Average customer rating:
- Warning "Diatribe" coming
- Principles revisited
- Principles revisited
- You should read it, though you may hate it
- A must read!
|
Law's Empire
Ronald Dworkin
Manufacturer: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 History
| Subjects
| Books
| Africa
| Americas
| Ancient
| Arctic & Antarctica
| Asia
| Australia & Oceania
| Books on CD
| Books on Cassette
| Europe
| Gay & Lesbian
| Historical Study
| Large Print
| Middle East
| Military
| Military Science
| Russia
| United States
| World
General
| Law
| Subjects
| Books
Non-US Legal Systems
| Perspectives on Law
| Law
| Subjects
| Books
Reference
| Law Practice
| Law
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Law
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Reference
| Law Practice
| Law
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside History Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Nonfiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Reference Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Professional
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Concept of Law (Clarendon Law Series)
-
Taking Rights Seriously
-
The Morality of Law, Revised Edition (The Storrs Lectures Series)
-
Law, Liberty, and Morality
-
Natural Law and Natural Rights (Clarendon Law Series)
ASIN: 0674518365 |
Book Description
With the incisiveness and lucid style for which he is renowned, Ronald Dworkin has written a masterful explanation of how the Anglo-American legal system works and on what principles it is grounded. Law's Empire is a full-length presentation of his theory of law that will be studied and debated--by scholars and theorists, by lawyers and judges, by students and political activists--for years to come.
Dworkin begins with the question that is at the heart of the whole legal system: in difficult cases how do (and how should) judges decide what the law is? He shows that judges must decide hard cases by interpreting rather than simply applying past legal decisions, and he produces a general theory of what interpretation is--in literature as well as in law--and of when one interpretation is better than others. Every legal interpretation reflects an underlying theory about the general character of law: Dworkin assesses three such theories. One, which has been very influential, takes the law of a community to be only what the established conventions of that community say it is. Another, currently in vogue, assumes that legal practice is best understood as an instrument of society to achieve its goals. Dworkin argues forcefully and persuasively against both these views: he insists that the most fundamental point of law is not to report consensus or provide efficient means to social goals, but to answer the requirement that a political community act in a coherent and principled manner toward all its members. He discusses, in the light of that view, cases at common law, cases arising under statutes, and great constitutional cases in the Supreme Court, and he systematically demonstrates that his concept of political and legal integrity is the key to Anglo-American legal theory and practice.
Customer Reviews:
Warning "Diatribe" coming.......2005-07-26
This book would have been fine had it been published 20 years ago before the saturation of critical theory. Now it just feels like a wounded discourse from someone who went to grad school in the 60's.
Principles revisited.......2001-12-04
Ronald Dworkin is one of the most prominent law philosophers in the common law tradition. Known both in America and Britain for his strong democratic positions, baptized by Duncan Kennedy `orthodox centrism', Dworkin is an acid critic of the paradigms of the contemporaneous jurisprudence.
Teaching law both in London and New York, the author unites the best of the old and the new world's linguistic and philosophical theories. He is well aware of the main `external' influences of law studies, such as the linguistics of Wittgenstein, the utilitarianism of Austin and Bentham, the categorical imperative of Kant, the dialectical approach of Habermas, and many more epistemic precursors of the modern law science. And from the legal benches he invites to debate scholars as Hart, Nozick, Rawls, etc.
This book follows his theoretical controversies initiated in A Matter of Principle and Taking Rights Seriously. Dworkin has the `humble' objective of deconstructing the base of the legal theory, forging a new conception of law itself. Facing the legal positivism creed (as in Kelsen) with the skeptical panorama (legal realism as in Holmes), this author proposes a third way of law interpretation with he calls `law as integrity'.
Integrity conception of law is inspirited in the third motto of the French Revolution: `fraternity'. Law is seen as a product of a `community of principles', as in the roman adage ubi societas ubi jus. For him any interpretation of the law, the common law or the Constitution must be impregnated with the will of integrity, noted as a commitment with the political morals of a given society in a given time. He sees the Constitution as the repository of the three biggest law principles: adjective due process, fairness and justice.
