The Rockford Litigation Lawyer : Rockford Business Litigation Lawyer & Attorney : Tim Whitham : Schlueter Ecklund Law Firm : Illinois Corporate Law & Tort Commentary

I just finished another John Grisham novel, Ford County. It is a series of short stories, which is unusual for John Grisham, but was thoroughly entertaining.

His unique way of weaving the legal and life issues together is what sets his writing apart from many others. In this series he dealt with the death penalty, taking advantage of the elderly (with the assistance of an attorney), a one night crime spree and the social issues of AIDS. I have to admit while it was an easy read, he still made you think.

I could see where some of these stories were either the basis of his novels or were in the same line of thinking that spawned them.

The book is one of this newest and an excellent one to pick up.

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Law on Display: The Digital Transformation of Persuasion and Judgment - This book title just came across my feeds. It sounds interesting as I see more and more technology entering the courtrooms in our area. I will let  you know once I get a copy and read through it.

Check out the Law.com to get their take on it.

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Picking Cotton by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, Ronald Cotton with Erin Torneo is an excellent read for those in the legal field, especially if you are practicing in Criminal Law. For those not in the criminal field, it is a great book on the ability to forgive and accept forgiveness.

As a former police office and prosecutor, I was a little nervous about the premise of the book. But once I started reading it I didn't want to put it down. I wanted to know how and why these two people could ever become friends after what happened. I give Ronald Cotton some credit for how he took life in stride and made a life for himself after all of this happened. I also give credit to the all three of the authors for not just picking apart the criminal justice system and blaming the police for their investigative "blunders."

I am not going to tell the story behind the book. That is for you to find out. But it will be worth it for you to pick it up.

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If you enjoy reading a good book and you don’t mind a good legal thriller (even if you’re a lawyer) then John Grisham’s book, The Appeal, is an excellent choice. As a litigation attorney, I enjoy how Grisham does an excellent job in pitting the insurance / business side against the trial lawyer’s bar in this book. While he admits to using some creative license for his story, the characterizations and plot carry the day.

Grisham has a knack for building several characters at the same time and adds a lot of depth to the story line of his books. (There I go again sounding like my English teacher).

The real crux of the book is the election of Mississippi Supreme Court Justices. This as it turns out is Grisham’s main motive in writing the book. (See author’s notes at the end). He weaves a conspiracy theory that the election can be bought and the decisions of the Justices can be handled to give one side (big business) the advantage over the other (trial attorneys). This as it turns out is why he (Grisham) would like the issue of electing our judges revisited.

If you have never read Grisham before – start now. His use of fiction to bring out the “friction” in our legal system is tremendous.

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Here are couple of interesting book reviews. As an ardent reader these both have peaked my interest. I will be teaching Criminal Law at a local college so both would be interesting to use in class. 

Picking Cotton by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, Robert Cotton and Erin Toreno receives a good review by Mario Madrid, a Houston Criminal Defense Attorney.

Jesus on Death Row by Mark Osler, reviewed by Melissa Alice Robbins at the Texas Lawyer Blog.

Happy Reading!

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For those of us who like to read, but want to make sure it's good, here is a list book we should all have - The 100 Best Business Books of All Time. I hope some of these books are already in your library.

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