically or socially - for these like-minded countries
to go to war with each other. But over the last 200 years, liberal
states (which we now call democracies) have shown a far greater tendency
to go to war against countries with other political/economic systems,
such as communism or authoritarianism.
Those who oppose the theory do so on the grounds that the data used
is statistically insignificant; that is, the results are not that strong
in favor of the theory, or that other factors explain this phenomenon,
such as common political enemies or "marriages of convenience" in
support against an aggressor. To these academics, the type of political
system may be one of many reasons to explain why democracies don't go to
war against each other.
In fact, one of the major battlegrounds in the social sciences,
including political science, is the use of statistics and statistical
methods to prove or disprove theories. Some academics have trouble with
the statistics used to justify the theory of democratic peace; thus,
this is a never-resolved battle because unfortunately the statistics can
be manipulated to achieve almost any result. The weakness is whether the
statistics have any explanatory power, and scholars are divided over
what is statistically significant.
A major point in these articles is how to define a liberal or
democratic state. Two hundred years ago, when the U.S. was established,
there were very few democratic states, as that term is used today.
Countries like Great Britain and France were called liberal states,
though at that time and by modern-day standards they were not
essentially democratic states. Some authors and historians also consider
Czarist Russia to have been a liberal state, though most people today
would consider it to have been authoritarian, not democratic. This issue
must be kept in mind when reading this book.
The book has probably no relevance to the practicing attorney, but it
is definitely a must read for those who are interested in questions of
international relations and war. It probably is anecdotal to most
Americans that we do not go to war against our allies, who are for the
most part steeped in democratic tradition, but this book provides some
intellectual justification for that belief.
James J. Casey Jr., Dayton 1988,
is a sponsored program officer in the Office of Research and Sponsored
Programs at Northwestern University. He also holds a master's degree in
international affairs from Marquette University.
Family Group Conferences in
Child Abuse and Neglect Cases:
Learning from the Experience of
New Zealand
By Mark Hardin with Elizabeth Cole, June Mickens and Robert
Lancour. Washington, DC: ABA Center on Children and the Law, 1996.
$19.95. Paper. 325 pgs. To order, call (800) 285-2221.
Reviewed by David Heitzman
Attempting to improve the functioning of families who abuse or
neglect their children is sufficiently frustrating that one will look
for help in all manner of places. In New Zealand a conference of the
child's extended family (and, perhaps, tribal leaders) is convened
whenever the investigating social worker substantiates abuse or
neglect.
The purpose of the New Zealand family group conference is to decide
how the situation should be handled from that point forward. (For
example, should the child live with someone other than a parent? Should
the child live with a parent under the supervision of someone, including
one or more members of the extended family? Should the child or the
parent receive services of some type?) Although this innovation only
began in 1989, New Zealand has had just enough experience with it to
make it worth looking at and considering. The book is a big help.
Part one, consisting of seven sections, discusses the New Zealand
model. Part two, consisting of two sections, deals with applying the New
Zealand model in this country. The first section of part two, written by
Cole, sets forth the key policy decisions that ought to be made to
implement the model. The second section, written by Mickens, is a legal
analysis of the privacy implications of using the model in the United
States. The relevant federal statutes are analyzed. As to state
statutes, the analysis is not exhaustive but rather a random review.
Wisconsin does not happen to be one of the states included. However, the
applicable confidentiality statutes are easy enough to find and analyze.
Clearly, they will need to be amended for this technique to be used to
the fullest extent in Wisconsin.
There are five appendices, including two that contain sections 13 to
39 of The New Zealand Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act of
1989 and all of the December 1992 Care and Protection Coordinator's
Manual.
Both the book and the concept of family group conferences are
commended to the thoughtful consideration of any attorney who has
substantial contact with the children's court and the families who
provide the work for that court. We need all the help we can get.
David Heitzman, U.W. 1969,
has been employed by Rock County as an assistant corporation counsel and
assigned primarily to the Child Protective Services Division of the
county's human services department since 1978.
Guardianship and Protective Placement for the Elderly in
Wisconsin
By Gretchen Viney. Madison, WI: State Bar of Wisconsin CLE Books,
1996. $29. 175 pgs. To order, call (800) 362-8096.