His works (as all things in life) owes applauses and reproves. Its strong points are the impact of his critics, surely shaking the base of the `obvious arguments' of law. Ancient myths as objectiveness and law fidelity of the judge had been collapsed. Notwithstanding the foregoing, what he calls a new proposal - `law as integrity' - is an old hermeneutic method of the jurist from the Romanist systems (as in Brazil, where I come from).
Law interpretation grounded in principles is a well-known method in other juridical, non-utilitarian practices. Long ago a Portuguese scholar named Canotilho constructed a method in which the mining (or creating) of the legal rule to a concrete situation is done in the light of the Constitution and its basic political principles, such as: equality, liberty, morality, good faith, inter alia. This kind of `principiologic' conception perhaps came from a tradition in which law and justice were reputed as equals, and principles were expressions of natural rights given by god or breed in reason.
Nevertheless, I am not trying to underestimate the Herculean (to use a metaphor from his book) work of Professor Dworkin, his bridges between the opposite notions - legal rule and precedents, conventionalism and skepticism, objectivity and subjectivity - are themselves diligent analysis of the law phenomena. I can also say - with no fear of overstating - he is an untamable critic and an intransigent adversary of any kind of academic (or even pragmatic) hypocrisy in law.
Principles revisited.......2001-12-04
Ronald Dworkin is one of the most prominent law philosophers in the common law tradition. Known both in America and Britain for his strong democratic positions, baptized by Duncan Kennedy `orthodox centrism', Dworkin is an acid critic of the paradigms of the contemporaneous jurisprudence.
Teaching law both in London and New York, the author unites the best of the old and the new world's linguistic and philosophical theories. He is well aware of the main `external' influences of law studies, such as the linguistics of Wittgenstein, the utilitarianism of Austin and Bentham, the categorical imperative of Kant, the dialectical approach of Habermas, and many more epistemic precursors of the modern law science. And from the legal benches he invites to debate scholars as Hart, Nozick, Rawls, etc.
This book follows his theoretical controversies initiated in A Matter of Principle and Taking Rights Seriously. Dworkin has the `humble' objective of deconstructing the base of the legal theory, forging a new conception of law itself. Facing the legal positivism creed (as in Kelsen) with the skeptical panorama (legal realism as in Holmes), this author proposes a third way of law interpretation with he calls `law as integrity'.
Integrity conception of law is inspirited in the third motto of the French Revolution: `fraternity'. Law is seen as a product of a `community of principles', as in the roman adage ubi societas ubi jus. For him any interpretation of the law, the common law or the Constitution must be impregnated with the will of integrity, noted as a commitment with the political morals of a given society in a given time. He sees the Constitution as the repository of the three biggest law principles: adjective due process, fairness and justice.
His works (as all things in life) owes applauses and reproves. Its strong points are the impact of his critics, surely shaking the base of the `obvious arguments' of law. Ancient myths as objectiveness and law fidelity of the judge had been collapsed. Notwithstanding the foregoing, what he calls a new proposal - `law as integrity' - is an old hermeneutic method of the jurist from the Romanist systems (as in Brazil, where I come from).
Law interpretation grounded in principles is a well-known method in other juridical, non-utilitarian practices. Long ago a Portuguese scholar named Canotilho constructed a method in which the mining (or creating) of the legal rule to a concrete situation is done in the light of the Constitution and its basic political principles, such as: equality, liberty, morality, good faith, inter alia. This kind of `principiologic' conception perhaps came from a tradition in which law and justice were reputed as equals, and principles were expressions of natural rights given by god or breed in reason.
Nevertheless, I am not trying to underestimate the Herculean (to use a metaphor from his book) work of Professor Dworkin, his bridges between the opposite notions - legal rule and precedents, conventionalism and skepticism, objectivity and subjectivity - are themselves diligent analysis of the law phenomena. I can also say - with no fear of overstating - he is an untamable critic and an intransigent adversary of any kind of academic (or even pragmatic) hypocrisy in law.
