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    Wisconsin Lawyer
    March 01, 1999

    Wisconsin Lawyer March 1999: Book Review

    Book Reviews

    This Month's Featured Selections


    Killing SeasonThe Killing Season: A Summer Inside
    an LAPD Homicide Division

    By Miles Corwin
    (New York, NY: Ballantine Publishing Group, 1998).
    336 pgs. Paper. Retail: $6.99.

    Reviewed by Jason Klimowicz

    Miles Corwin, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, spent the summer of 1994 shadowing homicide detectives in South-Central Los Angeles. What results is The Killing Season: A Summer Inside An LAPD Homicide Division, a book that uses South-Central LA to describe the battleground that many of America's inner cities have become.

    Corwin does a good job describing the work of several homicide detectives. He follows each murder case beginning with the murder call, to the detective's investigation at the murder scene, and finally to the district attorney's decision whether to charge the suspect. The life of a homicide detective in South-Central can be demanding. Detectives often must spend up to 48 hours at a stretch working on an investigation. The individual investigations make for very interesting reading.

    However, Corwin is at his best when he describes the anguishing impact the murders have upon the victims' relatives and friends. Corwin regularly sat in on therapy sessions held for the relatives and friends of murder victims at a South-Central counseling center.

    He also excels when he describes the lives of the suspects leading up to the murders. He describes how, by age 10, one suspect often was left alone by his mother because she spent days away smoking crack. He often went hungry, having only cereal to eat. Without direction from his family, he joined a gang by age 14. This inevitably led to a life of crime, and by age 20 he would receive life without parole for a murder he committed during a botched robbery.

    Corwin's attention to detail is superior, bringing the reader right to the murder scenes. His contrast of the paradisiacal setting that the palm and jacaranda trees project to the grim deteriorating apartments surrounded by the malt liquor billboards in South-Central is surreal. In another scene, Corwin describes a murder victim's last moments of life. While paramedics try to save the victim's life, a Monday Night Football game blares on the television in the background. The victim dies at the same moment thousands of fans are roaring at a missed game-winning field goal.

    Corwin is not being flippant by describing a football game while a victim dies. He uses this scene to demonstrate the main theme of his book. While thousands of people are riveted nationwide by a football game, an ignored war is raging in the inner city. Corwin states it as "a quiet genocide that [is] taking place." He reports that more than 400 murders occurred in South-Central alone in 1993, few of which received any news coverage or attention. He believes that if 400 American soldiers were killed during a peacekeeping mission, it would be debated at the highest levels of government and lead to major changes in foreign policy. However, 400 murders is business as usual in South-Central. He concludes that a life in South-Central simply seems to have less value than a life in other parts of Los Angeles.

    Unfortunately, I believe Corwin's conclusion is correct. Until the murders seriously affect the lives of those who vote and hold real political power in this country, the inner cities will be allowed to continue to deteriorate and war in America's inner cities will go on - all but ignored by the general population.

    Jason H. Klimowicz, U.W. 1995, is a solo practitioner in Madison practicing in tenant rights.

    Environmental Statutes, 1998 Edition

    Rockville, MD: Government Institutes Inc., 1998.
    $208. To order, call (301) 921-2323.

    Reviewed by Dennis Verhaagh

    Over the last 30 years there has been a proliferation of federal legislation adding acronyms to the language like a military manual writer. We now have CAA, OSHA, CERCLA, TOSCA, and RECRA to name the most significant federal acts. There is no one all-powerful bureaucracy that is responsible for enforcing all the environmental laws. Therefore, newcomers must tread lightly until they know the limits of each agency.

    Environmental Statutes, 1998 Edition is a powerful addition to the library of any lawyer who practices corporate or environmental law and needs immediate access to the broad scope of federal environmental legislation. With the CD-ROM that accompanies the text, one can easily search through the statutes for the enabling legislation, definitions, the charge to the various federal regulatory agencies, and other obscure provisions.

    However, those who must have a court interpretation or an explanatory overview may be disappointed. The text is raw statute with no annotations. Also, even with the CD-ROM, one must be familiar with the jargon of the environmental arena to know how to frame a search. Newcomers to environmental law would benefit from a digest or a good law review article to supplement this edition.

    Dennis Verhaagh, Minnesota 1972, is an environmental engineer with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. He practices patent law in Green Bay.

    Getting Started: Basics for a Successful Law Firm

    By Arthur G. Greene, Editor
    (Chicago, IL: ABA Law Practice Management Section, 1996).
    $74.95. To order, call (800) 285-2221.

