The principal question addressed is the extent to which American organizations source legal services they require in a manner consistent with transaction cost economics and agency theory. Transaction cost economics (TCE) is an interdisciplinary undertaking which joins economics with aspects of organizational theory and contract law. TCE views frequency, uncertainty and asset specificity (the extent to which assets have little utility or value except in the context of a particular transaction or relationship) as key variables in determining how a transaction will be structured. Agency theory focuses on identifying the most efficient contract form for a relationship taking into account certain assumptions of self-interest, bounded rationality, risk aversion and the cost of verifying what the agent is doing. A survey was sent to full-time in-house general counsel to collect data on actual practices in sourcing legal services for seven different areas of law: antitrust/trade regulation, commercial contracts, intellectual property, labor/employment, litigation, securities and taxes. The survey instrument s questions also covered key elements of TCE and agency theory, including uncertainty, asset specificity, frequency, law firm reputation and law firm trustworthiness. In excess of three hundred fully completed surveys were returned. The survey data were subjected to statistical analysis including multiple regression. The analysis disclosed the locus of the requisite expertise (i.e., either in-house or at an outside law firm) to be the principal determinant for sourcing of needed legal services; the first variable to enter each regression equation dealing either with preference for doing thework in-house or the percentage of work assigned to outside counsel was the variable for the level of in-house expertise. Other survey data, and information obtained in interviews with corporate counsel, showed that in-house legal expertise is generally created and maintained for types of legal matters an organization continually (or at least frequently) encounters. Asset specificity aspects of TCE appear consistent with actual practice. Hypotheses based upon TCE s uncertainty element were supported only to the extent the data confirmed that uncertainty is dealt with by aligning expertise with the task. Hypotheses relating to other aspects of TCE and to agency theory were not supported.

Raised in a small town by parents employed in the local mills, John Edwards worked in those mills himself -- and then went on to become one of America's most successful and respected attorneys. He built a national reputation representing people whose lives had been shattered by corporate recklessness and grievous medical negligence. In landmark cases, Edwards helped people from all walks of life stand up for themselves against tremendous odds. "Four Trials" provides an electrifying account of four of his cases as it tells the story of the courageous and unmistakably decent people Edwards was privileged to represent in times of tragedy, great loss, and often great joy. And in a deeply moving account, "Four Trials" also speaks of the tragedies and joys that Senator Edwards has known in his own life -- and how today life and justice are more precious to him than ever.

"Stress, Tests, and Success: The Ultimate Law School Survival Guide" is an essential tool for anyone entering law school or considering becoming a lawyer today. Attorney Keith Essmyer has created a no nonsense guide that is full of survival tips and insider advice specifically designed to help the law student succeed in law school and as a new lawyers. The guide's easy to read and straight to the point style sets it apart from any other "how to succeed in law school" book on the market today by providing more information in a few pages then most books provide in hundreds of pages.

Designed to be read in a few short hours and referenced time and time again throughout a student's law school career, "Stress, Tests, and Success: The Ultimate Law School Survival Guide" is a must read for any student wanting to finish at the top of his or her law school class without having to weed through hundreds and hundreds of pages of information to find out how to do it. With this guide, experiencing success in law school and as a new lawyer is only a few pages away.

On the first day of his Senate confirmation hearings, John Ashcroft raised his right hand and vowed, "I swear to unhold the laws of the United States of America, so help me God." People who knew him intimately knew they could count on this. And so will others as they read On My Honor, a book that reveals Ashcroft's personal beliefs on racism, abortion, capital punishment, our judicial system, his faith in God, and more. These beliefs were not designed to answer his critics in the Senate. They are beliefs he has held for years, written when he still expected to serve a second term in the Senate. Here is an opportunity to judge this extraordinary man from his own words and deeds. As Ashcroft says, "The verdict of history is inconsequential; the verdict of eternity is what counts." On My Honor was previously published as Lessons From a Father to His Son, ISBN 07852-75401.

