Law School alumni write and publish
books on a wide variety of topics.
If
you have
written
a new book and want to tell
us about it, please send all pertinent information to:
UVA Lawyer, 580 Massie Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903;
or lawalum@virginia.edu.
Fiction
The Locklear Letters
Michael Kun ’88
MacAdam/Cage
The Locklear Letters, just named as one of Amazon.com's Summer
Breakout Books, “is a farcical look at celebrity
worship in today’s society through the eyes of Sid
Straw, an affable, if not boring, software salesman who
tries to rekindle an acquaintanceship with his former college
classmate turned Hollywood starlet Heather Locklear. His
innocent letter requesting an autographed picture begins
a bizarre turn of events that eventually costs him his
job, foils his romantic intentions toward a coworker, drains
his finances, and generally ruins his life. Sid, a Don
Quixote character with large blind spots regarding the
fate of his one-sided correspondence with the movie star
and his own behavior, cannot escape the wrath of lawyers,
public relations bulldogs, angry bosses, and ex-girlfriends
that drags his life down the tubes. Until he fights back,” according
to publisher MacAdam/Cage. Kun’s successful first
novel, A Thousand Benjamins (Atlantic Monthly Press), was
published in 1990. His short stories have appeared in Other
Voices, Fiction, StoryQuarterly, and Cottonwood, among
other publications. He lives and works in Los Angeles,
where he is working on a new novel, a short story collection,
and a children’s book.
Nonfiction
Reinventing
Environmental Enforcement & the
State/Federal Relationship
David Markell ’79 with
Clifford Rechtschaffen
Environmental Law Institute
The publisher writes, “One of the most controversial
issues in environmental law and policy—and one that
is of considerable importance to the EPA—is
the allocation of power and authority between the federal and state governments.
The recent evolution in approaches of environmental enforcement highlights
many of the tensions inherent in this debate. During the past several years,
the federal and state governments have spent a good deal of energy attempting
to reinvent their relationship. The shifts in federal/state enforcement
relations are highly significant, with the potential to fundamentally reorder
the division of authority that has existed over the past 25 years. This book
thoroughly documents the changing nature of federal/state relations in enforcing
environmental law. It breaks new ground in analyzing the federal/state enforcement
relationship, particularly in light of the many recent developments that have
occurred in this area. The authors’ findings provide important lessons
about the interplay between federal and state efforts in other regulatory areas,
and for the structure of federal/state relations generally. Professors Rechtschaffen’s
and Markell’s clear, in-depth analysis will be essential reading for
legal and regulatory experts, attorneys who are involved in environmental enforcement
matters, the judiciary, legislators, political scientists, public policy experts,
and anyone with an interest in environmental law and policy.
UVA
Lawyer Home |
|
Nonfiction (continued)
Thomas Jefferson
and the Wall of Separation Between Church and State
Daniel L. Dreisbach ’88
New York University Press
No phrase in American letters has had a greater influence on church-state law
and policy than Thomas Jefferson’s “wall of separation between church
and state” and few metaphors have provoked more passionate debate. Introduced
in an 1802 letter to the Danbury, Connecticut Baptist Association, Jefferson’s “wall” is
accepted by many Americans as a concise description of the U.S. Constitution’s
church-state arrangement and conceived as a virtual rule of constitutional law.
Despite the enormous influence of the “wall” metaphor, almost no
scholarship has investigated the text of the Danbury letter, the context in which
it was written, or Jefferson’s understanding of his famous phrase. “Thomas
Jefferson And The Wall of Separation Between Church And State offers an in-depth
examination of the origins, controversial uses, and competing interpretations
of this powerful metaphor in law and public policy,” writes publisher NYU
Press.
A
Voting Rights Odyssey—Black Enfranchisement in
Georgia
Laughlin McDonald ’65
Cambridge University Press
From Cambridge University Press: From slavery to the white backlash of the
1990s, A Voting Rights Odyssey is a riveting account
of the crusade for equal voting rights in Georgia.Written by a veteran civil
rights lawyer, the book draws upon expert reports and other court records,
as well as trial testimony and interviews with the men and women who served
as plaintiffs and witnesses in litigation that helped forge a revolution in
voting rights. The book explores, and repudiates, the myths of the Reconstruction
era that blacks were incapable of voting and holding office. It also catalogues
the attempts of the state leadership to maintain white supremacy after the
abolition of the white primary, the demands of the Civil Rights Movement, and
passage of the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965. A must read for anyone interested
in the way in which race has driven and distorted the political process in
the South.
American
Probate: Protecting the Public, Improving the Process
Paula A. Monopoli ’83
Northeastern University Press
New Hampshire judge and probate attorney John Fairbanks, a court-appointed
executor and trustee, stole thousands of dollars from the estates of his trusting
elderly clients. Successful New York lawyer Arnold Biegen, the sole fiduciary
of his law partner’s estate, misappropriated nearly $1 million dollars
from the partner’s aged, schizophrenic widow. Enterprising attorney James
Gunderson drafted wills and living trusts for many residents of Leisure World
in Orange County, CA, who named him the sole trustee and major beneficiary.
These are just some of the cases examined by Paula A. Monopoli to illustrate
the unsettling prevalence of fraud and abuse inherent in American probate law.
Probate courts are intended to provide a vehicle for the orderly disposition
of property after death, to balance the interests of creditors, the government,
and heirs, and to protect the rights of the elderly and others with special
needs. In this insightful work, Monopoli shows how an array of flaws in the
system allows corrupt and unethical lawyers to take advantage of the nation's
most vulnerable citizens. She delves into such subjects as the history and
purpose of probate, procedural complexities, lack of regulatory oversight,
inadequate judicial resources, and the growth of non-probate alternatives,
concluding with a blueprint for reform that emphasizes deterrence, detection,
and compensation for the victims. This eye-opening and informative account
casts new light on the intricacies and failures of a legal process that affects
millions of Americans every year, according to Northeastern University Press. |