An examination of why lawyers act like slimeballs and what can be done about it. Scientists prefer using lawyers over rats for their experiments, the joke goes, because there are some things rats won’t do. Given this popular conception of lawyers, you would expect a book about the “moral compass” of American lawyers to be exceedingly thin. Zitrin and Langford, who both teach law at the University of San Francisco, take their subject seriously, however, and point to a foundation of our legal system, the adversarial relationship, to explain lawyerly behavior. Conceiving of legal action as the pitting of one side against another requires that everyone have access to representation. Even the worst criminals and most irresponsible corporations must be able to confer in confidence with lawyers, whose role is to further the interests of their client to the best of their ability. This means that legal ethics—which enjoin lawyers to be advocates of particular interests—do not necessarily parallel common notions of morality; lawyers are supposed to serve clients, not seek justice. Zitrin and Langford lay out the attendant dilemmas through real-life examples that pose the problem for the reader, discussion of past cases and doctrine guiding past practice, and ultimately accounts of how the actual cases were resolved. Issues addressed include representing the guilty, withholding evidence, attorney-client privilege, zealousness of representation, pressures generated by large corporate practices, and settlements that withhold vital information from the public. Despite presenting a convincing case for doing away with the adversarial system, however, their suggestions for reform are moderate calls for emphasizing ethics in legal training, reigning in large legal firms, and especially establishing guidelines for lawyers with less “wiggle room.” Whether or not this will really reform a profession filled with “professionally trained wigglers” is open to question. An engaging effort to explain lawyers and their ethical dilemmas to a skeptical popular audience. (Author tour)
Pub Date: May 25, 1999
ISBN: 0-345-43314-9
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1999
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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