Professions Books

I find this book being very useful and practical for me to improve the first interview with clients. It comes with many examples which I can apply directly.

It is difficult to overstate my enthusiasm for this book as a resource for students and practioners alike. Clearly written, simply organized, accessible and nuanced; this volume is simply the best introductory text on the subject of mental health interviewing available today.

What distinguishes this book is it's recognition of bottom-line diagnostic issues while respecting the dynamic and process of the interview which allows the diagnostic picture to emerge. By organizing the book along diagnostic lines rather than the simple domians of the interview; Shea takes the emphasis of the book off of mere data collection in favor of the interpretation and synthesis that are the true skills of clinicial interviewing. In doing so he avoids the major weakness of most introductory interview texts; which tend to pay more attention to what data to collect at the expense of what to do with the information one obtains.

The most notable enhancement to the second edition is the delineation of Shea's technique for suicide and violence assessment. This is a welcome addition on a topic which is a perrenial source of anxiety for anyone working in mental health.

It's a shame that this book is not on more required reading lists in professional schools. I reccomend this book to trainees of any professional stripe who want to learn more about the art of clincial interviewing, and to practitioners who want to benefit from the wisdom of a true master of the topic.

Shawn Christopher Shea does not quite measure up to Irwin Yalom as a poet/philosopher in the realm of psychiatry and mental health. And yet, like Dr. Yalom, the master of group psychotherapy, Dr. Shea is very good in his own published niche, the art and science of psychiatric assessment. Unlike Yalom's specialty, Shea's work contains the elements of life and death. A superficial or faulty diagnosis can result at worst in suicide, homicide, or fatal medication reaction. Thus, while Shea is a funny and thoughtful man in his own right, his book is of necessity grave. Coupled with thoroughness, this gravity makes the work a standard referral source that should enjoy a long shelf life.

It is hard to imagine a better work than Shea's for psychiatric orientation. His working setting appears to be the emergency clinic of a major hospital in which the assessor must do a lot of things in a sixty minute time frame, though Part I [pp. 3-224] deals with such issues as subtle nonverbal behavior that seem more accessible in a leisured, office setting. With a somewhat undisguised distaste for present managed care practices, Shea assumes the worst of all worlds as to working conditions: a cold client, resistance, multiple diagnoses, soft signs, need for medication and follow-up treatment, and development of a working relationship or engagement with the client-all inside of sixty minutes and assuming the assessor has leisure to dictate later in the day.

There are several features of his teaching style that merit attention. The first is adherence to the DSM-IV. The publishers of this work purchased to right to reproduce those familiar "symptom boxes" verbatim and incorporate them into the text at appropriate points. The ease of use of these cross references in the text, and the author's lucid commentary on how to verbally elicit indications of the symptomatology call for special note. Second, Shea is a master of risk management. He leaves no stones unturned in his interviews in his efforts to determine suicidal or homicidal risk; or, in another vein, he garners from clients a near exact tally of daily drinking. Since reading the work, I have found myself asking patients about suicide as often as three different times in an interview, in various guises. [Shea `s "Far Side" sense of humor comes to the fore in his treatment of suicidal assessments; noting that psychiatrists and mental health professionals are all too human, he observes that assessors are less likely to probe for suicide and severe psychotic warnings at the end of their work shifts.]

A third characteristic worth noting is Shea's attention to the "soft signs" of an emerging psychosis. It occurred to me that, given the pressure of time upon psychiatrists, the non-physician practitioner [eg. psychotherapist, social worker] might actually have more exposure to the little indicators and trends than their harried colleagues: preoccupation with an incident in the distant past, infrequent loosenings of thought associations, inappropriate affect, etc. [p. 317]. This is an excellent work for non-physician providers who wish to collaborate with psychiatrists more succinctly and Shea's reflections upon the writing of clinical notes bears special attention.

As this is a second edition of an original work, there are a few additions that might prove valuable in future editions. One is an acknowledgment that many [most?] psychiatric evaluations for diagnosis and medication are not being done by psychiatrists. In my own setting, the client's primary care physician is the gatekeeper, and one can assume reasonably competent risk management skills among MD's in regular practice. But as one progresses further down the medical service food chain, it is not unusual to see bachelor's level personnel in public receiving facilities performing the very duties outlined by Dr. Shea in this text. As state funding of services becomes more acute, there will no doubt continue to be a "dumbing down" trend, with less qualified personnel being authorized to perform more delicate psychological services, such as assessments. Consequently, although Dr. Shea's present work is unquestionably thorough, it may be that future editions will need to assume less technical background and include more basic information, given that his target audience is the entire mental health community.