This is the paperback edition of Robert Stevens' acclaimed study of the English Judiciary from an historical perspective, with especial reference to its changing role in the 20th Century. Though the book was written and originally published before the most recent constitutional reforms were announced, it nonetheless brilliantly anticipated the direction in which the debate would move, and provides much valuable food for thought for those charged with shaping the role of the judiciary within the new constitutional settlement. The centrepiece of the book is a detailed study of the political influences on the judiciary and the influence the judiciary has had on politics in the 20th Century. It concludes with a series of proposed reforms to ensure that the English judiciary will both maintain its strength but enhance its utility in the 21st Century. It offers no simple-minded argument for separation of powers but analyses what is needed to clarify the balance of powers and to advance the debate about the role of an unelected judiciary in an increasingly democratic society.

In this penetrating book, Jean Stefancic and Richard Delgado use historical investigation and critical analysis to diagnose the cause of the pervasive unhappiness among practicing lawyers. Most previous writers have blamed the high rate of burnout, depression, divorce, and drug and alcohol dependency among these highly paid professionals on the narrow specialization, long hours, and intense pressures of modern legal practice. Stefancic and Delgado argue that these professional demands are only symptoms of a deeper problem: the way lawyers are taught to think and reason. They show how legal education and practice have been rendered arid and dull by formalism, a way of thinking that values precedent and doctrine above all, exalting consistency over ambiguity, rationality over emotion, and rules over social context and narrative.Stefancic and Delgado dramatize the plight of modern lawyers by exploring the unlikely friendship between Archibald MacLeish, who gave up a successful but unsatisfying law career to pursue his literary yearnings, and Ezra Pound. Reading the forty-year correspondence between MacLeish and Pound, Stefancic and Delgado draw lessons about the difficulties of attorneys trapped in worlds that give them power, prestige, and affluence but not personal satisfaction, much less creative fulfillment. Long after Pound had embraced fascism, descended into lunacy, and been institutionalized, MacLeish took up his old mentor's cause, turning his own lack of fulfillment with the law into a meaningful crusade and ultimately securing Pound's release from St. Elizabeths Hospital. Drawing on MacLeish's story, Stefancic and Delgado contend that literature, public interest work, and critical legal theory offer tools to contemporary attorneys for finding meaning and overcoming professional dissatisfaction.

THINK LIKE A LAWYER: THE ART OF ARGUMENT FOR LAW STUDENTS To succeed in law school, you have to construct solid legal arguments. THINK LIKE A LAWYER: THE ART OF ARGUMENT FOR LAW STUDENTS will teach you how to master this craft. This step-by-step approach, written by career prosecutors Gary Fidel and Linda Cantoni, is the indispensable guide for law students.

First published in hardback in April 2003, this is the first book that directly addresses the cultural history of the legal profession. An international team of scholars canvasses wide-ranging issues concerning the culture of the legal profession and the wider cultural significance of lawyers, including consideration of the relation to cultural processes of state formation and colonisation. The essays describe and analyse significant aspects of the cultural history of the legal profession in England, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway and Finland. The book seeks to understand the complex ways in which lawyers were imaginatively and institutionally constructed, and their larger cultural significance. It illustrates both the diversity and the potential of a cultural approach to lawyers in history. 'Wesley Pue and David Sugarman have produced a fascinating volume of essays written from various perspectives under the rubric of cultural histories. I...want to present a sense of the richness of the essays in this volume. Lawyers and Vampires is a very provocative volume, and it will appeal to many political scientists who are using multiple methods and multidisciplinary approaches in their own work.' Laura J. Hatcher, The Law and Politics Book Review, November 2003

If Frank McCourt had grown up in Depression-era Arkansas, he might write like Dale Bumpers, one of the most colorful, entertaining, and wise politicians in recent American history, Atticus Finch with a sense of humor. In The Best Lawyer in a One-Lawyer Town, Bumpers tells the story of his remarkable journey from poverty to political legend, and the result is a great American memoir that has attracted wide acclaim for its clever southern charm.

