Highlighting new books at the Law Library, part 8

Part 8 of the new books series focuses on a study guide for civil procedure.

Legalese to English: A Workbook for Civil Procedure
By Elura Nanos and Michele Sileo
Law Study Skills Collection  KF8841 .N36 2011

Legalese to English is an excellent study guide to civil procedure, which is about as confusing as law school topics can get, and as a four-credit course takes up a lot of every 1L’s time.  The book is written for law students in a humorous and direct tone.  It gives advice on how to prepare for class throughout the semester (daily, weekly, and monthly study plans), and directs you through the different steps needed to be prepared for exams once the end of the semester arrives.  The authors provide tips on how to manage your time and lay out what to study and why in order to organize and test your knowledge.  Each sub-subject includes explanations of difficult concepts and cases (i.e. International Shoe), workbook-style questions and answers, writing exercises to prepare you for exams, and a template for managing outlines.  Essay flowcharts for each topic are particularly helpful, as they provide ready-made blueprints for tackling essays.

**A section at the end of the book titled “Starting Late” gives instruction for students beginning to read the book at the end of the semester.  Moral of the story – the is still time to take advantage of this great study aid before exam time!

Peruse this sample content and review the book’s contents below to see if it might be helpful for you this exam season.

1.  Introduction to Civil Procedure
2.  Personal Jurisdiction: When traveling doesn’t seem like so much fun
3.  Forum Non Conveniens: One last effort to get rid of this case
4.  Venue: Which federal court in the forum state?
5.  Subject-Matter Jurisdiction: The rules of playing with the big boys
6.  Supplemental Jurisdiction § 1367: Two for the price of one
7.  Removal: When going to federal court is the defendant’s idea
8.  State Law in the Federal Court: The dreaded Erie Doctrine
9.  Collateral Estoppel and Res Judicata: Cool legal tools, and we’re not talking                  about the lawyers!
10. Joinder: Everyone, all together now!
11. Rule 12: The Great Dismisser: The champion of defendants
12. Summary Judgment: Federal Rule 56: Cutting to the chase
13. The Rest of the Rules of Civil Procedure
14. How to get a D on a Civil Procedure Exam