You should read it, though you may hate it.......1999-03-13
This book is truly foundational: one of the few books of legal philosophy that almost every law student is encouraged to read. Many of its ideas are intriguing and illuminating. But the more deeply you think about it, the emptier it becomes. It is flawed by a failure truly to engage with the arguments it attacks, which are distorted or misrepresented until they seem too silly to be worth attention. Much turns out to be rather empty assertion. Some of the examples Dworkin uses are highly questionable; as a practicing lawyer I have become less and less convinced over the years that Dworkin really knows or understands the practices of adjudication that form the center of his book. He is like a person who, having once or twice visited a doctor and looked at a medical textbook, proposes a unified theory of surgery. Despite grand(iose?) claims, the argument does not deliver what it promises. On the whole, Dworkin's brilliance works much more effectively on a smaller canvas. His essays (especially those in Taking Rights Seriously) are far more convincing than this longer book. They have cut and thrust and dash; in the end, this is rather stodgy, rather worthy, rather smug.
A must read!.......1999-02-21
Dworkin does a fantastic job of explaining how judges decide cases, and in turn shed's light on the subject of how law pertains to the people. He does this by explaining other theories about the law, and then addresses thier flaws in logic. Then, as he develops the concepts and premises that all theorists seem to agree on, offers his his own theory in contrast, and allows the reader a chance to search for any of his own deficiencies.
Average customer rating:
- Un avanzado case book de derecho comparado
|
Good Faith in European Contract Law (The Common Core of European Private Law)
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Comparative
| Perspectives on Law
| Law
| Subjects
| Books
Contracts
| Business
| Law
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Law
| Subjects
| Books
General
| International Law
| Law
| Subjects
| Books
Contracts
| Business
| Law
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
International Law
| Law
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Comparative
| Perspectives on Law
| Law
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Nonfiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Professional
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
ASIN: 0521771900 |
Book Description
This book starts by surveying the use or neglect of good faith in European contract law and traces its historical origins. Its central part takes thirty hypothetical situations that have attracted the application of good faith and analyzes them according to fifteen national legal systems. It concludes by explaining how European lawyers, whether from a civil or common law background, need to come to terms with the principle of good faith.
Customer Reviews:
Un avanzado case book de derecho comparado.......2007-05-23
Zimmermann y Whittaker ofrecen una obra estructurada en dos partes, la segunda de las cuales justifica hablar de case book. La primera parte contiene cuatro estudios en torno a la buena fe, los que acentúan la perspectiva histórica. La buena fe, principio operativo en el derecho privado tanto de los sistemas jurídicos del Common Law, como del derecho europeo-continental de tradición romanista, la mantienen como uno de los pilares fundamentales de sus respectivos ordenamientos privatistas. Pero la buena fe tiene una historia y ésta se encuentra indisolublemente ligada al derecho romano y al derecho medieval. La obra, no obstante orientarse hacia el derecho comparado (vigente, por más señas) deja asentada esta perspectiva, que ayuda al mejor conocimiento del principio del que hablamos.
La segunda parte, como se adelantó, es un case book de derecho comparado. Los autores han congregado a un significativo número de autores, representativos de distintos ordenamientos jurídicos y los han puesto ante treinta casos que tienen en común el que sus soluciones pueden estructurarse en torno a la buena fe. Con ello, los autores colocan de manifiesto la pertinencia de observar las soluciones que los ordenamientos jurídicos proveen a problemas similares. En este sentido, es significativo observar las diferencias entre las soluciones aportadas por los distintos ordenamientos. La buena fe, principio ordenador de las mismas, se manifiesta en varias posibilidades de aplicación; la elección de la más o apropiada la hace cada ordenamiento en atención a sus valoraciones.
La obra es, sin duda, un aporte significativo y no decepciona en ninguna de sus partes. el nivel de los estudiosos que participan en ella es el más alto y ello ofrece garantías de seriedad. Debe interesearse por esta obra todo estudioso del derecho privado dotado de sensibilidad histórica y cuyas perspectivas metodológicas abarquen el conocimiento de las experiencias comparadas.