What is it really like to work as a paralegal? Will I like working for a law firm and lawyers? What, exactly, does a paralegal do? And what does assist lawyers truly mean? Can you tell me about some real-life experiences? Which area of law is right for my personality? Lots of books tell me to, be organized, but can you give me real specifics? How can I stand out from the rest and be excellent at this career? The answers to these questions, in depth and straight from the inside, are finally here. Reading like a novel, readers are truly transported Behind the Bar--deep inside the field of paralegalism and into the author's own career, woven with useful tips and information. The book discusses the history and future of the profession, education requirements, the work of paralegals in different areas of law, the author's actual experiences and useful resources for the reader. The author also outlines qualities personified and sought after in legal assistants and what readers can do to achieve the same level of distinction.

The most famous lawyer in America talks about the law, his life, and how he has won.

Johnnie Cochran has been a lawyer for almost forty years. In that time, he has taken on dozens of groundbreaking cases and emerged as a pivotal figure in race relations in America. Cochran gained international recognition as one of America's best - and most controversial lawyers - for leading 'the Dream Team' defense of accused killer O.J. Simpson in the Trial of the Century. Many people formed their perception of Cochran based on his work in that trial. But long before the Simpson trial and since then Johnnie Cochran has been a leader in the fight for justice for all Americans. This is his story.

Cochran emerged from the trial as one of the nation's leading African-American spokespersons - and he has done most of his talking through the courtroom. Abner Louima. Amadou Diallo. The racially-profiled New Jersey Turnpike Four. Sean "P. Diddy" Combs. Patrick Dorismond. Cynthia Wiggins. These are the names that have dominated legal headlines - and Cochran was involved with each of them. No one who first encountered him during the Simpson trial can appreciate his impact on our world until they've read his whole story.

Drawing on Cochran's most intriguing and difficult cases, A Lawyer's Life shows how he's fought his critics, won for his clients, and affected real change within the system. This is an intimate and compelling memoir of one lawyer's attempt to make us all truly equal in the eyes of the law.

During nearly half a century of practicing law, Arthur L. Liman represented the very best ideals of his profession. He was renowned both for his brilliance as a corporate lawyer and for his commitment to public service and pro bono work. Vanity Fair called him a "big trouble" lawyer,i.e., the lawyer you call when you're in it. In this candid memoir, written in the months before his death, Liman discusses his life in the law from the moment Roy Cohn's performance at the McCarthy hearings inspired him to become a lawyer (in order to stand against lawyers like Cohn) to his influential investigation of the Attica prison uprising, through his role as chief counsel in the Iran-Contra hearings, with looks at many fascinating cases, clients, and controversies along the way. Full of lively portraits of the moguls, financiers, politicians and criminals with whom Liman worked, and grounded in his insightful, provocative opinions on the practice of law and on today's legal issues, Lawyer is an absorbing read.

Expose of the legal industry, both lawyers and judges. An aid to Pro Se litigants in the more common disciplines of law.

This book examines why laws fail and provides strategies for making laws that work. Why do some laws fail? And how can we make laws that actually work? This helpful guide, written by a leading jurist, provides answers to these questions and gives practical strategies for law-making. It looks at a range of laws which have failed; the 'damp squibs' that achieve little or nothing in practice; laws that overshoot their policy goals; laws that produce nasty surprises; and laws that backfire, undermining the very goals they were intended to advance. It goes on to examine some of the reasons why such failures occur, drawing on insights from psychology and economics, including the work of Kahneman and others on how humans develop narratives about the ways in which the world works and make predictions about the future. It provides strategies to reduce the risk of failure of legislative projects, including adopting a more structured and systematic approach to analysing the likely effects of the legislation; ensuring we identify the limits of our knowledge and the uncertainties of our predictions; and framing laws in a way that enables us to adjust the way they operate as new information becomes available or circumstances change. Key themes include the importance of the institutions that administer the legislation, of default outcomes, and of the 'stickiness' of those defaults. The book concludes with helpful checklists of questions to ask and issues to consider, which will be of benefit to anyone involved in designing legislation.

