Book Reviews

• A Concise Guide to Successful Employment Practices, 3rd Ed.
• Asset Protection Planning Guide
• Consumer Culture & TV Programming
• Managing Partner 101: A Guide to Successful Law Firm Leadership, 2d Ed.

• To review a book

The book's accessible style increases its usefulness to readers. The book includes a full table of contents, interesting statistics, helpful forms, suggested auditing approaches, excellent samples, analytical guidelines, tips that reflect the author's years of experience, valuable checklists, and an index.

The book also would be useful for students. The tests at the beginning of each chapter (answers are at the end of each chapter) make this book a great learning tool.

Thorne packed a lot of useful information and analysis into this book. However, the author seems rushed in a few areas and completely devoted in others. This book also has some errors, most of which are only typographical, but there are some confusing passages. While this third edition is mostly well organized, the author could rearrange chapters and refine some areas. For instance, one example is repeated almost word-for-word in two different chapters. In addition, most unfortunately, this book is rife with a lack of citations for quotes and many cases to which the author refers. This annoying lack of citations detracts from the book's usefulness as a resource.

When the author is focused, he takes absolute flight and is enjoyable to read. If the book provided all citations and was better edited, it would improve from very good to excellent. Still, the book is worth reading.

Theodore D. Kafkas, Marquette 1990, is a sole practitioner in Milwaukee. He has a BBA suma cum laude, U.W.-Milwaukee.

Retirement plans and various types of insurance don't always provide the necessary type of protection or coverage. The loopholes found in insurance policies are examined in one chapter, as is the real lack of protection afforded to retirement plans.

While there is no one right way to design a plan, there are many wrong ways, including outright fraud. Practitioners must consider the various tools and techniques available and how much protection each method or combination of methods offer. The authors discuss various court decisions, examining in detail why and how the court was able to pierce the asset protection veil.

Barry Engel has created a ladder of asset protection vehicles and assigned values to the various techniques. Each method is examined in detail and the pros and cons of each are assessed in 10 of the 17 chapters. While some of the techniques are rather simple and others are extremely complex, the book lays out in a readable manner how each works, as well as its benefits and determents.

Also included is a full discussion of fraudulent transfers and ethical considerations for the attorney. Comments and planning notes assist the reader in determining an appropriate course of action. The authors never encourage the client or the planner to engage in fraudulent transactions or unethical behavior. The authors include an affidavit they use in their practice before engaging in asset protection matters with their clients.

The appendix provides all the practice tools an attorney might use on a regular basis when dealing with asset protection. It includes the reprinted law, sample agreements of both substantive and procedural matters, and charts comparing and contrasting how the techniques work in various jurisdictions.

While a considerable amount of research has gone into this book, it is not a dry and boring treatise. The authorities for the propositions and law cited are documented; however, the text is a practical guideline and suggestion manual with significant amounts of practice material incorporated into each section and the appendix.

Stephanie G. Rapkin, California Western 1982, maintains a law office in Mequon.

The blending of TV entertainment and corporate advertising structure has led to "commercialtainment," where programs and product reinforcement are one. "Complementary copy" in print journalism refers to the adjacent placement of articles and reinforcing advertisement for products. The same happens on TV; examples abound of actors referring to real products during a program, resulting in additional realism and enhanced, almost subliminal, product reinforcement. Corporations carefully choose the programs and situations in which to place their products, thus manipulating program content as the networks seek to maximize commercial value and profits.

This blending also takes place in news programming, when corporations provide "video news releases" to TV stations to fill news broadcasts. For example, if a local station has a week-long series on its evening news about depression or some other ailment, it is likely that most of the "story" and footage were provided by a pharmaceutical corporation, which indirectly promotes its products through consumer awareness.

Robin Andersen, in Consumer Culture & TV Programming, does an excellent job of delving into the manipulative mechanics of what is probably the most potent medium ever used by corporate structures and others.

Through the use of techniques such as focus groups, the psyches of consumers and voters are probed to find the emotional resonance points to develop more effective advertisements. Soothing short-term anxiety, viewer-consumers are convinced that there is little difference between having and being. Advertising promises emotional well-being and satisfaction, and consumers are willing to accept these promises rather than face their own social and psychological problems.

The tension between the promised and the received yields perpetual layers of illusion. "Lifestyle advertising" makes it possible, and acceptable, to be a member of a nonconformist group of individuals who identify their nonconformist members through similar consumer and cultural consumption.

In-depth chapters dealing with the pop psychotherapy available through talk shows, the manipulation of social agendas through "reality" programming, and the influences of both of these techniques on politics round off a well-written and thought-provoking work. Andersen's ability to flow from casual discussion to detailed social science analysis is a rare treat.

I recommend reading this book before watching that next television show.

Timothy McAllister, UW-Oshkosh 1998 MPA, is an offender classification specialist for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.

With a premise that the managing partner is the CEO of the firm, the author lists the numerous managing partner responsibilities, while noting that a managing partner also acts as the firm's representative at important events.

The author, at one time a managing partner himself, states that a managing partner will use many methods of leading the firm, but appears to favor leadership by example. The author used an open management style, with an open door policy, walking the halls and speaking with individuals in the firm. The qualities of a managing partner are detailed with 11 attributes, including humor. Green recommends carrying a notebook with personnel, calendar, and to-do information.

While firm organization, coordination, rules, and policies fall high on the managing partner's responsibility list, information technology (IT) is recognized as a critical component within a firm. A diverse-member computer committee should deal with hardware and software issues, and advise the managing partner about policies regarding use, training, feedback, security, contingency/back-up, telecommuting, and ethics of IT use by the firm employees and partners.

In the human resources area, Green suggests implementing a Code of Interpersonal Conduct, if necessary, to manage interaction between staff and lawyers, and possibly also a Client's Bill of Rights, to define the relationship between the firm and its clients.

This book is a short read, contains a good basic outline of managing partner responsibilities, and functions well as a reference. At the very least, a reader can use the book for comparison to an existing managing partner job description and responsibilities. While this is not intended to be a complete managing partner handbook (the listed ABA references are helpful), it would be beneficial if the next version included some additional real life examples, tips, policies, rules and procedures, and specific references within the context of the book.

This book and its four cornerstones for a successful law practice - 1) provide clients with a quality legal product and quality service within its expertise area; 2) provide lawyers and staff with a healthy working environment; 3) adhere to high standards in both legal and business ethics; and 4) be financially sound - will help any new managing partner be a successful managing partner.

Michael L. Winkelman, Loyola 1982, focuses on intellectual property and business law from his Appleton office.