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
If The Future of Ideas is bleak, we have nobody to blame but ourselves. Author Lawrence Lessig, a Stanford law professor and keen observer of emerging technologies, makes a strong case that large corporations are staging an innovation-stifling power grab while we watch idly. The changes in copyright and other forms of intellectual property protection demanded by the media and software industries have the potential to choke off publicly held material, which Lessig sees as a kind of intellectual commons. He eloquently and persuasively decries this lopsided control of ideas and suggests practical solutions that consider the rights of both creators and consumers, while acknowledging the serious impact of new technologies on old ways of doing business. His proposals would let existing companies make money without using the tremendous advantages of incumbency to eliminate new killer apps before they can threaten the status quo. Readers who want a fair intellectual marketplace would do well to absorb the lessons in The Future of Ideas. --Rob Lightner
Book Description
The Internet revolution has come. Some say it has gone. In
The Future of Ideas, Lawrence Lessig explains how the revolution has produced a counterrevolution of potentially devastating power and effect. Creativity once flourished because the Net protected a commons on which widest range of innovators could experiment. But now, manipulating the law for their own purposes, corporations have established themselves as virtual gatekeepers of the Net while Congress, in the pockets of media magnates, has rewritten copyright and patent laws to stifle creativity and progress.
Lessig weaves the history of technology and its relevant laws to make a lucid and accessible case to protect the sanctity of intellectual freedom. He shows how the door to a future of ideas is being shut just as technology is creating extraordinary possibilities that have implications for all of us. Vital, eloquent, judicious and forthright,
The Future of Ideas is a call to arms that we can ill afford to ignore.
Customer Reviews:
Good review.......2007-09-10
Deep understanding on what is going on with intelectual property that we don't see on the newspapers
Best on the subject.......2006-11-04
The author has great insight in the area of intellectual property and how it has an impact in future innovation.
Complex But Wonderful Nonetheless.......2005-06-16
The book is written in a very complex style -- especially the sections where Lessig goes into the nitty gritty of the architecture behind the Internet -- but the book is a wonderful read, especially for those who come from the mindset that copyright laws should serve to give full control to the creator. While Lessig's style is unnecessarily complex, the book is ultimately worth the effort -- especially for Internet enthusiasts and entrepreneurs who need to understand the implications of copyright laws and how they affect culture and future ideas.
Important book for IP lawyers and internet architects.......2004-06-19
This is the best of Lessig's books that I've read so far. Lessig is one of the more articulate spokespersons for the movement to protect the public domain, which includes such groups as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Creative Commons, etc., although he may be more moderate in his views than some.
In this book, Lessig does a great job explaining why the Internet became what it is (or at least what it was in 1999 or 2000). Ultimately the success of the Internet resulted from the fact that no one was in control... But his most important message is that corporate interests don't necessary like what it is, and are using their considerable powers to change it into something more useful to them. This isn't because these companies are evil - their approach is completely rational and legitimate. However, their interests and the interests of the public probably don't coincide here.
The only way to ensure that future control and/or regulation properly balances public and corporate interests is to have an informed public. Professor Lessig's book is a great start.
From whence comes invention?.......2004-03-30
Ultimately, the flaw in Lessig's books is his belief that the revolution of personal computing and the internet are the products of intellectuals like himself. Undermining the freedom and property rights of the programmers and companies who really invented these marvels is a profound threat to one of America's most vital and creative industries.
Book Description
Distressing, disturbing, devastatingly detailed--this stunning examination of how modern laws are diminishing America exposes the drawbacks of rule-bound government, tells why nothing gets done, reveals the phony pretensions of law, and shows why well-intentioned laws have actually devalued rights. In short, The Death of Common Sense demonstrates how the buck never stops and how ell-meaning laws are creating a nation of enemies. (Poltics/Current Events)
Customer Reviews:
Deflecting responsibility from his own profession.......2007-07-07
The anecdotes are indeed maddening; of course the law and bureaucratic process can be described as "inefficient". However, over and again, Howard says, "Anyone can accuse anyone of anything," which is true, but he acts like the ability to accuse someone is the same as rendering judgment, and therefore our right to call someone to task in a court of law should be abridged. He neglects the fact that, once in the court of law, it is up to the lawyers and judges, and juries when appropriate, to dismiss cases that have no merit. If that is not being done, it is not the problem of us American citizens "having too many rights" but that his slimy profession is without any moral compass. And his book, while thought-provoking and entertaining, is at heart a call for less oversight of those in power, because those without power are slowing them down. I expect he's very happy with Bush and Cheney and their dismantling of so many of our inconvenient "rights". Read it, but with a pile of salt.
