Practical Guides

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.

Flex your entrepreneurial muscle with an LLC

The previous drawbacks to forming an LLC have all but disappeared. The IRS has loosened the restrictions on entities electing partnership taxation and subsequently the states have loosened their requirements. Because LLCs are now more flexible entities than any that have ever existed, they remain an attractive option for those launchinga new or relaunching an existing business.

Limited Liabilty Companies For Dummies is a clear, concise guide that explains the pros and cons of LLCs and shares insider insights on everything from choosing your members and your company name to creating and filing your Articles of Organization, to the day-to-day operation of your LLC. Plus, you'll the most current, real-world advice on customizing an LLC for your specific business needs.

• The latest information on federal taxes and fees
• New filing requirements and coverage of setting up real estate LLCs and LLCs among family members
• Accompanying CD includes updated tools and forms

It's full-steam ahead for LLCs, and this hands-on guide addresses everything you need to know and more!

With Point Made, legal writing expert Ross Guberman throws a life preserver to attorneys, who are under more pressure than ever to produce compelling prose. What is the strongest opening for a motion or brief? How to draft winning headings? How to tell a persuasive story when the record is dry and dense? The answers are "more science than art," says Guberman, who has analyzed stellar arguments by distinguished attorneys to develop step-by-step instructions for achieving the results you want.
The author takes an empirical approach, drawing heavily on the writings of the nation's 50 most influential lawyers, including Barack Obama, John Roberts, Elena Kagan, Ted Olson, and David Boies. Their strategies, demystified and broken down into specific, learnable techniques, become a detailed writing guide full of practical models. In FCC v. Fox, for example, Kathleen Sullivan conjures the potentially dangerous, unintended consequences of finding for the other side (the "Why Should I Care?" technique). Arguing against allowing the FCC to continue fining broadcasters that let the "F-word" slip out, she highlights the chilling effect these fines have on America's radio and TV stations, "discouraging live programming altogether, with attendant loss to valuable and vibrant programming that has long been part of American culture."
Each chapter of Point Made focuses on a typically tough challenge, providing a strategic roadmap and practical tips along with annotated examples of how prominent attorneys have resolved that challenge in varied trial and appellate briefs. Short examples and explanations with engaging titles--"Brass Tacks," "Talk to Yourself," "Russian Doll"--deliver weighty materials with a light tone, making the guidelines easy to remember and apply.

Wydick s Plain English for Lawyers--now in its fifth edition--has been a favorite of law students, legal writing teachers, lawyers, and judges for over 25 years.

In January 2005, the Legal Writing Institute gave Wydick its Golden Pen Award for having written Plain English for Lawyers. The Legal Writing Institute is a non-profit organization that provides a forum for discussion and scholarship about legal writing, analysis, and research. The Institute has over 1,300 members representing all of the ABA-accredited law schools in the United States. Its membership also includes law teachers from other nations, English teachers, and practicing lawyers.

The LWI award states: 'Plain English for Lawyers . . . has become a classic. Perhaps no single work has done more to improve the writing of lawyers and law students and to promote the modern trend toward a clear, plain style of legal writing.'

In 2003 Wydick retired after 32 years on the law faculty of the University of California, Davis. But he still teaches his favorite course -- a seminar in advanced legal writing for third-year law students. For the past eight summers he has also lectured at the International Legislative Drafting Institute presented in New Orleans by the Public Law Center, a joint venture of Tulane and Loyola law schools. There the audience consists of lawyers and non-lawyers from abroad who earn their living drafting legislation in many different languages. 'Teaching at the Institute,' Wydick says, 'is a precious opportunity to learn how much we English-users have in common with people who write laws in other languages.'

How does the fifth edition of Plain English for Lawyers differ from its predecessors? It remains (in size only!) a little book, small enough and palatable enough not to intimidate over-loaded law students. 'Most of the text remains the same,' Wydick says, 'but in the past seven years I ve learned some new things about writing in English, and I want to share that with the readers.' In addition, the exercises at the end of the chapters are different (a welcome change for long-time teachers who are tired of the old ones). Finally, the teacher's manual includes additional exercises that teachers can give to students who want or need extra practice.

Retaining the late Jesse Dukeminier's signature blend of wit, erudition, insight, and playfulness, Wills, Trusts, and Estates, now in its Eighth Edition, continues to offer interesting cases, well written notes, and a logical organization.

The Eight Edition's new Companion Website, available with adoptions, includes an electronic version of the Teacher's Manual, PowerPoint slides on selected topics, and author updates.

A stellar example of a great casebook, Wills, Trusts, and Estates features:

• eminently clear presentation of topics
• comprehensive substantive coverage
• inspired case selection
• engaging notes, questions, and problems that connect and highlight legal themes and principles
• humorous and illustrative cartoons, art, photographs, and other images

With many new and revised notes, questions, and problems, the carefully updated Eighth Edition explores:

• New developments in law reform by the ALI and NCCUSL, such as:
  • the 2008 Amendments to the Uniform Probate Code, including validation of notarized wills, reformation of wills for mistake, and a reworking of the spousal share
  • the Uniform Power of Attorney Act
  • further progress in the Restatement (Third) of Trusts and Restatement (Third) of Property
• Ongoing developments in the law, in such areas as:
  • inheritance rights for same-sex partners
  • the posthumous right of publicity
  • the power of an agent to alter an incompetent principal's estate plan
  • liberalized rules of trust modification and termination, and of trustee removal
  • standing for donors in suits against the trustees of charitable trusts
  • perpetual trusts and self-settled asset protection trusts
• Increasingly important topics such as:
  • the movement to cure will execution defects and reform mistakes in wills
  • fiduciary administration and trust investment law
  • will contests, particularly the law of capacity and insane delusion

Co-authors Robert Sitkoff and James Lindgren took great care to preserve the voice and spirit of Jesse Dukeminier, while fulfilling the trust and expectation among users for timely and relevant coverage, cases, and note material.

LOOKING FOR ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO HELP YOU IN WILLS TRUSTS & ESTATES? TRY EXAMPLES & EXPLANATIONS: WILLS TRUSTS & ESTATES 4E (9780735562400) AND INTRODUCTION TO PROPERTY 3E (9780735589353) --TWO OF MANY GREAT STUDY GUIDES FROM WOLTERS KLUWER LAW & BUSINESS.