July 4, 2008

Law Best Sellers

  1. Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges
    In their professional lives courtroom lawyers must do these two things well: speak persuasively and write persuasively. In this noteworthy book, two of the most noted legal writers of our day Justice Antonin Scalia and Bryan A. Garner systematically present every important idea about judicial persuasion in a fresh, entertaining way. Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges is a guide for novice and experienced litigators alike. It covers the essentials of sound legal reasoning, including how to develop the syllogism that underlies any argument. From there the authors explain the art of brief-writing, especially what to include and what to omit, so that you can induce the judge to focus closely on your arguments. Finally, they show what it takes to succeed in oral argument. The opinions of Justice Scalia are legendary for their sharp insights, biting wit, and memorable phrasing. The writings of Bryan A. Garner, editor in chief of Black s Law Dictionary®, are respected inside and outside legal circles for their practical guidance on the art of writing and advocacy. Together the Scalia-Garner team has produced a fresh, innovative approach to a timeless topic.
  2. Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History

    In this gripping memoir, John F. Kennedy's closest advisor recounts in full for the first time his experience counseling Kennedy through the most dramatic moments in American history.

    Sorensen returns to January 1953, when he and the freshman senator from Massachusetts began their extraordinary professional and personal relationship. Rising from legislative assistant to speechwriter and advisor, the young lawyer from Nebraska worked closely with JFK on his most important speeches, as well as his book Profiles in Courage. Sorensen encouraged the junior senator's political ambitions—from a failed bid for the vice presidential nomination in 1956 to the successful presidential campaign in 1960, after which he was named Special Counsel to the President.

    Sorensen describes in thrilling detail his experience advising JFK during some of the most crucial days of his presidency, from the decision to go to the moon to the Cuban Missile Crisis, when JFK requested that the thirty-four-year-old Sorensen draft the key letter to Khrushchev at the most critical point of the world's first nuclear confrontation. After Kennedy was assassinated, Sorensen stayed with President Johnson for a few months before leaving to write a biography of JFK. In 1968 he returned to Washington to help run Robert Kennedy's presidential campaign. Through it all, Sorensen never lost sight of the ideals that brought him to Washington and to the White House, working tirelessly to promote and defend free, peaceful societies.

    Illuminating, revelatory, and utterly compelling, Counselor is the brilliant, long-awaited memoir from the remarkable man who shaped the presidency and the legacy of one of the greatest leaders America has ever known.

  3. The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court

    Bestselling author Jeffrey Toobin takes you into the chambers of the most important—and secret—legal body in our country, the Supreme Court, and reveals the complex dynamic among the nine people who decide the law of the land.

    Just in time for the 2008 presidential election—where the future of the Court will be at stake—Toobin reveals an institution at a moment of transition, when decades of conservative disgust with the Court have finally produced a conservative majority, with major changes in store on such issues as abortion, civil rights, presidential power, and church-state relations.

    Based on exclusive interviews with justices themselves, The Nine tells the story of the Court through personalities—from Anthony Kennedy's overwhelming sense of self-importance to Clarence Thomas's well-tended grievances against his critics to David Souter's odd nineteenth-century lifestyle. There is also, for the first time, the full behind-the-scenes story of Bush v. Gore—and Sandra Day O'Connor's fateful breach with George W. Bush, the president she helped place in office.

    The Nine is the book bestselling author Jeffrey Toobin was born to write. A CNN senior legal analyst and New Yorker staff writer, no one is more superbly qualified to profile the nine justices.

  4. Getting to Maybe: How to Excel on Law School Exams by Jeremy Paul,Richard Michael Fischl
    Professors Fischl and Paul explain law school exams in ways no one has before, all with an eye toward improving the reader's performance. The book begins by describing the difference between educational cultures that praise students for "right answers," and the law school culture that rewards nuanced analysis of ambiguous situations in which more than one approach may be correct. Enormous care is devoted to explaining precisely how and why legal analysis frequently produces such perplexing situations.

    But the authors don't stop with mere description. Instead, Getting to Maybe teaches how to excel on law school exams by showing the reader how legal analysis can be brought to bear on examination problems. The book contains hints on studying and preparation that go well beyond conventional advice. The authors also illustrate how to argue both sides of a legal issue without appearing wishy-washy or indecisive. Above all, the book explains why exam questions may generate feelings of uncertainty or doubt about correct legal outcomes and how the student can turn these feelings to his or her advantage.

    In sum, although the authors believe that no exam guide can substitute for a firm grasp of substantive material, readers who devote the necessary time to learning the law will find this book an invaluable guide to translating learning into better exam performance.

  5. In Justice: Inside the Scandal That Rocked the Bush Administration
    The Bush administration's drive to politicize the Justice Department reached a new low with the wrongful firing of seven U.S. Attorneys in late 2006. Their action has ignited public outrage on a scale that far surpassed the reaction to any of the Bush administration's other political debacles. David Iglesias was one of those federal prosecutors, and now he tells his story.

    Iglesias has long served in the Navy as part of the JAG corps. One of his earliest cases, about an assaulted Marine in Guantanamo Bay, became the basis for the movie A Few Good Men. When Bush chose him to become the U.S. Attorney for New Mexico, it was a dream come true. He was a core member of Karl Rove's idealized Republican Party of the future -- handsome, Hispanic, evangelical, and a military veteran. The dream came to an abrupt end when Senator Pete Domenici improperly called Iglesias, wanting him to indict high-level Democrats before the 2006 elections. When Iglesias refused, the line went dead. Iglesias was fired just weeks later. First, he was devastated. Then, he was angry. Now, he is speaking out.