    Reviewed by Robert J. Kasieta

    This book provides helpful guidance for lawyers considering founding a new firm. The book's narrative text is helpful, discussing issues important to law firm formation; but the book justifies its $74.95 suggested retail price in its appendices. There the reader finds helpful checklists and forms that are far more significant than anything in the preceding chapters. A model partnership agreement comes with the book on a computer disk in ASCII and WordPerfect format for easy modification. Also included is a comprehensive checklist of details to address before opening a new office.

    Getting Started offers useful suggestions in challenging areas of law firm formation, like: How do I know whether there is a sufficient market to justify another law firm in my area? Or, how much capital do I need to see me through the startup phase of my operation? It also addresses details of startup such as sources of financing and organizational formations for the new firm. Anyone contemplating starting a new firm would do well to browse through this book.

    Getting Started missed an opportunity to provide a significant service to lawyers considering partnership by alerting them to a pervasive potential pitfall even if everything else in their planning was superlative. Readers would benefit from more discussion of shared values and the way in which differences in those values can be recognized prospectively by lawyers considering partnership. The authors might have included a checklist of hypothetical scenarios for partners to discuss to help them recognize differences that might arise so that they might work out such differences before they ripened into conflict. That might be the best service the book could provide; because while most lawyers could locate a form book of partnership agreements and are savvy enough in financial matters to locate capital sources, many might not recognize the need to fully explore differences in values that could destroy the partnership.

    Competent lawyers with complimentary practices should in all instances be able to partner together. What, then, separates those that succeed from those that merely survive, or worse, fail? It is the capacity of the firm principals to share a common view in all important areas, from firm sources of capital to the kind of furniture in offices, from the choice of computer systems to staff hiring decisions. Absent deeply held shared values, there is little hope for success for any new firm made up of partners.

    Robert J. Kasieta, Marquette 1983, formed Kasieta Legal Group LLC, a Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated firm, in 1997. He is certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocates.

    Lawyer Blew Up/DeskThe Lawyer Who Blew Up His Desk
    and Other Tales of Legal Madness

    By Joseph Matthews
    (Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 1998).
    241 pgs. Paper. Retail $11.95.

    Reviewed by Peter E. Hans

    Such a catchy title. The publisher says there's humor inside. The author's introduction says that this mosaic of observations illustrates the personal toll demanded from lawyers engaged in the private practice of law. This book doesn't contain any jokes, though, and the pace crawls whenever the author writes about himself.

    Fortunately, this book goes beyond the publisher's advertising copy, and the author goes beyond self-analysis of his reasons for leaving private practice. Actually, what we have here are wonderful short tales populated by memorable characters, all of whom have something to do with the legal system, and not all of whom are disillusioned lawyers. The result is a mostly entertaining volume worthy of lawyer and nonlawyer readers.

    Joseph Matthews is a former criminal defense lawyer who practiced in the San Francisco area. This book is based upon his experiences. With expertly crafted sentences, he has taken people he actually encountered and turned them into characters: Augie, the prisoner who enjoyed gourmet meals; Willie, whose desk blew up, giving him yet another excuse; Gabe, the lawyer who found religion; and so many others remembered weeks after the cover has been closed.

    Don't read this book expecting to laugh; some of the passages are bleak. Don't expect advice on how to leave the practice of law and what to do next with your life; the author doesn't offer solutions to the frustrations caused by the legal system. Read the book to be entertained by characters so real that you'll recognize some of them as characters you have met in your own legal career.

    This book supports the argument that while intellectual challenges and earning money are satisfying, the most rewarding aspect of the practice of law is opportunity to interact with so many different people over the course of a legal career. So perhaps this book is more tragedy than humor. Despite the joy that comes from associating with people so unforgettable that they can become characters remembered forever, the personal demands of the profession eventually can cause talented and articulate lawyers to turn to other endeavors.

    Peter E. Hans, U.W. 1980, is VP-operations and general counsel of Mandli Communications Inc., Oregon, a business that manufactures digital photolog systems for transportation departments.

    The Of Counsel Agreement:
    A Guide for Law Firm and Practitioner, Second Edition

    Harold G. Wren and Beverly J. Glascock
    (Chicago, IL: ABA Senior Lawyers Division, 1998).
    Retail $84.95.

    Reviewed by Lawrence M. Knowles

    Time was when the only people who needed to concern themselves about the designation "Of Counsel" were those nearing retirement. Things are not so simple anymore, and as law firms struggle to make their anachronistic forms of organization fit contemporary life and economics, the vague label "Of Counsel" covers a multitude of essentially ad hoc arrangements, often with little or no understanding of what the label means.

