As lawyers, we must not, in hot pursuit of common law, outrun common sense. The dread of that eventuality prompted this book. Uncommon Law of Learned Writing 2.0 promotes common sense in legal language. Plain language, which is commonsensical, broadens access to legal documents, thus democratizing the law. If democracy is government of the people, by the people, and for the people, law is the language in which government interacts with the people—it’s the language of democracy. The people whose government speaks through law must understand what is said. No democratic society should brook legalese—a dense, verbose dialect known only to lawyers. What then should society do to redress the lawyer-induced obscurity? A Shakespearean character had an alarming proposal: “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” Apparently, that proposal was not enthusiastically endorsed, which explains why we’re still here. A milder remedy—enrolling lawyers in language classes—has been mooted, which explains why this book is in your hands. Uncommon Law of Learned Writing 2.0 motivates lawyers to prefer plain language to the legalese and verbosity that have besmirched legal writing for centuries. This book is as sweeping and authoritative a treatment of its subject as you can find anywhere.

The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.

From the divine right of Charles I to the civil rights struggle of Rosa Parks, 25 non-fiction stories provide a panorama of people whose actions helped form our legal system and our world. Constitution makers, Civil War enemies, Irish rebels, World War II Nazis, murder and passion, art and prejudice appear in a page-turner that reads like a mystery novel. Did Dr. Samuel Mudd participate in the Lincoln assassination? Was Captain Charles McVay III responsible for the sinking of the USS Indianapolis? Did Levi Weeks kill pretty Elma Sands? Read about unknown founder James Wilson and Hitler's lawyer, Hans Frank. Discover the back stories of landmark cases and enjoy the cross examination and trial skills of lawyers in top form.

“Rare books and archives come alive when consulted by readers and researchers.” --from the Introduction In the administrative and budgetary environment of law librarianship, outstanding reference service is crucial to the survival and growth of special collections. Public Services Issues with Rare and Archival Law Materials offers practical suggestions for putting these valuable special collections to work. Each chapter gives clear, proven advice on making the most of rare book sections and archives to contribute to the mission of their libraries and parent institutions. Public Services Issues with Rare and Archival Law Materials provides a comprehensive overview of issues in using these special collections. It begins with an original study of the research habits of legal historians, which can help you plan a strategy for making your collection more accessible to scholars. It concludes with thoughtful consideration of the ethical issues of using archived papers, balancing the scholar’s need to understand the inner workings of the legal system against the need for private court deliberations and attorney-client privilege. This wide-ranging book provides the tools you need for keeping archives in active service, including: detailed instructions for the care and use of rare legal materials ideas for creating exhibits and outreach activities, including Web sites suggestions for working with early books on Roman and canon law practical techniques for using archives in litigation and cooperating with attorneys a bibliography of law-related archives and rare-book librarianship This essential book will assist rare book librarians and archivists to provide better reference service by providing examples of best practice and solutions to common problems. Public Services Issues with Rare and Archival Law Materials is an indispensable resource for law librarians, archivists, and scholars.

Writer, broadcaster, and wit Gyles Brandreth has completely revised Ned Sherrin's classic collection of wisecracks, one-liners, and anecdotes. With over 1,000 new quotations from all media, it's easy to find hilarious quotes on subjects ranging from Argument to Diets, from Computers to The Weather. Add sparkle to your speeches and presentations, or just enjoy a good laugh in company with Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain, Joan Rivers, Kathy Lette, Frankie Boyle, and friends. 'Now we have the World Wide Web (the only thing I know of whose shortened form-www-takes three times longer to say than what it's short for)' Douglas Adams 'Not only is there no God, but try getting a plumber on weekends' Woody Allen 'Never go to bed mad. Stay up and fight' Phyllis Diller 'Having a baby is like getting a tattoo on your face. You really need to be certain it's what you want before you commit' Elizabeth Gilbert 'The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it' Terry Pratchett 'Retreat, hell! We're only attacking in another direction' American general Oliver P. Smith

The Assessment in Legal Education book series offers perspectives on assessment in legal education across a range of Common Law jurisdictions. Each volume in the series provides: Information on assessment practices and cultures within a jurisdiction. A sample of innovative assessment practices and designs in a jurisdiction. Insights into how assessment can be used effectively across different areas of law, different stages of legal education and the implications for regulation of legal education assessment. Appreciation of the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research bases that are emerging in the field of legal education assessment generally. Analyses and suggestions of how assessment innovations may be transferred from one jurisdiction to another. The series will be useful for those seeking a summary of the assessment issues facing academics, students, regulators, lawyers and others in the jurisdictions under analysis. The exemplars of assessment contained in each volume may also be valuable in assisting cross-jurisdictional fertilisation of ideas and practices. This first volume focuses on assessment in law schools in England. It begins with an introduction to some recent trends in the culture and practice of legal education assessment. The first chapter focuses on the general regulatory context of assessment and learning in that jurisdiction, while the remainder of the book offers useful exemplars and expert critical discussion of assessment theories and practices. The series is based in the PEARL Centre (Profession, Education and Regulation in Law), in The Australian National University’s College of Law.

An advocate submits a brief to a court or tribunal to persuade it to decide the cause or matter in favor of the advocates client or position. The key word is persuade. Too often, advocates forget this and write to please themselves. They write to themselves instead of to the court. They write in chest-thumping prose and style. Advocates will do well to keep in mind that in advocacy, persuasion is all that matters. This book teaches persuasive written advocacy. It shows advocatesof all ranks, in all jurisdictions, in all proceedings, before all courts or tribunalshow to prepare and present winning and winsome arguments. Because of its emphasis on winning, the books pedagogy blends law, linguistics, logic, psychology, rhetoric, and semantics.

This collection of essays contains in-depth analyses of eighteen landmark cases in private international law, from Penn v Lord Baltimore in 1750 to Brownlie v FS Cairo (Nile Plaza) LLC in 2021. The contributors are experts drawn from academia and practice as well as from the bench. Case law has been a central driver in the legal development of the English conflict of laws. Judge-made law does not just supply a source of law itself but also acts as the crucible in which other sources of law – legislation, international Treaty, European regulation, and ideas generated by jurists such as Joseph Story and Albert Venn Dicey – have been tested and applied. This book sheds new light on the past and future evolution of private international law by focusing on the landmark cases which have fundamentally shaped the way that we think about this subject. The focus is on the English common law, but landmarks in Scotland, Australia and Canada are covered as well. Many of them concern disputes between commercial parties; others deal with issues such as marriage and domicile; and some arise from controversies in political, constitutional and international affairs. The landmark cases tackled in this collection address significant issues in civil jurisdiction, governing law, foreign judgments, and public policy. The essays place those landmarks in their historical context, explain their contemporary importance, and consider their future relevance.