In recent years, millions of TV viewers have devoured images of the law. Amy Fisher, O.J. Simpson, Rodney King and JonBenet Ramsey have become household names. To meet popular demand we have a cable channel devoted to trials and police dramas 24 hours a day. Quick justice-dealing judges preside over TV courtrooms resolving real-life conflicts. What are the consequences when legal culture and popular culture dissolve into eath other? What happens, asks Richard K. Sherwin, when law goes pop? Sherwin, a law professor and former New York prosecutor, offers a pathbreaking interdisciplinary study of law and popular culture. He argues that in the welter of communication technologies, an unrestrained marketplace and postmodern ideas, law is increasingly becoming a spectacle, mimicking the style, techniques and visual logic of advertising and public relations. How will law continue to function when truth becomes interpretation and reality and fiction can no longer be separated? To answer these questions, Sherwin draws on a wealth of fascinating material: the contemporary storytelling strategies of lawyers; notoriously popular criminal cases in American legal history; representations of the law such as Errol Morris's "The Thin Blue Line"; and examples of how lawyers and judges have used the media to legitimize the judicial process. The law can be a powerful and affirmative tool for realizing meaning in postmodern life, but not when it is buffeted by corrosive cultural practices. "When Law Goes Pop" is an examination of legal practice in today's world, one that should be needed by everyone concerned with the future of our legal system and the meaning we invest in it.

Retired Justice Macklin Fleming argues that in its quest for money, the legal profession has lost sight of its true tasks and responsibilities, with the result that the profession is rife with client dissatisfaction, public distrust, and individual lawyer discontent. Money is now the measure of success, he says, and honesty has been diluted, while fiduciary responsibility has eroded. Fleming elaborates his case with unusual rigor. "In the quest for the brass ring of financial success, corner-cutting, absence of candor, and distortions of fact have become increasingly tolerated, to the extent that clients, the public, and lawyers themselves no longer have a sense of trust and confidence in the legal profession." Obviously, changes are needed, and unless they come from within the firms themselves, lawyers can be sure that they will come from individuals, agencies, and organizations outside these firms. Attorneys in all kinds of practices, their clients in all sectors of the economy, and academics concerned with the practice of law in all its dimensions will find Fleming's book informative, challenging, and certainly provocative reading. Fleming starts by examining what he sees as a paradox: a large increase in lawyers' fees despite a fourfold increase in lawyer numbers and a threefold increase in their proportion of the general population. "What happened to the law of supply and demand?" he asks. After tracing the history of the large corporate law firm and its dominance within the profession, he shows how cost-effectiveness within large firms has declined while at the same time what he calls "the magic of the emperor's new clothes" has suspended the law of supply and demand. He discussesexcessive legal fees, their resistance to client and court controls, and relates his discussion to the present pervasive distrust of lawyers among the public. Fleming outlines the four existing challenges to business-as-usual by lawyers and law firms, and then ventures his own analysis of the needed future changes in law firms. These include professional law firm management under a less archaic structure, effective integrity and quality controls, cost-controlled delivery of legal services, and increased job satisfaction for its working lawyers.

Thurgood Marshall's extraordinary contribution to civil rights and overcoming racism is more topical than ever, as the national debate on race and the overturning of affirmative action policies make headlines nationwide. Howard Ball, author of eighteen books on the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary, has done copious research for this incisive biography to present an authoritative portrait of Marshall the jurist.

Born to a middle-class black family in "Jim Crow" Baltimore at the turn of the century, Marshall's race informed his worldview from an early age. He was rejected by the University of Maryland Law School because of the color of his skin. He then attended Howard University's Law School, where his racial consciousness was awakened by the brilliant lawyer and activist Charlie Houston. Marshall suddenly knew what he wanted to be: a civil rights lawyer, one of Houston's "social engineers." As the chief attorney for the NAACP, he developed the strategy for the legal challenge to racial discrimination. His soaring achievements and his lasting impact on the nation's legal system--as the NAACP's advocate, as a federal appeals court judge, as President Lyndon Johnson's solicitor general, and finally as the first African American Supreme Court Justice--are symbolized by Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark case that ended legal segregation in public schools.