Death of Common Sense.......2007-01-14
Well-written and well-researched book that presents the frightening picture of the beast that law in America has become. The author provides good historical background for the reader to appreciate the insidious development of what has become our current laws, how these laws have actually become impediments for progress and justice, and good discussions regarding the challenges facing any rational correction of this quagmire.
Very worthwhile and insightful reading.
It's okay.......2006-03-17
Not bad, but just too obvious. I suppose as an introduction to someone recovering from a desire for Government regulation it mayh be helpful.
An Abdication of Responsibility.......2005-09-21
Rarely do books become more important years after they have been published.
That is the fate of Philip K. Howard's "The Death of Common Sense".
This short book details how America has deviated from being a bastion of freedom to being a nation subjugated by laws.
Mr. Howard presents a wonderful case against government-induced regulation---laws so far removed from reality, so unworkable in practice and so disastrous for productivity.
It would not be difficult countering some of his arguments, however I would deem it unlikely to rebut his central thesis which is that until Americans retain responsibility for their decisions instead of looking to arcane rulebooks, we should not expect the buck to stop anywhere.
Hence the reason this book is more important now. As we look at the Sarbanes-Oakley act, a reaction to the Enron scandal, and the McCain-Feingold bill for campaign finance reform, we have to ask ourselves if the pill is not worse than the pain. Inherent in finely written law is the ability to subvert them, as was seen during the 2004 elections. Why should we citizens take the risk?
The chapter "A Nation of Enemies" was illuminating. Quoting Isaiah Berlin, "Liberty for the wolves is death for the lambs," he advances the claim, which some deem legimitate, that enumerated rights can be antithetical to each other. Others definitely would argue to the contrary.
Therein lies its beauty: the ability to teach without hectoring, to dispute without hurling invectives.
Read this highly educative book and discover why "Relying on ourselves is...commonsense."
Yawn, blink, and raise your hand. I don't get it! .......2005-06-21
Justice William Brennan, "Government acts like some extra terrestrial power, not an institution that exists to serve. Government can't do anything except as the law allows."
Kenneth Davis, "administrative rule-making is one of the greatest inventions of modern government."
Herbert Kaufman, "Legal rules should be self-executing with the aim toward solutions that can be carried into effect without discretionary administration"
"In the decades since World War II, we have constructed a system of regulatory law that basically outlaws common sense." The EPA has 10,000 pages of regulation. Federal statutes and formal rules now total 100 million words.
The author errors in the following statement, "The constitution is the model of flexible law that can evolve with changing times and unforeseen circumstances." Red flags immediately. The constitution is the supreme law of the land. Alternation of the constitution will only delude its incredible power to preserve liberty. How can one improve on the fundamental rights enumerated in the constitution? Any change to the constitution will result in a pandemic flood of regulation and a reduction in the fundamental rights protected by the constitution.
Historically, common law was governed by circumstance. An important test emerging from common law was the "reasonable person" test. Justice Benjamin Cardozo said, "common law is at bottom the philosophy of pragmatism. Its truth is relative, not absolute".
The rise of objective utilitarism has morally bankrupted the law. Cardozo is saying, law should be model to best serve the uniform group. I happen to disagree with him. The uncertainty within the context of the law caused a panic to codify law into statutes. The law was to handle all possible events and in its terms provide absolute certainty. So rather than general propositions, statute law provided absolute guidance for concrete cases. Institutional legal certainty had become the institutions prize achievement.
Government in both cases "blinded by its own predetermined rules, entranced by the rationals and promise that all can be set out before we get there." The lawyers focus on the legal language as if it were the oracle, and refuse to act without its clear permission.
Statutory law causes a financial burden similar to a tax. Central planning builds infrastructure to achieve an economic objective. Several billions of dollars are spent by industry to comply with regulations. Human error are the cause of most accidents. After spending a trillion dollars in the last 20 years there has bound to be some things cleaned up.
Book Description
The bestselling guide to the laws that govern construction
Knowledge of construction law and employment law is essential to running a successful construction business. Now, industry professionals don't have to rely on lawyers to translate the sometimes-confusing theories, principles, and established rules that regulate the business. In plain English, Smith, Currie & Hancock's Common Sense Construction Law, Third Edition provides a practical introduction to the significant legal topics and questions affecting construction industry professionals.
