The American legal system today is the most significant in the world, yet until the publication of Fundamentals of American Law, there has been no book that provides both the basic rules on the theoretical understanding necessary to comprehend. This book is not simply the work of a singleauthor, but a collection of especially written essays, each by an expert in the field, all of whom are on the faculty of New York University School of Law, which is recognized as one of the elite law schools in America and which offers this book as an element of its unique Global Law SchoolProgramme.The book is written specifically for foreign lawyers and law students who have a need to deal with American Law generally, but are not seeking to become specialists in any one area. For them, it is vital to understand the basic principles of a wide range of American legal fields so they can act asinformed intermediaries between their public or private clients and their American counterparts. The book not only provides the reader with a solid foundation in American law, but will also serve as a basic reference book for the fundamentals, even as some of the details change over the years.Although initially conceived to fill a void for foreign lawyers, the book is also ideally suited for others who have a significant need to understand the basic principles of American Law and to interact with American lawyers. For this reason it will be an ideal course text for students of business,accountancy, political science, or public administration, where the enquiring student will constantly find intersections with the law.The book is more than a compendium of legal principles. Each chapter explains not only what the law is, but why it is that way. It sets forth the policy considerations in institutional factors that produce a particular law so the reader can make an independent judgement about its wisdom and perhapsits adaptibility to other cultures.

Fundamentals of U.S. Law by Fernholz and Collova introduces LLM students to the common law method of case analysis through concentrated study of topics in Tort and Constitutional Law. Fundamentals of U.S. Law teaches the “how” of legal practice in the United States. Students learn how to read cases, synthesize rules from reasoning, apply those rules to novel situations, and predict how the law may develop. The authors, two experienced lawyering skills instructors, use a half dozen fascinating and controversial topics to teach the signature skill of the common-law case method. Highlights of the First Edition: LLM students are bright, motivated, legally sophisticated, and ready to succeed. Fundamentals of U.S. Law plays to their strengths and mitigates their weaknesses. The textbook starts with a very short introduction to the legal system in the United States, followed by a discussion of one example of state common-law development. The rest of the textbook presents a set of interlinked topics of American constitutional law, all of which are likely to immediately engage student interest. No boring topics allowed. Students learn how courts use their decisions to create new law, the hallmark of common-law case development. Students also learn the fundamental skills of case analysis, including rule identification, rule synthesis, and application of the rule to novel facts. Students learn to apply these skills in American-style law school examinations. Professors and students will benefit from: Lightly-edited cases in topics most likely to interest lawyers educated outside of the United States Extensive introductions before each case, placing the case in historical and legal context and indicating those issues the student should consider while reading the case Extensive editorial notes in the initial cases to help students read cases more efficiently and effectively Notes that particularly focus on developing the skills of common-law case analysis Sample exam questions at or near the end of each chapter

This book is designed to introduce students to the highlights of the first-year curriculum at a U.S. law school. The first chapter provides an overview of the U.S. legal system. The seven chapters that follow focus on basic foundational subjects: constitutional law, civil procedure, contracts, torts, property, criminal procedure, and criminal law, each in a separate chapter. Although the first chapter consists entirely of articles and other commentary, the other seven chapters consist mainly of edited court decisions. All of the chapters contain notes and questions, highlighting important issues for discussion and providing citations to cases, articles, and other materials for more in-depth study. The book is intended for several types of students: First, it is designed for international students who are attending a U.S. law school to pursue an LL.M degree or an S.J.D. degree. This book gives such students the opportunity to take an intensive course on U.S. law, thus enabling them to learn the fundamental concepts before taking upper-division courses. Second, this book is designed for international students who want to learn about U.S. law but who are not planning to attend a U.S. law school. U.S. law professors can teach the course in foreign law schools using this text. Also, foreign professors who have been trained at a U.S. law school can teach U.S. law at their home institutions. Third, the book is designed for an undergraduate pre-law course at a U.S. college or university. Fourth, the book can be used at U.S. schools that train and certify paralegals. All four types of students share a common desire to learn the basics of U.S. law in one course. And all four types will benefit not only from the substantive materials but also from the experience of learning core subject areas.

"This book provides an overview and introduction to the basics of the U.S. Legal System. The chapters cover the Constitution, the Judicial System, the sources of U.S. Law, case law, and civil dispute resolution"--

Completely revised and updated, this sixth edition of a well-received desk reference offers in one volume a comprehensive review of United States (US) copyright, patent, and trademark laws. Like its previous editions, the book’s thorough and sophisticated treatment of this complex material escapes the cumbersome overelaboration of a multivolume treatise on the one hand and a superficial “nutshell” on the other. Maintaining the systematic structure that makes it easy for users to zero in on any particular matter, the new edition incorporates the changes that have entered into force since the fifth edition and expertly examines their effects. The three major categories of copyright, patent, and trademark are covered in turn—along with a fourth section on chip protection—with detailed but concise examination and analysis of such issues and topics as the following and much more: • subject matter of protection; • conditions of protection; • registration procedures; • scope of exclusive rights; • transfer of interests; • fair use; • rights in unregistered marks; • protection of computer software, code, and databases; • remedies and defenses; and • procedural issues in infringement actions. The authors examine significant case law, updated for this edition, in the course of their analysis. With its detailed citations and readily accessible and complete subject coverage, this latest edition is sure to retain its usefulness as a quick reference or desk book for intellectual property practitioners, in-house counsel, patent agents, academics, and librarians, as well as for anyone interested in understanding US intellectual property law.

" ... [I]dentifies the key features of the constitutional systems in the twelve independent states and 6 overseas territories in the Anglophone Caribbean, discusses the foundational concepts associated with these constitutions, and reviews the development and reform of constitutional law in this region"--Back cover