Along these lines, the construct of this work assumes a one-hour psychiatric assessment. One wonders if this is an optimistic time frame. In this corner of Florida, a 30-minute office assessment is the gold card of psychiatric care among private practitioners, Medicaid, and the better health care plans. The hour assessment appears to be the domain of the inpatient residential/involuntary population, sort of a closing of the barn door after the horses have gone round the bend. If indeed one must assess in a thirty-minute window, it would be interesting to get Dr. Shea's pecking order of urgencies from those cited in this work. But I don't want to be the one to ask him.

There are a lot of interviewing primers out there, but this is a book to really digest. The subtleties of interviewing are slowly and methodically explored with enough "meat" that you don't feel like you've just eaten a lot of cotton candy, as with some other texts. (Of the lighter texts though, I recommend Robinson's "Three Spheres".) Great book. Thanks Dr. Shea!

Easy to read, written in a interesting format with a dramatic and poetic flare! However, the content of this book is invaluable to anyone performing intake and inital assessments. Shea breaks down the interview into understandable and logical components, and discusses methods and techniques to fully engage interviewees. If you haven't heard fabout Facilic's get this book and learn how this linguistic study of conversation can help you understand your own strengths and weaknesses in interviewing.

Excellent review of sensitive issues regarding race, ethnicity, and the criminal justice system!

As a graduate student in criminal justice - I find it enjoyable to read subjects that directly impact my course of studies and my profession. Race, Crime and the Law is one of the few books that I would STRONGLY recommend to every criminal justice, sociology and law student. In fact, I would recommend this book to anyone concerned with the current state of race relations within the United States. Kennedy's style and in your face writing is powerful and persuasive. This book is not written in the typical, arrogant style of many professors. Instead Kennedy writes this book for the masses.

This lucid work of kennedy's is a comprehensive and beautifully written examination of race and its ralation to the criminal justice system and the law. Kennedy's arguments are superb, and he supports everything that he says with hard evidence, leaving his sound biases and premises the only things left to be considered. Kennedy is, even in this last matter, careful to make this book an exploration rather than a persuasion, and while he does make arguements and try to persuade the reader, he does not condemn his opposition and he certainly does not limit the scope of his thinking in any way possibly detrimental to the flow of ideas.

Schools in America have always taught us with blindfolds on. It's up to the American people, [mainly people of color] to find the truth. The negative race relation state that America is today, is a direct result of the pre 1900's. Randall Kennedy shows us in this book how slanted the laws were during slavery times and what do you know, things haven't changed all that much.

1st & foremost, this is the BEST book i've read in a long time. Kennedy acheives what Gates & West do NOT ... an intelligent discourse on important issues currently facing racial minorities that is rooted in fact. he offers facts & precedent to support his opinions, views & hypothesis ... as opposed to rhetoric supported by rhetoric.

the book dissects the historical perversion of criminal justice/law enforcement to perpetuate the oppression of racial minorites. then it uses this historical context/premise to draw a picture of the current state of the relationship/role of the criminal justice system & law enforcement in minority communities. The book has brilliant sections on racial profiling, the war on drugs and the death penalty. each of these issues are dissected from a viewpoint of the critical legal issues ... and Kennedy finds time to interject his own opinion, SUPPORTED BY FACTS. Kennedy presents his material in a logical & organized mannner ... but not always concise. although i'm not a lawyer, it felt very much like a legal brief at times ... but it was still easy to read.

... highly, highly recommended, although it is a bit thick.

I've read a lot of these types of books, being a reformed "I went to law school so I WOULDN'T have to do sales" type. This is one of the most useful practical books on the subject I've ever come across. In fact, I liked it so much that I'm back to buy two additional copies to use as loaners to some other folks in my firm.

The Chapters are all very short, no more than 5 or 6 pages with each addressing a particular real life situation such as "Avoid Random Acts of Lunch (or How to Make Your Business Development Pay Off): How Can I Avoid Wasting My marketing Efforts in Random, Unplanned Actions?" What I liked about this book was that it acknoweldged a deepseated fear many of us have as lawyers when it comes to marketing and suggested alternative ways of looking at the task in a more positive light. Then, in addition to the attitude switch, Maraia dispenses concrete easy suggestions in every chapter that I can definitely see myself implementing immediately and getting results very quickly.