    Iglesias recounts his interactions with Bush, Rove, Alberto Gonzales, and other key players as he takes readers into his time at the Justice Department to reveal what top Republican officials said and did, and how they subverted justice.

  6. Quicken Willmaker Plus 2008 Edition: Estate Planning Essentials (Book with CD-ROM)
    America's No. 1 estate planning book with interactive CD-ROM software helps you create a will, living trust, living will -- and much more .

    Help protect your family and your assets, and save on legal fees! Quicken WillMaker Plus Estate Planning Essential 2008 Edition provides the legal forms you need. So comprehensive, the CD-ROM assembles your forms from among 40,000 document possibilities -- but so easy to use, you'll have them finished in minutes.

    Quicken WillMaker Plus Estate Planning Essential 2008 Edition includes a full "health care power of attorney." Dictate the health care you wish to receive if you can't speak for yourself, and be assured that your loved ones won't have to second-guess themselves!

    Create your own:

  7. Will
  8. Living Trusts, including an AB Trust

  9. Health Care Directive:
    Living Will
    Health Care Power of Attorney

  10. Financial Powers of Attorney
  11. Final arrangements document
  12. Important documents for executors

    The CD-ROM also provides forms you can use every day, such as authorizations and agreements, child and elder care forms, promissory notes and documents to help you repair your credit.

    For each document, Quicken WillMaker Plus Estate Planning Essentials 2008 Edition takes you through a step-by-step interview. Your documents will automatically reflect the laws of your state. If you have any questions, simply check out the comprehensive onscreen legal manual. Expert tech support is also available.

    Need to know more? Here are in-depth details about what you can do with Quicken WillMaker Plus Estate Planning Essentials 2008 Edition:

    Your Will

    Provide for family, friends and charities. Name a personal guardian to care for young children. Specify the executor (or "personal representative") of your estate. Select a trusted person to manage property left to young people. Revise and update your will whenever you like.

    Your Living Trust

    Make a basic trust, whether you're married or single. If married, you can create a AB trust (or bypass trust) and spare your heirs from potentially heavy estate taxes. Create subtrusts for minor children and young adults. Name custodians for property left to children. Change or revoke your trust at any time.

    Your Health Care Directive lets people who care for you make important decisions about your life and health when you can't. Create a:

    Health Care Power of Attorney Permit a loved one to make important medical decisions for you if you are unable to do so yourself.

    Living Will

    Specify whether you want your life prolonged through artificial means. Appoint someone to make sure your wishes are carried out.

    Your Financial Power of Attorney

    Name someone to make your financial decisions, in case you are medically incapacitated. Don't worry, you can grant as much authority as you wish.

    Your Final Arrangements

    Plan a funeral or other ceremony. Clarify whether you want a cremation or burial. Select someone to oversee your final arrangements -- and more!

    Documents for Your Executor

    Make sure your executor ("personal representative" in some states) has all the forms and instructions he or she needs to do the job: Checklists, letters, notices, claim forms -- and more.

    Personal Finance Documents

    Over a dozen forms that let you handle financial situations you might face on any given day, such as disputing a credit card charge, lending or borrowing money to friends or family, creating bills of sale -- and more!

    Home & Family Documents

    Whether you need to authorize someone to travel with your child to another country, want to lend your car to a friend, or create an agreement with a trusted person to take care of your elderly parent, Quicken WillMaker Plus can handle all these family situations -- and many more!

    Estate planning documents not valid in Louisiana.

  13. LSAT Logical Reasoning Bible: Powerscore Test Preparation--A Comprehensive System for Attacking the Logical Reasoning Section of the LSAT by David M. Killoran
    The PowerScore LSAT Logical Reasoning Bible™ is a comprehensive how-to manual for solving every type of Logical Reasoning question. Featuring dozens of real Logical Reasoning questions with detailed explanations, the Bible is the ultimate resource for improving your LSAT Logical Reasoning score. The Logic Reasoning Bible is also supplemented by a unique website that provides additional material for the book and answers frequently asked student questions.
  14. The Official LSAT SuperPrep
  15. The Associated Press Stylebook (Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law)
    The revised edition of the Bible of the newspaper industry.

    More people write for The Associated Press than for any newspaper in the world, and writers--nearly two million of them--have bought more copies of The AP Stylebook than of any other journalism reference. It provides facts and references for reporters, and defines usage, spelling, and grammar for editors. There are separate sections for journalists specializing in sports and business, and complete guidelines for how to write photo captions, file copy over the wire, proofread text, handle copyrights, and avoid libel. This edition of The AP Stylebook keeps pace with world events, common usage, and AP procedures.

  16. Law School Confidential (Revised Edition): A Complete Guide to the Law School Experience: By Students, for Students
    With over 25% new material, this is a must-have guidebook for students preparing to embark on the three-year odyssey of law school. Miller has assembled a panel of recent graduates to act as 'mentors,' all of whom are perfectly positioned to shed light on what law school is like today. Together, they demystify the life-altering thrill ride that defines an American legal education by providing a comprehensive, blow-by-blow account of what to expect, including: -Taking the LSAT -Securing financial aid -Navigating the notorious first semester -Taking exams -Tackling the bar. This newly revised edition includes updates on the economy, salary ranges, interviews with hiring partners at law firms and directors of law school admissions, new student mentors, and much more.