Legal systems: civil procedure, litigation and dispute resolution Books

Book SynopsisThe basis for the Meryl Streep film A Cry in the Dark: The dramatic true story of a mother’s worst nightmare and the murder trial that shocked Australia. On a camping trip at Ayer’s Rock, the Chamberlain family’s infant daughter disappeared in the middle of the night. Her distraught mother, Lindy, claimed she saw a dingo carry her off into the Australian outback. Two years later, their tragedy worsened when, without a murder weapon, a body, or even a motive, a jury convicted Lindy Chamberlain of killing her own daughter. The public cheered. John Bryson, a trial lawyer and award-winning journalist, deconstructs the factors that led to a seemingly reasonless incarceration and the public attitude that demanded it. With this book, he began to sway popular opinion in the Chamberlains’ favor by discussing the failures on the part of the police, forensics team, and press. Winner of the CWA Gold Dagger and the inspiration for the film A Cry in the Dark starring Meryl Streep, Evil Angels presents an impartial analysis of the most notorious miscarriage of justice in Australian history. It serves as a reminder of the dangers of blindly searching for a conviction, the importance of scientific accuracy, the volatility of the media, and the ease with which a nation can fall prey to bigoted thinking. Written with literary finesse, this is one of the twentieth century’s most important—and thoughtful—works of true crime.Trade Review“Out of the complex story of his country’s most famous murder trial, Australian lawyer, journalist and novelist John Bryson has fashioned a remarkable book, one that resonates with moral ambiguities and wrenching emotions. . . . Bryson’s handling of the complicated testimony about physical evidence is a model of clarity and coherence. . . . Far more important, however, is his quietly devastating portrait of the ugly undercurrent of ignorance and prejudice that ran against Lindy Chamberlain almost from the beginning.” —Newsday “One of the most interesting and disturbing books I’ve ever read about the social and emotional ramifications of a criminal trial . . . [Bryson] turns the worst nightmare of false justice into an affirmation of honest grit, without losing sight of how easily Lindy Chamberlain could still be in jail. . . . Terrific.” —Erika Munk, The Village Voice “Five hundred and fifty pages of cinematic excitement.” —Maeve Binchy “Non-stop excitement . . . Bryson piles shock upon shock as he spirits readers all over the map: To courtrooms in Darwin and Alice Springs; to the homes of aboriginal trackers; to forensic laboratories in Australia, England and the United States; even to an Adelaide zoo, for bizarre experiments in the likely behavior of dingoes. . . . Books don’t get more interesting than this one.” —The Virginian-Pilot “An impressive literary document.” —The Times (London) “Hypnotic.” —The Mail on Sunday “Stunning and disturbing.” —The Australian “A fine work of literature. The dramatic intensity never wavers.” —The Age (Melbourne) “A story with the tragic force of a Shakespearian drama.” —Monthly Review “A work of art.” —Australian Book Review Table of Contents Praise for Evil Angels Contents So Void Was Night Phoenixville 1 2 3 Desert 1 2 3 4 5 God Put It Here, Himself 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Evensong 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Vigil 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 It’s Time We All Went Home 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Cerements 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Evil Eye Every Part of Town 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Curiosities 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Nothing At All Like Trust 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Faces in the Bloodstream Partisans 1 2 3 The Rarest Species Around 1 2 3 Spells 1 2 3 4 5 The Proper Management of Sorrow 1 2 3 4 5 A Graveyard, Floodlit 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Use the Word: Merciful 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 For All the Good It Will Do 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 The Secret Assumptions of Science Sanctuary 1 2 3 4 Newsflashes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Effigies 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Necromancy, So to Trial Always Running From Something 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 A Whole Different Town Here 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Part of the Fact, Anyway 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Enough Magnifications to See By 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 The Molecular Structure of Truth 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 2 Timothy. 4:7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 The Lord Should Have Been Here By Now 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 A Quiet Place on Redemption Street 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Afterword About the Author

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book contains the first major comparative study of litigation costs and methods of funding litigation in more than 30 jurisdictions. It was linked with the most comprehensive review of costs ever carried out in England and Wales by Lord Justice Jackson in 2009 and benefited from the assistance of leading practitioners around the globe. The study analyses the principles and rules that relate to paying courts, witnesses and lawyers, and the rules on cost shifting, if any. It also notes the major ways in which litigation can be funded, identifying the global trend on contraction of legal aid, the so far limited spread of contingency fees, and the growing new phenomenon of private third party litigation funding. The study also presents the results of nine case studies of typical claim types, so as to give a first overview comparison of which countries' legal systems are cheaper or more expensive. The book further contains national chapters with in depth analysis contributed by scholars in 18 jurisdictions (Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, England & Wales, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan and USA) and a further chapter on Latin American jurisdictions. 'Dr Hodges, Professor Vogenauer and Dr Tulibacka have conducted an excellent and thorough comparative study of litigation costs and funding across a wide range of jurisdictions ('the Oxford study'). The Oxford study is important, because it provides both context and background for any critical examination of our own costs and funding rules...I commend this book both for its breadth and detail and also for its percipient commentary. This work will make a valuable contribution to the debate which lies ahead about how the costs and funding rules of England and Wales should be reformed in order to promote access to justice.' From the Foreword by Lord Justice Jackson, Royal Courts of Justice, 16th July 2010Trade ReviewWhat a treasure trove...most informative...a source of empirical findings and legal policy conclusions of the highest order VRiLG Lothar Junemann Notar 9/2012Table of ContentsPart I: The Oxford Study on Costs and Funding of Civil Litigation Christopher Hodges, Stefan Vogenauer and Magdalena Tulibacka Introduction Section 1: National Approaches to Costs and Funding of Civil Litigation Section 2: The Price of Litigation: A Comparison of Jurisdictions Section 3: Policy Issues and Recommendations Section 4: Summary of Findings Tables and Appendices Questionnaire Table 1: Basis of charges for court fees and lawyers' fees Table 2: Success and contingency fees Table 3: Total minimum cost to claimant in the case studies Table 4: Claimant and defendant costs in the case studies Table 5: Ranges of court fees and lawyers' hourly rates Table 6: Currency conversion rates used in the case studies Part II: National Reports 1. An Introduction to the Range of National Approaches Christopher Hodges 2. Australia Camille Cameron 3. Belgium Vincent Sagaert and Ilse Samoy 4. Canada Eriks S Knutsen and Janet Walker 5. The People's Republic of China Michael Palmer and Chao Xi 6. Denmark Kristine Svenningsen, Jan-Erik Svensson and Anders Orgaard 7. England and Wales John Peysner 8. England and Wales: Christopher Hodges Summary of the Jackson Costs Review 9. England and Wales: Woolf for Slow Learners John Peysner 10. France A. Theoretical Perspectives Yvon Desdevises B. The Rules on Funding and Costs Anne-Laure Villedieu 11. Germany Burkhard Hess and Rudolf Hubner 12. Japan Ikuo Sugawara and Eri Osaka 13. Latin America: Manuel A Gomez A Regional Report 14. The Netherlands Mark L Tuil 15. The Netherlands: Policy Observations Paulien M M van der Grinten 16. New Zealand Kim Economides and Graham Taylor 17. Poland Magdalena Tulibacka 18. Portugal Henrique Sousa Antunes 19. Russia Dmitry Maleshin 20. Spain Aranzazu Calzadilla Medina, Carlos Trujillo Cabrera and Alejandro Ferreres Comella 21. Switzerland Walter A Stoffel and James F Reardon 22. Taiwan Kuan-Ling Shen and Helena HC Chen 23. The United States of America Deborah R Hensler

Read more less