This book is especially good for someone just starting out on the marketing path, but even experienced professionals will find something new they can use.

Maraia is a recognized expert in the field of rainmaking for professionals, and this book is a compilation of tips and advice from his years of consulting with hundreds and hundreds of attorneys and other professionals who hate the thought of asking for business. Maraia disarms the reader's objections and recharacterizes the task of rainmaking in a manner that is both fresh and appealing to professionals. Why ask for business directly when you can simply reconnect with a dormant client or an old college friend? Maraia teaches that rainmaking is all about making relationships, about connecting and reconnecting in ways that demonstrate that you truly care about and want to help others. As Zig Ziglar has said, "You can get anything you want if you just help enough other people get what they want".

There are no platitudes here - only practical and immediately useable advice, organized for easy reference. I'm recommending this book to every professional that I know. Who knows? Maybe I'll get a referral.

There are several excellent marketing books that are specifically aimed at lawyers and professional service firms. I think this is the best. From "Twenty Ideas for Increasing Client Satisfaction" (Chapter 9) to "Using Speaking to Win New Clients" (Chapter 34), and "Avoid Random Acts of Lunch" (Chapter 16) the advice is specific, detailed, and exteremly useful. The 48 short, practical chapters are especially helpful as job aids - read only what you need, exactly when you need it. And if you have any doubts about whether it works, just read the 67 testimonials in the front of the book.

Can rainmaking for lawyers be simple? According to Mark Maraia, it can be--and his book tells attorneys how.

This is one of the best books around on rainmaking for lawyers. It suggests many actions that lawyers can take to develop clients, and breaks down these actions into easily understood steps.

As a coach to lawyers, I particularly appreciate how Maraia stresses this simple maxim: every client communication is a client development opportunity. How true! Every client communication--whether a legal bill, an email or a conversation--should be used to enhance the attorney-client relationship by building trust and communicating value. This can't be emphasized enough.

Maraia also explores topics like cross selling and developing associates' marketing skills. These techniques are too often ignored by lawyers, and Maraia clearly explains why they are effective.

One caveat: my lawyer clients who handle international matters and deal with foreign clients have had to modify some of these rainmaking tactics. Effective cross-cultural communication means communicating with cultural sensitivity and awareness. In a global economy this is critical. A few of Maraia's suggested techniques--while effective with American clients--can be too direct and off-putting for those foreign clients used to an "indirect" communication style. However, Maraia's basic principles are sound and can be easily tweaked for multicultural rainmaking.

Maraia also emphasizes that rainmaking training (through this book or in person) is much more effective with follow-on coaching. In fact, recognizing that lawyers will become more effective rainmakers if they customize and implement the rainmaking techniques with the help of a trained lawyer coach, Maraia explains that he only offers in person training with follow-on coaching. Regardless, this book is a great, straightforward and practical resource.

I started reading Rainmaking Made Simple as just a book and couldn't help jumping around to different topics. It is really more like a desktop reference guide. I bet I've read different sections of it 3 or 4 times. I've found this to be a handbook that you can go back to time and again. I know that's what I've been doing.

Also, I noted right away Maraia has done lots of work with professional service firms that bill themselves or their organization hourly. It took me about one minute to start translating some of his examples into what I do with my company.

Did I like it? Yes! It's a great, down-to-earth reference guide that makes sense to own.

Having to go to court with out the money to hire a Lawyer several times, this book proved to be a valuable resource. It taught me that Judge and Arbitrators like individuals who are ready and prepared for their cases. If you can not have a lawyer present, you can at least prepare like one.

The authors give honest information on every part of the trial and the trial process. You will learn how to file a complaint to answering a complaint. It gives real information on the process of the trial from filing motions, seeking discovery and settling your case. It caps with judgments and appeals.

I like how the authors make everything easy to understand and the advice is completely useable. This can be used if this is you first time in court or your tenth.

Footnote: Nolo press is the best company that produces law books for the common person. They are always easy to read and pact with good advice.


Enjoy

This is one of the best books I have read and enjoyed about pro se litigation. The large font, great white space, and properly displayed summary tables render the book easy to endure and utilize. The authors offer many proverbs and examples for lay people that alleviate the harshness of legal lingo. Moreover, they even translate the formal and non-technical English words into layman's language. For example, words such as "sanction, impeach, strike, motion, cross, re-cross, direct, and re-direct" are simplified to common readers to mean "punish, discredit, delete, request, and questioning of witnesses in different setting".

