The Florida Bar

Florida Bar Journal

January, 2008 Books

Book Reviews

Sworn Jury

By John D. Mills
Reviewed by Matt Aguero, Journal and News Law Clerk

When Ft. Myers attorney and infamous playboy, Bryce Cervante, is found dead the morning after a formal fundraiser at the Edison Home, everyone suspects Dallas Kelley. Kelley, a Florida real estate mogul, swears he is innocent but when the murder weapon is found in his car the state charges him with the sadistic murder. The whirlwind story of Kelley’s trial and the secret lives of everyone involved make Sworn Jury, the fourth novel by Ft. Myers native John D. Mills, tough to put down.

Defense attorney Ray Harrison agrees to represent Kelley, however, his ties to the twisted case are much deeper than even he knows. Known as the “Killer Lawyer” because of a dark incident in his past, Harrison struggles to unravel the mystery of Cervante’s murder while he fights to keep his troubled personal life under control. Since his wife left him for an older, more successful attorney, Harrison’s life has been in a downward spiral and he realizes that this case is either the key to getting his life back on track or the final step in his self-destruction.

Opposing Harrison is state prosecutor, Brian Spere, who lives his own troubled home life. Unfortunately for Spere, the evidence against Kelley is mostly circumstantial and he soon finds himself in a hard-hitting, and sometimes personal, clash with Harrison.

In addition to battling the state prosecutor, Harrison is seemingly working against his current girlfriend who is also an ambitious reporter assigned to cover the Kelley case and the self-serving judge whose morals are questionable at best.

Throughout the novel, Mills explores numerous interesting legal theories and he is able to keep the informed reader’s attention while explaining legal ideas to the layman. Because of this balance, Sworn Jury keeps a rapid pace as it delves into the sordid lives surrounding the Kelley murder trial.

Sworn Jury is published by Author House and is available online for $14.49.

Courting Your Clients: The Essential Guide to Legal Marketing

Courting Your Clients is a practical “how to” guide, written to help attorneys and legal marketers generate revenue, attract more business, and get listed in the right legal directories. CLIENT Rainmaking®, a methodology introduced in the book, creates a strategic step-by-step approach to lawyer business development. Readers will learn how to make effective use of networking, referrals, community relations, Internet marketing, and search engine optimization.

Margaret Grisdela is a legal marketing consultant and is the president of Legal Expert connections, Inc., a private firm specializing in legal marketing and business development exclusively for the legal and litigation support markets.

Courting Your Clients cost $24.95 and is available at www.legalexpertconnections.com.

Creditors’ Rights
By Judge Alexander L. Paskay
In Creditors’ Rights, Revised Forth Edition, Judge Alexander L. Paskay, chief U.S. bankruptcy judge emeritus of the Middle District of Florida and adjunct professor of law at Stetson University College of Law, updates his treatise on bankruptcy law to address recent amendments to the Bankruptcy Code. The dean of bankruptcy judges, Judge Paskay has presided over bankruptcy cases under two sets of bankruptcy laws, and has approximately 1,700 published cases to his name.

Beginning with a discussion of jurisdiction and powers of the Bankruptcy Court, Creditors’ Rights considers the generally applicable provisions in the context of Chapter 7 liquidation cases, before continuing on to discussions of Chapter 11 reorganization and Chapter 13 individual adjustment of debt sections. The book fleshes out the structure of the Code with a comprehensive citation and discussion of relevant case law. The text also functions as a guide to the uninitiated, and begins with an introductory part covering terminology, historical context of previous bankruptcy law, jurisdiction of the bankruptcy courts, and the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure.

Creditors’ Rights sells for $129.95, and is published by Vandeplas Publishing,

Physician, Protect Thyself: Seven Simple Ways NOT to Get Sued for Medical Malpractice
By Alan G. Williams
This easy-to-read reference guide, published by Margol Publishing, offers real-world tips which come from the author’s experience defending clinicians. The author also explores jurors perception of his physician clients in compiling this well-written and useful guide which provides physicians with sound recommendations on how to reduce the chances of being sued for medical malpractice.

Williams serves on the adjunct faculty at both the Florida State University College of Law and Florida Coastal School of Law.

Physician, Protect Thyself, 165 pages, is available online and costs $24.95

E-discovery and Digital Evidence
By Jay Grenig and William Gleisner III
In their cutting-edge new text, eDiscovery and Digital Evidence, co-authors Jay Grenig and William Gleisner III have compiled an authoritative reference on navigating the changing world of trial procedure through the murky waters of the digital age. “This book focuses on how lawyers and judges can handle digital information, including preservation and retention policies, discovery, disclosure, cost sharing, spoliation, and business records and computer-generated evidence.”

Not only does the text guide courts and attorneys in how to treat electronic documents in the courtroom, it also incorporates the relevant rules of civil procedure and evidence making the transition from traditional courtroom standards to hi-tech virtually seamless.

Beyond courtroom procedure, eDiscovery and Digital Evidence details the features and technical use of software, how to effectively combat opposing counsel’s use of e-discovery, as well as the impact that use of electronic resources has upon privacy standards.