Study Guides for Law Student Success

Available to students & faculty on West Academic.
"The sixth edition of Pretrial Litigation in a Nutshell addresses both the law governing pretrial litigation and the legal skills required for successful practice in this area. The text is fully updated to incorporate the 2015 amendments to the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure, the Federal Courts Jurisdiction and Venue Clarification Act of 2011, and other recent statutes and judicial decisions. Although the text’s focus is on federal statutes and rules, the pretrial litigation skills discussed are essential to successful pretrial litigation in both state and federal courts. The text coverage proceeds in the same order as does most pretrial litigation, starting with client interviewing and the establishment of the attorney-client relationship, then considering pretrial planning and investigation, the complaint and responses to the complaint, disclosure and discovery, pretrial motion practice (including summary judgment motions), pretrial conferences and orders, and settlement."

Available to students & faculty on West Academic.
"This Nutshell, which replaces Binder, Moore and Bergman's Deposition Questioning Strategies and Techniques (2001), provides comprehensive descriptions and concrete illustrations of effective strategies and techniques for taking and defending depositions. The book can serve as a text for a 2-4 unit stand-alone depositions course (either live client or simulated) or as a supplement to a civil pre-trial lawyering course. It devotes separate chapters to such fundamental skills as obtaining helpful answers to critical questions, undercutting harmful testimony, obtaining a deponent's version of significant events, and obtaining information from evasive deponents. Other chapters include topics such as responding to inconsistent or implausible testimony, overcoming opposing counsel's objections and obstructionist tactics, and preparing a client to be deposed."

Available to students & faculty on West Academic.
"Follows the entire process from opening negotiations to settlement. Text first introduces negotiation in law practice and representing a client in legal negotiation. Covers the basic types of legal negotiations, case evaluation, and preparation. Also addresses the types of legal disputes that should not be negotiated. Examines negotiating styles and strategies, as well as the stages of legal negotiation."

"This text is a comprehensive treatise examining the challenges presented by complex litigation. Subjects covered include devices for aggregating large numbers of claims (including extended discussions of multidistrict litigation and class actions), techniques to narrow issues and efficiently gather evidence during pretrial, methods to conduct trials in mass disputes, and ways to provide remedies for widespread harm. Although the focus is on litigation, the book also explores the increasing use of alternative methods to resolve mass disputes. The book is theoretically sophisticated enough for use in academic research or legal practice, but written in a manner to be accessible to students. The book is designed to be compatible with all existing casebooks on complex litigation, but it can also serve as a stand-alone text for the classroom. Occasional problems and questions guide student understanding."