The authors realize the hardship of hiring a good and trustworthy lawyer and assist the readers in understanding their rights for self-representation. Not only you will learn how not to be a fool pro se, but also how to expose the foolishness of ill-prepared lawyers and how to feel home among busy birds of a feather different from yours.

The book dissects the court room like an anatomy specimen and shows the reader where everyone belongs. (In one of the traffic violation I attended, a defendant brought his 5-year old son to the courtroom, was not able to control his running between the judge's legs and messing up stacks of papers on the reporter's desk.) This book will familiarize you with the territory such that you will avoid acting childishly. Aside from running between the judge's legs, the pro se will learn how to seek permission to approach a witness, to admit exhibits, to strike evidence, and so on.

The paper work phase is explained in great details to remove the anxiety of the long and contentious process that follows. It offers assurance that anxiety and fear are natural reaction to performing on a stage of adversarial nature. Actors, teachers, lawyers go through what a pro se litigant goes through in laboring to defend his or her arguments. It offers forms for different filing purposes, describes exhibits and trial notebook, and explains how to respond to and make objections.

The trial dissection is also magnificent in describing in details the phases of paper work filing, subject and personal jurisdiction, statute of limitation, and the development of the trial process from filling answers, motions, pretrial material, discovery, and evidentiary issue.

The trial process is well described as well to entail opening statement, direct and cross examination, closing statement. It is preceded with extensive elaboration on how settlement, aberration, and mediation most of times cut the process short of a trial.

The elaborate description of informal and formal discovery process is very helpful to pro se litigants since it saves the exuberant amount of money spent on lawyers to gather documents, depose witness, and disclose evidence. The thorough details of the techniques of discovery are presented in bulleted subsections, each with its advantages and disadvantages.

The book extends it discussion to post-trail phases of appeals and judgment. It then delves into specialized areas such as divorce and bankruptcy. The coherence of the book topics serves the readers a great deal in enabling pro se to focus on pertinent legal claims, their elements, the facts that address each element, and the evidence required to prove the facts.

Three trivial problems are noticeable. One, pages are numbered according to chapters which forces the reader to remember two instead of one number when trying to memorize latest page read. Two, referencing to legal coach is excessively used while the book is intended to self-represented parties. Three, excessive branching of references for further reading are everywhere despite the good 24 healthy chapters of the book.

Mohamed F. El-Hewie
Author of
Essentials of Weightlifting and Strength Training

As a Pro Se Petitioner, I have found this book to be incredibly helpful! It explains all of the ins and outs of trial, how to organize a trial notebook, how to arrange your questioning, and how to cross examine among many other important facts. This book contains the inforation that lawyers know, that we need to know, but have not gone to many years of school. It is written in plain English, and is a MUST for anyone looking to go into or try to avoid going to trial!

I was thoroughly impressed how well written and easy to understand this book is. Each step is completely explained, referenced and many documents have examples printed right in the book. There are great tips and tricks to deal with opposing counsel as well as warnings for what type of red flags and tricks to watch for from the other side. This book is an asset for the novice to the more experienced pro se litigator. Definitely a Five Star book.

I decided to represent myself as a pro se litigant, and turned to this book since it got such good reviews.

I was NOT disappointed. It does a great job chronologically illustrating common judicial patterns, and it will even give you a spectrum of scenarios in case your court system operates a bit differently. There are example dialogs and mock situations to help you understand what to do in certain situations.

Believe it or not, I didn't need the book in the end. There is a statistic that is published in the book pointing out that over 90% of people who go into court usually settle before an actual trial. Because of this statistic, I mentioned it to the Plantiff's attorney and was surprised to hear, "well, then, make us an offer!"

Had I not had the chance to settle out of court, I would have been very prepared to represent myself.

There were a couple of weak spots in the book, but they were of my own wanting to have more information. One of those areas that the book needs to get up to speed on is electronic documents, such as dealing with e-mails, and techniques in proving that e-mails are legitimate.

I'd also like to mention for those of you who are looking for Child Support help, this is not a good book for that. It has a tiny section on Child Support, then leaves you hanging. This may be because laws vary so much, but I thought I'd at least point it out. The book is more for general concepts, so the info falls short once you begin specializing in certain subject matters.

