February, 2011 Books
Kings of Tort
Alan Lange and Tom Dawson
Reviewed by Annie Butterworth Jones
Throughout the the 1990s and early 2000s, Mississippi attorney Dickie Scruggs had a reputation of helping the “little guy.” He sued the asbestos industry on behalf of shipyard workers, brought down big tobacco companies, and fought insurance corporations after Hurricane Katrina. the mid-2000s, Scruggs had reached a net worth of nearly one billion dollars.
But Scruggs’ world came tumbling down in 2007, and today he sits in a Kentucky prison, where he’s serving a seven-year sentence for bribery and mail fraud. Kings of Tort details both the rise and fall of Scruggs and his fellow attorneys and judges, many who wound up serving prison sentences of their own.
Alan Lange and Tom Dawson, both native Mississipians, write with authority about Scruggs’ demise, providing a detailed background story and nearly minute-by-minute descriptions of the FBI’s investigation and the actual events that led to the indictments.
Due to the complexity of Scruggs’ story, Kings of Tort can get bogged down in the constantly changing cast of characters and the amount of details the authors choose to include. Even so, Dawson and Lange (a writer and founder for YallPolitics ) have an engaging writing style, and this true story reads a lot like a John Grisham novel — ironic, since Grisham himself was an acquaintence of Scruggs and came to his defense when charges were initially filed.
Kings of Tort also serves as a cautionary tale for attorneys and law students who might find themselves in similar legal and ethical dilemmas. Scruggs’ downfall is both painful and intriguing; the reader is left wondering just how he got away with so much for so long.
The book (Pediment Publishing, $27.95) has been well-researched and comes with pages of endnotes that readers can use to further investigate the Scruggs’ case. It is available at major booksellers, including Amazon.com.
Annie Butterworth Jones is an associate editor of The Florida Bar News and Journal.
Ed’sitorials on Mediation
Edward P. Ahrens
Ed’sitorials on Mediation, Florida Bar member Edward Ahrens’ recently published collection of stories and anecdotes, offers an insider’s view into the art of mediation. Through nearly 60 chapters, Ahrens weaves funny truths about mediation with his own real-life experiences.
A mediator for 25 years, Ahrens offers tips and tricks of the trade while also providing information that novice and expert attorneys may find helpful for the practice of law and mediation.
Chapters cover a wide range of topics relevant to the mediator: interpreting body language, describing a mediator’s duties to attorneys who may have misconceptions, holding mediations in unusual locations, and establishing an effective opening statement.
The lessons and truths are presented with funny stories of Ahrens’ own experiences, making chapters small and easy to read; Ahrens’ book would be a satisfactory addition to any attorney’s collection.
Ed’sitorials on Mediation is available for $24.95 from Amazon.
The American Jungle
Harvey E. Oyer III
The Last Egret
Harvey E. Oyer III
Winner of the President’s Book Award by the Florida Publishers Association, The American Jungle introduces children to Charlie Pierce, an eight-year-old boy living in the frontier jungles of South Florida in 1872. The book’s events are based on the real life experiences of author and Florida Bar member Harvey Oyer’s great-great uncle, for whom the title character was named. Oyer used Pierce’s diaries to write much of The American Jungle and its sequel, The Last Egret.
Pierce and his family made the journey down to Florida after the Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed every boat in the Chicago boatyard except theirs. The Pierce family traveled along the Illinois and Mississippi rivers before reaching Jacksonville. The American Jungle begins with the Pierces’ arrival in Ft. Pierce and the Atlantic coast in 1872.
Both of Oyer’s books have garnered attention from reviewers and educators; the Palm Beach school district has assigned the books as required reading and developed curriculum around the books’ subject matter. The second in the series, The Last Egret, continues Pierce’s adventures and deals with issues of conservation in the Florida Everglades. A documentary about the book was produced by The Education Network and is being broadcast in South Florida. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has also recognized Oyer, a fifth generation Floridian, with a special recognition award for the stories and their dedication to Florida’s environment and history.
The American Jungle and The Last Egret are illustrated by James Balkovek and are published in paperback by Middle River Press for $19.95. More information about the books and their use in school curriculum may be found online at www.theadventuresofcharliepierce.com.
Google for Lawyers: Essential Search Tips and Productivity Tools
Carole Levitt and Mark Rosch
Google for Lawyers provides guidance for attorneys on accessing the full power of Google as a search engine, as well as tips on using Google’s free and low-cost tools that can help any attorney compete with big firms and their large research and technology budgets.
The book offers help to both new users and seasoned ones. For beginners, it introduces Internet users to the diverse collection of information locatable through Google. For more advanced users, Google for Lawyers unlocks the power of various advanced search strategies and hidden search features.
Google for Lawyers discusses the importance of running Google searches as part of a lawyer’s due diligence and cites case law that mandates that lawyers use Google and other Internet search resources like it when applicable.
The guide is also designed to help lawyers discover the various free services Goggle offers, including Google Voice, Google Translate, and Google Docs. These services can make novice, intermediate, and advanced users more productive attorneys. It will help lawyers:
• Learn the ins and outs of Google search shortcuts;
• Use Google’s advanced features to uncover information that might otherwise be missed;
• Advertise and market a firm using Google Advertising Services; and
• Understand Google Analytics to track website statistics.
Google for Lawyers: Essential Search Tips and Productivity Tools can be purchased for $79.95 from www.ababooks.org.
Florida Firearms — Law, Use, and Ownership, 7th Edition
Jon H. Gutmacher
Florida Firearms, seventh edition, was released over the 2010 Thanksgiving holiday and is a complete revision of the earlier edition, with over 50 new pages. It offers 12 chapters covering everything from constitutional provisions to common weapon crimes to NFA firearms, with two chapters explaining legal issues pertaining to self defense. The book’s format has been designed for laymen and professionals alike.
Both Florida and federal laws are explained by the author, a former prosecutor, police legal advisor, criminal defense attorney, and NRA Certified Firearms Instructor.
The book retails for $31.50 and can be found in most larger gun stores and gun ranges. It can also be purchased online at www.FloridaFirearmsLaw.com. Updates on earlier editions are offered free, twice yearly, on the same website, and the practice of free updating on the web for the seventh edition will continue. An original review of Florida Firearms was also published in the February 2010 edition of the Bar Journal.
The Lost Testimony of Bones LeBeau
Noah Bond
Florida Bar member and Ft. Lauderdale attorney Jon Agee has published two suspense novels under his pseudonym, Noah Bond, and his third, The Lost Testimony of Bones LeBeau, explores the hidden motives behind the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
The historical novel is almost entirely narrated by Osvalda “Bones” LeBeau, a Louisiana girl unwittingly caught in a world of conspiracy and murder that eventually leads to the crime of the century. Her experiences — as told to the FBI — rock her world and change the course of history.
Although the main character is fictional, much of the story is not. Agee sifted through conflicting reports and theories to provide readers of the novel with a probable motive for the Kennedy assassination, making the book realistic and suspenseful. The Lost Testimony of Bones LeBeau delivers details of the probable assassination plot, from its inception all the way through to its implementation.
The novel (hardcover) was released in September 2010 and is available for purchase through Amazon for $19.95.
More information about Agee and his other novels, The Doorstep of Depravity and NOMAD/Y: The Moon Base Project, can be found on the Noah Bond website, www.noahbond.com.
