Whether you’ve been a lawyer for decades or whether you are an attorney just starting out, you could benefit from reading Building a Better Law Practice: Become a Better Lawyer in Five Minutes a Day. In his preface, author Jeremy W. Richter points out that being a good lawyer requires continually improving your craft and that this act of betterment requires time and energy, perhaps two things one does not have at the end or (sometimes) the middle of the day. In this regard, Richter has written a book to help lawyers build a better practice, and he has done so in a “daily reading” format that takes only five minutes a day.
Read moreLatest & Greatest - Shortlisted: Women in the Shadows of the Supreme Court
The Harris County Robert W. Hainsworth Law Library recently added two copies of Shortlisted: Women in the Shadows of the Supreme Court to its collection. This book, which is summarized in this blog post, examines the history of women who have been considered as nominees for the U.S. Supreme Court.
Read moreLatest & Greatest – Estate Planning for the Muslim Client
Estate plans are drafted to facilitate the transfer of one’s wealth upon death to designated beneficiaries. What happens when your client is a devout Muslim who wants to plan and distribute his estate in accordance with his religious beliefs and convictions as well as Islamic inheritance law? In that case, it is important to understand not only the basic tenets and beliefs of the Muslim faith but also how Islamic inheritance laws relate to and harmonize with existing federal and state law. Yaser Ali and Ahmed Shaikh have written Estate Planning for the Muslim Client, an excellent guide to assist attorneys with preparing estate plans that are consistent with a client’s religious beliefs and to help them understand the reasoning behind a client’s wishes.
Read moreLatest & Greatest – Making It Legal: A Guide to Same-Sex Marriage, Domestic Partnerships & Civil Unions
Marriage, while viewed as a civil rights struggle for some, is still a social institution, one that has survived for more than 2,000 years. This notion is one that the author of Making It Legal: A Guide to Same-Sex Marriage, Domestic Partnerships & Civil Unions stresses. The author, a divorce lawyer, wants couples to enter their relationships, and especially their marital unions, with the full knowledge of what the institution of marriage means and what the potential risks and benefits might be for both parties.
Read moreLatest & Greatest – A Legal Guide for Lesbian & Gay Couples
Authors Frederick Hertz and Lina Guillen begin the introduction to their book, A Legal Guide for Lesbian & Gay Couples, with “[t]his is a book about family values, and about the value of family.” It is designed to help couples navigate relationships and the issues that these partnerships or unions may produce or trigger. Because this is a book about family values, it is only fitting that the authors begin with the definition of family and how that definition has evolved into a more inclusive and neutral definition. This is followed by a discussion of practical matters that families may face, including financial issues, renting or buying a home together, healthcare decisions, and estate planning, plus issues dealing with separations and dissolutions.
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