American Bar Association

Corporate director's guidebook, 5th ed.

Produced by the American Bar Association's Committee on Corporate Laws — a group composed of active and former practicing lawyers, law professors, regulators, and judges — the latest edition of their Guidebook provides concise guidance to corporate directors in meeting their responsibilities. Where the 2004 fourth edition focused on changes caused or influenced by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the fifth edition assumes these as a baseline and urges boards of directors to focus on business performance. A key theme is the increasingly important role for directors of protecting investors' interests and directing or overseeing corporate strategy. For directors and business executives, those who advise them, and students of corporate governance. No subject index. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Creating effective parenting plans; a developmental approach for lawyers and divorce professionals. (CD-ROM included)

Hartson (pediatric psychology, U. of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics) and Payne (psychology, U. of Southern Mississippi) offer advice to family practice lawyers on the development of effective parenting plans for divorcing parents and those in similar struggles. They describe childhood development phases and their relationship to two-household conditions (e.g. overnight visits and attachment) and recommend plans that take the important phases from each age group into consideration, describing how long children should remain with primary parent at a time and how often contact with absent parent should be established and in what manner. The authors also address the common reactions of pre-school, school-age and teenage children to divorce. The appendices offer questionnaires for parents and resources on toilet-training and other challenges, and the accompanying CD-ROM contains additional scheduling templates. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

How to build and manage a family law practice. (CD-ROM included)

Chinn, who specializes in family law, delineates the steps to building and managing a family law practice, for lawyers with varying levels of experience. He approaches the topic from the view that family lawyers must be litigators, understand law and procedure, and approach every case as if it were going to trial. Topics covered include mission and goals, marketing, new client interviews, billing, dealing with clients, staff, trial preparation, case and time management, financial management, and finding personal balance. The CD-ROM contains sample forms, letters, and checklists. Chinn also lectures at Ole Miss Law School. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)