Using race as the defining theme, Ball spotlights Marshall's genius in working within the legal system to further his lifelong commitment to racial equality. With the help of numerous, previously unpublished sources, Ball presents a lucid account of Marshall's illustrious career and his historic impact on American civil rights.


From the Hardcover edition.

'Jim Gober was not simply a witness to early Texas Panhandle, New Mexico and Oklahoma history; he was involved in it up to his neck' - Elmer Kelton. '""Cowboy Justice"" is a bonanza for all readers and historians who love the real West. The book is authentic as a Porter saddle...as down to earth as the birth of a longhorn calf, and gives you the uncanny feeling of being there. An honest Cracker Jack read. Rare indeed!' - Max Evans. 'Jim Gober['s] memoirs provide more wisdom and insight into Texas lawmen and law enforcement than anything I've read...This is a narrative of cattle empires, of goodness and harshness, loyalty, family and politics. It defines the wages of life' - Leon C. Metz. 'A valuable contribution to the literature of the West. It brings a too often forgotten time vividly to life in a narrative which belongs on the bookshelf of anyone with an interest in and a love for the people and places that constitute our western heritage' - Norman Zollinger. 'A rare treasure...""Cowboy Justice"" relates the common man's struggle while brushing against the lives of frontier legends such as Sam Bass, Pat Garret, Charlie Siringo, and Temple Houston. An ordinary citizen swept through extraordinary times...' - Mike Blakely. 'From the badlands of Texas in the late nineteenth century, Jim Gobercowboy, lawman, gambler, saloon keeper, homesteader, horse-race promoter, private detective both hunter and hunted...a real-life hero. Jim Gober had a code of ethics that he adhered to throughout his life. His code made him the man he was, and it cost him dearly. It was an ethic based in loyalty, and it was the central force in his life story. It compelled him to leave home at fifteen. It drove him to cowboying on the ranges of West Texas. It catapulted him into politics as the youngest elected sheriff in the US. It made him the target of hired assassins.

Using St. Thomas Aquinas's natural law philosophy and Divine Exemplar argument to prompt new discussion of ethical questions that lawyers and judges should confront, the author delivers a complete occupational profile for the professional conduct of judges and lawyers. St. Thomas's discourse on such topics as procedural law, judicial and advocate conduct and character, criminal and civil practice standards, and sentencing guidelines provides a blueprint for the Christian lawyer and judge by laying out the professional and ethical parameters that make the actor operate in accordance with reason and morality. This text on Thomistic jurisprudence challenges the current beliefs of law and the justice system, the functions of lawyers, advocates, and judges, and traditional views on evidence and punishment, and suggests a return to the roots of the system, in which reason, virtue, and justice guide the law and its practice. Lawyers, judges, students, and scholars should find in these pages a unique approach to renewing our beleaguered justice system.

Relying on extensive quotations from the works of St. Thomas Aquinas, the author begins the text with an explication of St. Thomas's influences, legal philosophy, and thoughts on virtue and the law. He then devotes several chapters to specific concepts in Thomistic jurisprudence, including prudence, the common good, judicial process, judgment, and punishment. The final chapters analyze the role of lawyers and judges, and argues for the need for the application of the Thomistic model of jurisprudence to our criminal justice system.

nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Hillary Rodham Clinton has fascinated the nation since she became First Lady in 1992. In The First Partner, acclaimed biographer Joyce Milton goes beyond the headlines and offers real insight into Clinton's character, her values, and her career.

nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Milton offrs new perspectives on the firestorms that have raged about Clinton, from the health-care fiasco to Whitewater to the Lewinsiky scandal. She also examines Clinton's attempts to reconcile a host of contradictions--feminist convictions in painful collision with family commitment; philosophical beliefs in conflict with political reality; the precarious balance between professional ambition, public image, and private life. Lively and evenhanded, this definitive biography is a revealing portrait of one of the most enigmatic women in politics.