Whatever your case is about, I can't emphasize enough for you to take a morning off from work to go watch some cases in court. You'll eliminate some fear of the unknown, you'll start to see that attorneys go through a similar set of procedures that you are just as capable of performing yourself, and you'll get a feel for how to talk to the judge and those who might be in the same room as you.

The very first part of the essential, very first amendment to our Constitution says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." This ringing phrase, so seemingly simple and obvious, has been the focus of an enormous amount of controversy and clarification. It is a great legacy, but what does it really mean? We are still struggling to find out. In _To an Unknown God: Religious Freedom on Trial_ (St. Martin's Press) by Garrett Epps we learn how one of the latest struggles is turning out. It is a fine book to show in detail how a specific constitutional decision came to be made.

On one side of the story was Al Smith. Smith was born into the Klamath tribe, but was pulled out of it to go to Catholic boarding school. Rather late in his life he was introduced to sweat lodges and Native American religion. He was also introduced to Alcoholics Anonymous, and eventually became a respected counselor, speaker, and organizer of treatment centers for alcohol and drug abuse. As he traveled to different reservations to set up recovery programs, he came across peyote religion. It seemed to give some of his clients spiritual strength, and they seemed to do better in overcoming substance abuse if they participated in its religious ceremonies. He began to consider participating in peyote religion. He was told that taking peyote at a ceremony would violate the rules of the treatment center in which he worked, and so he did so. He was thereupon fired, and he filed for unemployment compensation. That filing set the stage for a subsequent battle within the Supreme Court and beyond.

On the other side was Oregon Attorney General David Frohnmayer. He had tried in his political offices in Oregon to mend fences with the tribes of his region. He was, however, very worried about the dangers of drug abuse, and so he felt he was doing the right thing in trying to squelch community acceptance of drugs, ceremonial or not. He approached the Supreme Court proceedings with the mantra, "Drugs are bad. Slippery slope." Not only was peyote illegal, but it was used in a minority religion; if it were allowed, then surely someone would be asking to use other drugs for religious purposes. But he did reflect sadly to his legal team, "How did we get to be the Indian bashers?"

Epps is not only a journalist and lawyer, but also a novelist. His ability to describe personalities and anecdotes serves him well, for although this is a legal story, the human stories within it are what make it live. He has used process of the legal arguments as a springboard for an examination of many connected subjects: the history of the Bureau of Indian Affairs; the story of Alcoholics Anonymous; the tale of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and the Oregon town that was taken over by his devotees; the saga of the Road Man who is the ceremonial leader of the peyote religion. These set pieces are fascinating, and strengthen the main story. It is disconcerting that there is no pat final resolution, but Epps writes, "The law of religious freedom remains unsettled." Thus may it ever be.

This book is one of the best looks at a Supreme Court case in quite some time. Examining Oregon v. Smith, one of the most important yet unheralded legal battles of our time, Epps' book plumbs the depths Indian rights, religious freedom and states rights in a manor which devestates the intellectual pretensions of Court conservatives such as Justice Scalia. The only quible one can have with the book it that it has too much detail on Oregon Attorney General Frohnmeyer. Other than that minor matter, this is a top rate book. Of additional note, the book provides an exceptionaly concise yet comprehensive overview of the Rajhneesh cult afair in Oregon, relying to good effect on the journalism of Oregon Magazine's Win McCormack.

I was lucky enough to read an early copy of this book, and I found it astonishingly good. I had loved Epps's work as a novelist (his "Shad Treatment" is one of the best first novels I know) and I had always wondered if he could apply his writerly powers to non-fiction, as well. "To an Unknown God" draws on all the creative gifts that fans of Epps's earlier books will remember. He takes an important Supreme Court case about religious freedom (he's now a law professor) and tells the story through the remarkable personalities who were involved in the case: Al Smith, the Native American member of a peyote cult who was the plaintiff, and David Frohnmeyer, the all-American Republican wunderkind attorney general of Oregon, who argued that peyote use wasn't protected as an exercise of religious freedom. Epps deconstructs these billboard identities to provide a rich and very moving account of the real people and the heartbreaking pressures that shaped their actions in this legal case. This is a rare book--taking the sometimes dry subject of law and filling it with life. I hope it's a promise of more books to come from Epps, who is a vastly talented writer.

Epps' book is one of the best in recent memory to explore a Supreme Court case. Examining the case of Oregon v. Smith, Epps deploys his skills as both a journalist and a novelist to plumb the depths of Indian rights, religious freedom and states rights. The only quibble one can have is that the book spends too much time on the minutae of Oregon Attorney General Frohnmeyer's life. Other than that minor matter, this is an elegantly told tale. As an aside, Epps presents a concise yet complete recouncting of the Rajhneesh cult saga of the '80's, relying to good effect of the work of Oregon Magazine Editor-in-Chief Win McCormack.