General contractors, subcontractors, owners, and surety bond agents will turn to this updated edition of the bestselling guide again and again for:
- Information on intrastate licensure and practice
- Advice on "Best Value" source selection and alternative project delivery systems
- Recent trends in claim resolution, including recovery of compensation for delays, extra work, and differing site conditions
- Expanded coverage on industry safety and environmental issues, including the latest information on project safety, indemnity, mold risks, and insurance coverage issues
- Helpful "Points to Remember" summarizing important concepts and useful "Checklists" make concepts easy to implement in real-world practice
- Advice on successfully managing employment issues in the construction industry
Complete with a CD-ROM containing over 180 sample contracts and documents from AIA, AGC, and EJCDC, Smith, Currie & Hancock's Common Sense Construction Law, Third Edition is an invaluable reference for industry professionals whose jobs rely on their ability to avoid unwelcome legal surprises that can cripple a project or kill a business.
Book Description
Sam Margulies, Ph.D., J.D., one of the most experienced mediators in the country, shares his experience to help men make this unpleasant process as quick and amicable as possible. His suggestions on how to manage this turbulent period will significantly minimize the effects of divorce on the separating couple and on any children in the relationship. Taking into consideration custody issues, and giving specific financial and legal advice, this book will inform men about how to choose a lawyer, how to deal with a pre-nup,and when not to go to trial. Dr. Margulies explores all the elements that make for a good, fair divorce, as well as the importance of timing and the decision to get counseling. He also explains how to avoid a legal mess, how to predict the long-term implications of alimony and child support, how to divide up property, and how to negotiate the final agreement. In A Man's Guide to a Civilized Divorce, Dr. Margulies helps men avoid the treacherous waters of divorce and illustrates how, with the right advice, one can actually come through the process in pretty good shape.
Customer Reviews:
Single best book on Divorce.......2007-05-23
This book is awesome--should be included with any predivorce meetinf with an atty. Not just for men!!
Get this book and seriously consider following its advice.......2007-01-04
This book has a lot of good insights into the divorce process. More than anything else I got out of it was the idea that the relationship is not going to end. So working through the process with that in mind has really helped me get ready to go forward.
I strongly recommend this book for anyone struggling to find an even keel as you head into the rough seas of divorce.
Made a difference.......2006-09-29
My divorce was handled via mediation and ended up being (relatively) civilized (though still painful), in part because of the advice in this book. As the commenter from Boston noted it does take two rationale people to make this occur, and I was fortunate to be in that situation. But in many ways it was because of this guide that I approached the situation more rationally and in the end that helped make a difference.
In a better world maybe..........2005-08-11
This book assumes you do not have a spouse who wants nothing other than to cut off your balls and take everything you've got and/or that she is willing to act with some degree of rationality. Well...guess what. That is simply not the case all the time. Maybe if I had the sense to start my divorce several years earlier, it would have been possible to utilize the very sensible advice in this book. Unfortunately, this advice was of no practical benefit in my situation and no amount of understanding or common sense on my part would have changed the situation.
Good luck to anyone in this situation. I screwed myself in a number of ways by thinking my soon to be ex-spouse would react rationally and favorably if I only acted sensibly and fairly.
Inaccurate title.......2005-02-02
The title of this book should be: "The wealthy, middle-aged man's..." The book has good information, but none of the men in any of the examples in this book make less than $100,000/yr, and all of the advice is geared towards men in their late 40's earning 100K+.
[...]
Example: when advising "us" on the costs expected in setting up a new two-bedroom household, the author claims that it could cost $10-15,000 if we play it safe. In other words, 1/4 of my annual income. I must be a financial genius because somehow I was able to do it for about 1,200.
About me: 28, 2 kids, full-time university employeed computer, programming and design professional. (Haven't had time to get that JD, MD or PhD... yet). I should have known this wasn't the book for me when I read on page one that a 28 yr old guy divorcing 3 years into a marriage could more- or- less write it off without financial difficulty. Uh huh.
That said, you can glean the kernel of the book no matter what: wanting the best for your wife's finances and creating a positive working relationship with her are the two best things a man can to do to ensure that, a) your children are happy, and feel safe, b) you don't waste a lot of money on legal fees, and c) you are "civil".