    The Of Counsel Agreement is a salutary caution to those who might be tempted to treat "Of Counsel" as the functional equivalent of "none-of-the-above" on the firm organizational chart. The term does have meaning and content, outlined in the ABA's Model Code of Professional Responsibility and refined in several important ethics opinions. The authors give a helpful and thorough summary of the standards governing the "Of Counsel" relationship, highlighting troublesome issues and making practical suggestions for those considering entering into such an affiliation. Sample forms of agreement are included in the text and on disk.

    Stepping into the kitchen to prepare a meal, the first question you ask is not likely to be "should I use baking soda today?" The important planning decisions are at the level of menus and recipes, not discrete reactive ingredients. For a law firm or practitioner trying to formalize the more unusual working arrangements presented today, this book is a bit like starting a menu plan by consulting The Compleat Guide to Baking Soda.

    Nevertheless, baking soda being a rather volatile ingredient, anyone concocting a new recipe should become acquainted with its properties before setting its chemical processes in motion. So, too, lawyers who believe the "Of Counsel" label is the right answer for a relationship that doesn't seem to fit any of the conventional categories would do well to consult this guide.

    Lawrence M. Knowles, University of Chicago 1983, now practices with a Chicago firm on an ad hoc basis.

    Angle of ImpactAngle of Impact

    By Bonnie MacDougal
    (New York, NY: Ballantine Publishing Group, 1998).
    Paper. Retail $6.99.

    Reviewed by Brenda Lewison

    Attorney Dana Svenssen receives a call on her car cell phone from a corporate client's CEO, who is calling from a helicopter in flight. As they are talking, the helicopter collides with a small plane. Thus begins Angle of Impact.

    To protect her client, Svenssen points the finger of liability at the airplane pilot. Of course, she fails to disclose that she is a potential witness in the case and therefore cannot represent the client. Svenssen runs the litigation by hiring numerous experts to defend against a multi-million dollar lawsuit.

    Enter the love interest. Svenssen's primary expert not only assists her in stopping the lawsuit before it really begins, but leads her to reexamine her personal priorities, including the importance of her marriage.

    The female author/female protagonist murder mystery is enjoying immense popularity. Attorney-penned legal procedurals, such as this, also are immensely popular. As a woman lawyer and murder mystery fan, I expected to like this book. I didn't.

    If the protagonist was a man and the "expert" was a woman, we would all scream sexual harassment, because the power relationships between the attorney and the expert are so clearly unequal. She controls his job.

    Someone once said that true equality would be when a mediocre woman could get just as far as a mediocre man. It is unclear to me whether the author was attempting to make a statement about feminism or equal rights for women. However, the message I took from this book is that the beautiful, capable woman attorney protagonist had the power and authority to engage in conduct that is easily as offensive as any engaged in by any male employer I have ever encountered. This is not my idea of feminism.

    Brenda Lewison, U. W. 1995, has a solo practice in Milwaukee in employment law and tenant rights.

    Mackerel by Moonlight Mackerel by Moonlight

    By William F. Weld
    (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1998).
    238 pgs. Retail: $23.

    Reviewed by Malina R.P. Fischer

    Touted as a "witty, surprising, first-hand, break-out suspense novel by one of America's most provocative figures," Mackerel by Moonlight did not live up to its hype - but it still is a worthy read. Author William F. Weld, former two-term governor of Massachusetts and former federal prosecutor, writes about what he knows best: politics and federal criminal prosecution.

    The story centers on Terry Mullaly, a former Brooklyn assistant DA, who escapes to Boston and is persuaded to run for district attorney there. Through his campaign to the DA's office, the story behind his leaving Brooklyn is revealed.

    Mullaly admits up front to the reader that he was basically fired from his job as a federal prosecutor. Although he had obtained some highly visible convictions (through "overly aggressive" means), he finds himself unemployed due to his unwitting protection of a few bad cops who happen to be his hunting buddies. The admitted underclass Irishman lands on his feet in Boston (naturally), hobnobs with the blue bloods, and ends up running for public office despite the skeletons in his closet.

    Keeping those skeletons hidden is the driving force behind Mullaly's run for office, while his campaign manager's goal is to use Mullaly's Brooklyn experience to get the vote. The obvious conflict due to Mullaly's failure to come clean keeps the story moving.