This book could easily have been a bore--yet another detailed legal explication of a Supreme Court case you know you should be interested in, but aren't, because you can't follow the jargon. But in Epps' hands an amazing story comes to life. This is serious constitutional law, with enormous consequences for our country, and it reads like a novel. Anyone concerned with religion and free expression should read it. Or you could just read it because it's a great read!

Each arena has it's Michael Jordan. In the courtroom, it is David Berg. And Berg has taken this natural talent and time-honed skill to a new level as he unlocks certain secrets that have catapulted him to the top of his profession. What most have considered his "magic," he explains as common sense practice. This book should be a required text at every law school. Those in the legal profession should not just read this, they should study it. The difference it will make in case results more than pays for the book, over and over again.

In the Epilogue, David Berg states that the next generation of trial lawyers must win back the public's respect. Given this belief, it is no surprise that this highly accomplished trial lawyer passionately shares with us the lessons he has learned over an astonishing career.

It is difficult for any trial book to cover everything, and Berg's book makes a wise decision to emphasize the need for preparation which has been neglected in the trial literature. For example, over a third of the book, 126 pages, addresses the importance of preparing your case through discovery, conducting mock trials, and spending a lot of thought and time on voir dire.

Throughout the book, Berg shares memorable anectdotal stories from trials he has tried or famous lawyers he has known. The stories make for a very interesting read.

I am in my fifth year now, and I've still never had a jury trial, because of the explosion of alternative dispute resolution. Despite the diminishing frequency of the jury trial, this book is still an absolute must. To me, the following points the author makes are accurate--you must conduct litigation like you will go to trial, and, on occasion, you must actually go to trial. This book teaches you how to act like a real litigator. He emphasizes being a "bulldog about documents," and states the best depositions are the ones that draw blood. He also tells you how to pick a jury, how to open, how to conduct direct and cross, and how to close, among other things. In fairness, there really are just too many good parts to single anything out--the whole damn book is invaluable. Further, it is written with humor and with good stories. Highly recommended.

If you want to learn more about trying cases, get this book and splurge for the deluxe DVD edition. Failure to do so is, as Berg might put it, "false economy."

For example, the DVDs contain large parts Berg's closing in Wyatt v. Sakowitz, videotaped at the old Harris County courthouse. It is a rare glimpse of a masterful closing as it happened. You can hear the nervous tension in Berg's voice, but also the rhythm, emotion, and sincerity of his delivery. A transcript would get only about a tenth of what the tape captures. To use another Bergism, it will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

Berg also provides one of the best guides to jury selection I have seen. He shares strategies that took him decades to develop in a way that even a novice can quickly adopt and use.

Berg once said that history forgets many of the great trial lawyers. Berg's book will preserve not only his achievements, but also those of many of his contemporaries in the various war stories he uses to illustrate his points.

In my 40 years of trial practice, few books are better organized, or present more useful insights in how to try cases. David Berg has been in the pits, has dozens of verdicts in all kinds of civil and criminal cases-everything from murder to patent infringement-and writes about them very well. Drawing on his experience, David explains the importance, goals, and methods of achieving those goals, for each step of representation, from the first meeting with the client, to the final words of closing argument. And while this isn't one of those "war story" book, he does use examples from his own cases and those of other trial lawyers to make his points. This book is a "must read," not just for aspiring trial lawyers, but for all who want to enhance their skills in the courtroom. It should be mandatory reading for law school advocacy classes.

The variety of sensitive issues that psychotherapists must deal with are addressed in this stimulating book. In a respectful context, the authors challenge us to address a variety of topics that are almost never discussed in training, supervision, or consultation study groups among psychotherapists. This reading provides a wealth of topics and guidelines for thinking through issues such as, what to do during a psychotherapy session when we feel distracted, annoyed, drowsy or sexually aroused? What to do when personal values differ significantly from those of our clients/patients? Many more interesting taboo topics are addressed! I am recommending that my feminist therapy study group read this book for discussion!

In graduate training, we are trained to follow ethical principles, but discussions are limited. Students and professors seem afraid to openly discuss the taboo topics, like therapist feelings of fear, anger, hatred, and sexual attraction. This book provides the context for open, respectful, and insightful discussions in graduate-level ethics courses. Thank you, Dr. Pope!