Customer Reviews:
Legal Transplants: An Approach to Comparative Law.......2007-03-16
This book is a reprint and not a second edition. THe only additional material is an afterword. It is a good starting point on legal transplants but requires reading of many other books by this author before the topic becomes clear.
Book Description
Why do some people not hesitate to call the police to quiet a barking dog in the middle of the night, while others accept the pain and losses associated with defective products, unsuccesful surgery, and discrimination? Patricia Ewick and Susan Silbey collected accounts of the law from more than four hundred people of diverse backgrounds in order to explore the different ways that people use and experience it. Their fascinating and original study identifies three common narratives of law that are captured in the stories people tell.
One narrative is based on an idea of the law as magisterial and remote. Another views the law as a game with rules that can be manipulated to one's advantage. A third narrative describes the law as an arbitrary power that is actively resisted. Drawing on these extensive case studies, Ewick and Silbey present individual experiences interwoven with an analysis that charts a coherent and compelling theory of legality. A groundbreaking study of law and narrative, The Common Place of Law depicts the institution as it is lived: strange and familiar, imperfect and ordinary, and at the center of daily life.
Customer Reviews:
An excellent, meticulously researched book........2000-03-06
The richness of this book comes from four hundred thirty interviews that support the text. The gist of the book is that people have three takes on the law: before the law, against the law, and with the law.
"Before the law" is an attitude of awe and respect for the institution. Faith in that day in court, that statue of blind justice and the policeman is my friend. "Against the law" is an attitude of resistance to the institution. Law as a caprice of the powerful, and resistance the right way to deal with it. "With the law" is an attitude of game playing with the institution. I didn't make the rules, but me and my lawyer, we sure as hell will play the game. People shift and change among these modes depending on where they are in life, the particulars of the situation, and growing experience with the law.
The biggest contribution of this book is in highlighting the game playing aspect of dealing with law. I think game-playing gets short shrift from other law authors who may be stuck inside their very serious institution. Most other books reduce game-playing to simple economic theory and don't pay enough attention to the human side of gaming with the law. I mean, really. Just look at how big the sports section of the Sunday paper is versus the economic analysis section! Games are a big part of everyday life. Ewick & Silbey give game-playing the appropriate type of attention. Big bravo.
My only criticism is that the language of this book is mainly for an academic audience, and thus I give it only four stars-sorry. The writing could be de-academicized and made more powerful and popular. Overall it is an excellent, meticulously researched book
I got the book for its cover-the picture of chairs in newly shoveled parking space. Now that's a real hotbed of attitude in the informal/formal law divide. Thanks to the authors and worker-bees for all their work.
Common Place Of Law is anything but common.......1999-10-19
The Common Place Of Law is a literate, witty and very well written explanation of how law does and does not work for the people for whom law was created: the common citizen.
Using anecdotal material mixed with sociological theory, Ewing and Silbey have created an intelligent mix of the plebeian and the patrician.
A very, very important book for the study of law today........1998-11-11
This book is accessible to many different audiences and is profound in its content. It would be an excellent book for undergraduate education, legal education or, even for pleasure reading. The anecdotal chapters interspersed with the analysis of the role of law in the lives or ordinary Americans makes this sophisticated book about the sociology of law in contemporary society one that should have staying power in the academy as well as more popular venues. What it has to say about law -- that Americans have a complex and sometimes contradictory relationship with the legal system and its promise of justice -- is not surprising as much as it is affirming and explanatory of so much of what we experience these days in the media and popular culture. The method the authors use to tease their thesis is rigorous and convincing, a model of scholarship for students and professionals. The Common Place of Law is a book to which I will refer and which I will reread for years.
Book Description
A standard in the labor arbitration profession—concise, authoritative overview of the leading arbitral principles developed in 50 years of the NAA.
Your black-letter overview of leading arbitral principles.
In this collection by members of the National Academy of Arbitrators, 16 master arbitrators explain the profession's most widely accepted arbitral principles concerning a variety of arbitration subjects. You get black-letter statements that summarize important points—plus extensive commentary and references that enhance your own perspective on practical and theoretical issues.