Reviewed by Sarah Fry Bruch
Anyone who has heard Ms. Viney speak at a CLE seminar will recognize
and appreciate her thorough, methodical and practical approach to
mastering the subjects of this book. The book presents the subjects of
guardianship and protective placement specifically for the elderly
(guardianships of nonelderly chronically mentally ill or developmentally
disabled are not discussed) in a style accessible to lawyers of all
skill levels. It has nine fully outlined and annotated chapters with a
detailed, easy-to-use index and three very useful appendices described
below. Although the book emphasizes the perspective of private counsel
in these matters, its extensive information and detail should prove
useful to county attorneys as well.
Chapter 1 provides an overview of the guardianship and protective
service system statutes and reviews the definitions of incompetency and
types of guardianships. How to choose the proper procedure for your
client's situation is explored in Chapter 2, where the author explains
the differences between guardianships of the person and of the estate,
limited and full guardianships, and voluntary services versus
involuntary services and protective placement. Appendix A lists useful
additional resources, including seven books and the complete address,
telephone and fax for 15 organizations pertaining to issues of long-term
care, SSI, Medicare, mental illness and advocacy.
Guidance for selecting a guardian is found in Chapter 3. Ms. Viney
recommends counsel assess a proposed guardian for past and present elder
abuse, and provides a lengthy checklist of occurrences and elder's
behaviors that may indicate financial, material, mental and physical
abuse. Ms. Viney recommends that both petitioner's counsel and the
guardian ad litem (GAL) ask the proposed guardian directly if the
proposed ward has ever been subject to elder abuse and if the proposed
guardian was determined to be the perpetrator, noting that a county's
records of such matters are confidential but may be released to
petitioner's counsel and GAL pursuant to a court order. Also explored
are the factors germane to selecting an individual guardian versus a
corporate guardian, such as a bank or nonprofit corporation. Appendix C
lists all 42 state-approved corporate guardians in Wisconsin, with the
address, telephone and name of a contact person for each, and the
approval date and the number of clients each guardian can serve.
Chapters 4 and 5 are the workhorses of this book. Chapter 4 outlines
the role of the petitioner's attorney in excruciating detail, and covers
the preparation, service and filing of initial documents, subsequent
case preparation, the hearing and resulting order. Summing up the
chapter is a checklist, in chronological order, of everything
petitioner's attorney needs to do, including consideration of ethical
issues. Chapter 5 treats the role of the GAL in like manner, complete
with a checklist. Appendix B complements these two chapters with the
necessary forms for an entire proceeding. It contains 19 forms in full
text, with annotations referencing statutory authority, and includes the
petition, necessary orders, notices, letters of guardianship and the
inventory.
The remaining Chapters 6 through 9 thoroughly review the guardian's
role and safeguards of the protective service system such as annual
review and transfer to other facilities, termination of guardianship and
change of guardian. While at first glance it appears no different than
any other CLE practice manual, this little book speaks the volumes of
Ms. Viney's experience. Its many practice tips, checklists, caveats,
notes, cautions and comments seek to guide the practitioner into an
efficient and thorough practice.
Sarah Fry Bruch, Marquette 1986,
recently relocated to Waukesha County from Stevens Point, where she
practiced law during the past nine years and served as an assistant
district attorney from 1988 to 1991.
Patent Law and Practice, 2d Edition
By Herbert F. Schwartz. Washington, DC: BNA, 1996. $75. Paper.
195 pgs. To order, call (800) 960-1220.
Reviewed by Walter E. Zimmerman
The idea for Patent Law and Practice originated in 1986,
when the Federal Judicial Center (FJC) approached the author to prepare
a short work intended to educate federal judges on the basics of patent
law. In 1988 the FJC published the first edition, a 119-page work with
more than 500 footnotes and the look and feel of a long law review
article, which provided a useful, if basic, account of patent law for
federal judges.