This is the MOST PRACTICAL book on boundaries and ethics I have read in any language. It is an ideal text for professional training programs in psychology or other mental health fields. But it is also something one could use to guide practicing clinicians and/or plan inservice training. Last but not least, for the consumer who is wondering what "the rules are," this is far easier to understand than an ethics code. Nothing available in the professional literature can match this contribution by three widely acknowledged leaders in the field who have provided a virtual cornucopia of useful guidance. They cover many vital things including some rarely discussed. It's worth many times its price. This is the first book I think which could actually be used as a text in a professional training program which is seeking to truly cover the realities of the practice that their students face in the future.

This book certainly raises lots of issues not covered in school and provides a logical and ethical methodology to thinking through, however the book falls short of suggested resolutions that the therapist may entertain. The book is well written and clearly laid out but I was left feeling many "endings" were left off. I am faced with decision trees that involve ethics daily in my practise but I would like to have some insight into what my colleagues decision trees look like. I can always raise the ethical questions myself. Overall good reading but not a book I would reference. The book would be good reading for group discussion.

If you're in the mental health field or preparing for a career in it, this book raises a lot of excellent questions that you'll want to think through. I wish it provided more answers, but I understand that its purpose is to raise the issues so you can think through them for yourself.

I believe this is a good tool for non-lawyers, who need to know about the legal aspects of internet. This is an excellent reference for common doubts, like being impersonated on the internet, internet auctions and its legal binding, privacy,digital signature, etc.

I find this book a short but substancial answer to the problems mentioned before, in a simple language that may be understood by everyone interested in the subject.

Laws governing the 'Net seem to change as often as the 'Net itself changes. For every technological breakthrough, there are also seemingly endless legal questions that eventually come up. This book attempts to address the major legal issues regarding the Internet. As such, it's a great guide to the most common legal questions to be asked.

While the book sticks to 101 specific legal topics concerning the 'Net, most of them apply to such areas as "legal contracts," "digital signatures," "liability," medical transactions, privacy, advertising, and online banking. While some of the material covered here might seem to be "common-sense," as with any other form of law, it always pays to be totally informed.

If you do any web surfing, e-commerce or any other Internet activity that might be "governed" by laws, this is an excellent book to keep handy, not just as a learning tool, but also as a quick reference.

Bick applies traditional law to new media and new technology. His explanations are clear and intelligent. This book is a valuable asset for leaders of new media and technology companies as it provides a legal framework that is accessible and intuitive.

Save yourself and your firm from trouble down the road by knowing the law and how it applies to your business.

If you're an avid web surfer, this book is great. You can find out what is and isn't legal and what rights you have online.

Although the book isn't organized very well, it is still a good read and something that every high-tech junkie or old-fashioned newbie should read.

Author Jonathan Bick gives general readers a short introduction to the ways that various laws apply to the Internet. He focuses on existing laws about contracts, defamation, privacy, copyright, trademark and other areas, and explains their application to the Internet environment, since few laws specific to the Internet have been drafted. He covers a variety of topics, including Internet-related taxes, rights, options, obligations, liabilities, debt collection, advertising, billing refunds, intellectual property protections and more, all organized into one- or two-page discussions. Each section is followed by a summary of the law or recommendations on how it applies to business. We [...] recommend this clear and easy-to-understand guide to anyone who uses the Internet for work, business or entertainment. And if you hit a section that doesn't apply to you, skip ahead - one advantage of the book's organization is that you can jump to the sections that interest you.

Thirty years ago I began the practice of law by serving as a Law Clerk to a federal judge. In retrospect, after three decades as a civil litigator, the most important lesson that I learned back then was to think like a Judge when acting as an Advocate...to get inside the Judge's head, gameplan a winning scenario, and present my case accordingly.

Allan Goodman's seminal work ostensibly is a handbook for novice Mediators, providing checklists, advice and guidance for the newly minted specialist in Alternative Disputes Resolution. As a practical matter, it is an indispensible tool for any advocate - lawyer or lay - in planning a successful Mediation and avoiding an expensive, lengthy courtroom battle. Judge Goodman provides the requisite virtual roadmap through any Mediator's head.