The book's unique format helps you discern the key elements of each topic, compare arbitrators' divergent opinions, and locate the appropriate references for details from relevant arbitration awards and treatises.
The Common Law of the Workplace: The Views of Arbitrators, Second Edition provides additional information on ethics in arbitration, application of external law, and drug abuse and violence in the workplace. The new edition also includes discussion of the issues surrounding use of the Parol Evidence Rule.
In addition, citations to court and arbitration decisions have been updated, as have references to secondary authorities. A new, comprehensive index has been added for easy reference.
Customer Reviews:
Succinct, Clear, and a Great Resource.......2007-05-14
The format of this book is a restatement, where each principle is set out as a bold black letter section and underneath it are both commentary and case references. I have found it to be invaluable and fun to read. The principles are divided into different categories commonly associated with labor arbitrations and this is a multi-author work. It may be out of print, and this is a shame, but if you can get it, buy it. Highly recommended for anyone involved in or interested in labor arbitration.
Common Law of the Workplace: The Views of Arbitrators is a great book.......2006-10-20
As an arbitrator, and also a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators, I disagree strongly with the other review. To begin, the book itself makes it clear that it is NOT official National Academy of Arbitrators Policy or viewpoint. Second, the reviewer actually ignored the WHOLE title of the book. It is "The Common Lw of the Workplace: The Views of Arbitrators." If you read it (and this is a readable book, unlike Elkouiri, How Arbitration Works for example), you will find 15 scholarly articles written with differing viewpoints. In fact, the arbitrators disagree with each other on some really major points. These analyses are tied to the record made before the arbitrator, and the unique elements of the contracts which the arbitrator is trying to apply and interpret. Black letter princples are followed by analytical examples. One learns that first line arbitrators are not applying a monolithic "The law of the Shop," but are instead trying to apply "The law of a Shop.' The book deals with matters of procedure and substance. It gives a surprisingly succinct overview of such issues as "just cause" for discipline. The section of "Troubled employees' is lyrical. The intricacies of contract interpretaiton are well laid out -- a difficult subject is made understandable. It has a new section on ethics. Rather than getting a "common law," the careful reader will find a sweet and melodious chorus, which will give you some useful insight into how arbitration cases are really decided by arbitrators. If I could only buy one book on arbitration, this would be it. It provides a lot of 'bang for the buck,'
Necessary Evil.......2005-11-05
I am the director of labor relations for a state government. I disagree with the fundamental premise of this book inasmuch as I reject the notion that there IS a common law of workplaces. That said, the arbitrators are all citing to this work and it is authoritative. At minimum a practitioner should have it to see what the Academy is thinking and adjust your argument and presentation accordingly.
My beef with the Academy, and they know who they are, is the whole notion of "inherent ambiguity" in contract language espoused in this book. To my mind, it is simply a rationalization for broad equity powers for arbitrators, power that I deny that they have unless expressly conferred by the agreement.
As I said, I disagree with it, but I have it and insist that my staff at least consult it.
Books:
- Manor Houses of England
- Mastering the ISDA Master Agreements (1992 and 2002): a practical guide for negotiation (2nd Edition) (Market Editions)
- Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services Inside Out
- Patents And the Federal Circuit
- Patterns in Design, Art and Architecture
- Pharmasim : Windows Version (with 3.5 diskette)
- Prescription for Nutritional Healing, 4th Edition: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements ... A-To-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies)
- Pride Before the Fall: The Trials of Bill Gates and the End of the Microsoft Era
- Principles of Kinesic Interview and Interrogation, Second Edition
- Quicken Willmaker Plus 2007 Edition: Estate Planning Essentials (Book with CD-ROM)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Gossip Girl #7: Nobody Does It Better: A Gossip Girl Novel
- Before Midnight: A Retelling of "Cinderella"
- Thinking About Biology: An Introductory Biology Laboratory Manual
- Theoretical Mechanics of Particles and Continua
- Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values
- Audio/Video Cable Installer's Pocket Guide
- A New Owner's Guide to Rottweilers
- LaPorte, Indiana
- The Tall Building Artistically Reconsidered. The Search For A Skyscraper Style.
- Vacationing With Your Pet: Eileen's Directory of Pet-Friendly Lodging in the United States & Can