In 1995 the author completed a second edition, also published by the
FJC, an extensive update of the first edition, with a primary focus on
litigation. The second edition also was published by the Bureau of
National Affairs Inc. (BNA) in 1996. In the preface the author explains
that the BNA asked him to make the book "available to a wider audience"
and moreover that the FJC was "enthusiastic about such a project." In
its promotional literature, BNA touts the book as "now available to
attorneys" and as an "insider's look at the bench's interpretation of
patent litigation." (Curiously, what neither explains is that before the
BNA edition was published, the second FJC edition was already
available to a very wide audience - anyone who requested it received a
free copy from the FJC.)
By and large, the 187-page BNA edition efficiently handles the
subject of patent law. With 800-odd footnotes, it maintains the same law
review article feel of the first edition. It is well-indexed,
well-annotated and easy to read. For the most part, the basic legal
standards are clearly articulated, with ample citations made to the
leading cases and many secondary sources. It briefly covers patent
prosecution and patentability, although the principal focus is federal
patent litigation - including substantive and procedural issues, causes
of action and defenses. There is one chapter on remedies, covering
injunctions, monetary damages, marking and notice, increased damages and
attorney fees, and one chapter on jury trials, covering softer subjects
such as reliance on juries, juror comprehension, the juror's role, form
of verdict and jury instructions.
The 1996 BNA edition also addresses the various amendments and
revisions of the Patent Act and post-1988 decisions by the Federal
Circuit Court of Appeals clarifying, modifying and restating various
portions of the body of law that patent lawyers and their clients must
live with. Three important en banc cases decided by the Federal Circuit
in 1995 are covered: Markman v. Westview Instruments Inc., 52
F.3d 965 (Fed. Cir. 1995), which dealt with the respective roles of the
judge and jury in determining the proper construction of patent claims;
Hilton Davis Chem. Co. v. Warner-Jenkinson Co., 62 F.3d 1512
(Fed. Cir. 1995), which reconsidered fundamental questions regarding
infringement under the doctrine of equivalents; and Rite-Hite Corp.
v. Kelley Co., 56 F.3d 1538 (Fed. Cir. 1995), which articulated
limits on recoverable damages for patent infringement. However, the U.S.
Supreme Court has subsequently undertaken review of two of those cases
(Markman and Hilton Davis). The Supreme Court affirmed
the Federal Circuit's decision in Markman, see 116 S. Ct. 1384
(1996) (which is noted in a footnote in the 1996 BNA edition), and thus
the book's discussion of the Federal Circuit's Markman holding
is still more or less on point. (The FJC edition was actually cited by
the Supreme Court in Markman.) But the Supreme Court reversed
the Federal Circuit's decision in Hilton Davis, and remanded
the case for further consideration (see Warner-Jenkinson Co. v.
Hilton Davis Chem. Co., 117 S. Ct. 1040 (1997)), although the
doctrine of equivalents remains essentially intact (for the time being).
Accordingly, anyone looking for a complete reference should note that
this book misses the Supreme Court's holdings in both Markman
and Hilton Davis.
Now that Patent Law and Practice is no longer available for
free, should you buy a copy? Realistically, the book is a work of
limited scope and utility. It is not intended to - and will not -
replace Prof. Donald Chisum's multi-volume Patents in a law
library or Robert Harmon's Patents and the Federal Circuit
(also published by BNA) on the desk of the patent practitioner. And
while patent litigators might note that all federal judges may have a
copy of Patent Law and Practice somewhere in chambers, those
who keep up with their reading of current case law have no substantive
need for the book.
The book is not without value, however. For the corporate lawyer or
in-house general counsel who might be thinking about patent law issues
with increasing regularity, one front-to-back reading of the book will
cover much of the basic learning curve. For an attorney practicing in an
unrelated field, or simply curious about the subject, the book will
provide a solid basic understanding of patent law and litigation issues.
The book also will serve as a useful text for a basic patent law course.
Indeed, for the new lawyer or law student interested in patent law, the
book is an excellent starting resource.
Walter E. Zimmerman, U.W. 1990,
Order of the Coif, practices intellectual property law with Foley &
Lardner, Milwaukee. He also is an adjunct assistant professor at the
Marquette University Law School.
Wisconsin Lawyer