    While this reader found that Weld's propensity for name-dropping and excessive use of large words kept the novel from being a real page-turner, it is an interesting story with an unusual twist. The story combines all the necessary elements a reader could want in light reading: money, politics, sex, love, and the quest for power.

    Malina R.P. Fischer, U.W. 1991, is a partner with Lathrop & Clark. She practices in labor and employment law.

    Naked JusticeNaked Justice

    By William Bernhardt
    (New York, NY: Ballantine Publishing Group, 1997).
    408 pgs. Paper. Retail $6.99.

    Reviewed by Laura C. Suess

    Ben Kincaid is a solo practitioner who has, until now, handled small stakes cases in his criminal defense practice. Early into the novel Naked Justice, the author depicts the type of man and lawyer Kincaid is: though honest and passionate about his clients, who often are unable to pay his bills, his law practice is falling apart. What's more, Kincaid must care for his abandoned, infant nephew. In Naked Justice, Kincaid's abilities are challenged for the first time to defend the city mayor in a high-profile case that involves the gruesome triple murders of the mayor's wife and two young daughters.

    Some of the story line is unoriginal in that it closely resembles the O.J. Simpson murders, including the media circus, the police chase with live television coverage, and the proffered motive for the murders as a case of domestic abuse that escalated out of control. In any event, the mayor knows Kincaid's reputation as a lawyer and wants Kincaid's help. Kincaid hesitates to represent the mayor because many facts establish the mayor's guilt: A neighbor saw him leaving the scene of the murder covered with blood, and it was well known they were unhappily married. Despite his better judgment, Kincaid eventually agrees to represent the mayor, and soon after it is apparent the mayor may not be guilty after all. As Kincaid delves into his investigation, he learns that the police tampered with evidence, suspects were not interviewed, and others who dealt with the mayor had their own reasons for wanting him dead. Kincaid becomes convinced that the mayor is not guilty as he receives death threats from a stranger and discovers clues that convince him someone other than the accused is responsible for the triple murders, with a much more evil motive.

    As the trial progresses, Naked Justice draws readers into the courtroom drama, allowing them to wonder what the outcome of the trial will be. In a surprise ending, the identity of the murderer and Kincaid's stalker is revealed. More importantly, one learns that regardless of the facts in a given case, things are never as they seem.

    Naked Justice addresses realistic problems an attorney faces while searching for the truth to save his client's life. Though some of the similarities to the O.J. Simpson case detract from the story, the author still manages to effectively portray a high-profile murder case with a suspenseful outcome. The novel contains enough truth and criminal procedure to spark the interest of an attorney, yet is sufficiently readable to capture the interest of a nonlawyer.

    Laura C. Suess, William Mitchell 1997, is a solo general practitioner in Hales Corners.

    9 Scorpians9 Scorpions

    By Paul Levine
    (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1998).
    373 pgs. Hard. Retail $23.

    Reviewed by Michael T. Mahoney

    A urrent genre of novels involves the U.S. Supreme Court and its secret inner workings. This book follows Lisa Fremont, Justice Truitt, and an air crash case, Laubach v. Atlantica Airlines Inc.

    With apologies to the feminists among us, Fremont is an American success story. Assisted by a Machiavellian character, Fremont leaves stripping behind, graduates at the top of her class from Stanford, and pursues a Supreme Court clerkship with Justice Truitt. Fremont has to keep her dancing past and the fact that she is employed by Atlantica Airlines Inc. secret from the justice and presumably the FBI agent who did her background check.

    Justice Truitt is the junior justice on the court. We follow his struggle in deciding to hire Fremont - she is gorgeous and he doesn't feel his spouse will understand the clerk selection process. Fremont's brains and interpersonal skills overcome her physical attributes and she is hired. Truitt struggles with his failing marriage, the Court politics, and Atlantica Airlines.

    The parties to the suit are the widow of a passenger and Atlantica. The case is dismissed via summary judgment and the court has to decide whether to grant certiorari. The legal procedure in the book is well written.

    The many intricacies of the plot are far reaching and include homicide, extortion, obstruction of justice, and judicial activism to the nth degree. The plot devices are overbroad; Levine obviously wants to keep us all interested, but this also is the novel's only shortcoming.

    Oliver Wendell Holmes' description of the U.S. Supreme Court provides the title to this work. It also aptly describes the difficulties of the clerk and justice. The book is worth reading for entertainment value, as a primer on potential ethical violations, and examples of close employer/employee relations.

    Michael T. Mahoney, North Dakota 1983, is a Milwaukee County ADA. He formerly was a prosecutor in Washington and Kenosha counties.

    Wisconsin Lawyer


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