Both of Allan Goodman's books, BASIC SKILLS FOR THE NEW MEDIATOR and BASIC SKILLS FOR THE NEW ARBITRATOR, deserve to be read and re-read by every ADR professional and every advisor to parties in dispute before he or she enters the session. As a practicing mediator, arbitrator and ADR trainer, I know I do, and it gives me the presence to relax and "enjoy" the session, because I know I will be giving the best process skills of ADR to the parties and their representatives.

Concise, readily assimilated answers to some of the most perplexing problems faced by ADR neutrals are presented at each stage of the mediation and arbitration process. I would further recommend the appropriate book be given to the disputing parties to assist them in knowledgeable decision-making and a successful resolution.

As a new mediator, I was looking for a book that would describe mediation skills in clear, non-legal language. This book is it! The question-and-answer format is a very effective teaching tool that walks you through the mediation process. When I think of a question that I would want to ask, it seems that the author has anticipated it and there it is. Mr. Goodman is obviously someone with extensive experience, both as a trainer and a mediator. I am a retired teacher and I found particularly valuable the appendix "Everything You Never Wanted to Know About the Rules of Evidence." The author offers an interesting explanation for including this information - that a mediator should have a basic knowledge of the concepts of evidence because we all (not just lawyers) apply these principles in every day life. This appendix alone is worth the price of the book.

I also purchased the companion volume, Basic Skills for the New Arbitrator, so I could gain an understanding of arbitration and broaden my knowledge of the increasingly popular field of alternative dispute resolution. I found that book equally easy to understand and very valuable.

If you want to be a mediator, you will have to take an exhausting training in just about any jurisdiction. You will be required to take at least 40 hours of training. In fact, before beginning the training, my best advice for you is to get a copy of this book, which can be read in four hours or less, and I am positively sure that you will have a considerable edge over your training classmates. They will all wonder if you came to the training with prior experience. Not only you will feel more confident in knowing the process, but you will also get good suggestions from the author as to how to conduct particular matters. I think that when you want to try something new, whatever it may be, e.g., table chess, judo, dog breeding, etc., you need a beginners guide and lots of advice from knowledgeable people. This is precisely what this book does with respect to mediation.

I am a construction lawyer in the Washington, D.C. area and found Judge Goodman's book to be just the thing in giving me a primer on mediation approaches. It is organized extremely well, is easy to read, and gave me lots of help as I prepared for my first mediation. The format of questions and answers is perfect for this subject. The only thing I would like to see is a second volume for advanced mediation, since Judge Goodman has much to offer.

During the last year of high school, the most common question is "what are you going to do with your life". Somehow, within the span of a few months, you are supposed to figure out who you are and what career you'll have for the rest of your life. It's no wonder that many people go to college and change their majors several times.

Unfortunately, an even bigger surprise awaits the new college graduate. After studying for years, they come to grips with the reality of working. Often what is taught in school doesn't ready the student for the job.

The Career Chronicles takes a unique approach. The author has interviewed a number of professionals in a variety of popular occupations and asked the things that we all wish we could have asked before committing to a four year degree program. Information includes employment levels, academic requirements, average salary levels, college vs reality, the biggest surprise, hours and advancement, how they spend a typical day, and whether they'd do it all over again.

I was really interested in this book after reading the other reviews. I am an educator and am always looking for books that can help students or their parents. When I read this book, I quickly realized the importance that this book serves to those graduating from high school or those looking for a new career. There is so much valuable and rich information for each career. Of course, I had to flip directly to the education portion of the book to see what it had to say. After reading it, I realized how easy my first two years of teaching would have been if I knew this information beforehand. I HIGHLY recommend this book.

This book is unlike any I've seen. For college students deciding on a career, it is an excellent commentary about "real world" jobs, well researched, logically organized, easy to read. I teach in college and will definitely recommend it to my students.

What a fantastic book to read in helping one select a career. This book is subdivided by various careers including health care, law, architecture, education and IT. It gives the opinions of seasoned professionals where it describes the pros and cons of their career decision. The books even asks the professionals if they would choose the same career if given a choice. I hope that this becomes a necessary reference book for colleges and institutions that help people make a career decision. This book is an excellent tool for anyone deciding on their career path!

This is an excellent resource. It would have been beneficial had this book been written seventeen years ago when I was in college and trying to figure out what I wanted to do for a living. Much like many of the professionals interviewed, I found myself lacking the knowledge about and later the passion for the career that I selected. I purchased this book for my nephew that will begin college in the Fall. I took the liberty of reading this book before giving it to him and have now purchased a copy for myself and have decided to embark on a second career.