Elements of Florida Civil Causes of Action and Defenses.

• Author: Gaffney, Gary S.

by Arthur L. Berger

As any experienced lawyer will tell you, time is money. Whether representing a Fortune 500 client in complex negotiations or prosecuting a penny-ante pro bono action in small claims court, the ability to determine the applicable rules of law quickly and efficiently can make all the difference in the world. Indeed, the presentation of any legal position, from initial analysis to formal argument, must always be grounded in the appropriate elements of substantive law.

However, the truth is many lawyers today go off into battle with a tenuous grasp of the law on which they intend to base their case. The "law," as it were, is literally at one's fingertips in today's modern world. The dilemma, of course, lies in finding the best way to access as quickly and inexpensively as possible. This is no easy task, and it is made even more daunting by the fact that not all legal problems arise in just one area of law.

Unfortunately, most secondary sources of "the law" do not provide a comprehensive scope of coverage. There are, in fact, too few resources that cover the wide assortment of causes and defenses that one is likely to encounter in practice. To fill this void, and make their research more efficient, many Florida attorneys have learned to rely on resources like the "standard jury instructions" approved by the Florida Supreme Court, or they attempt to glean the law from standard form/pleading books. The question often asked is: Why can't someone just put together all of the rules of law that Florida lawyers typically use on a daily basis in one, easy-to-use book?

Tallahassee attorney Arthur L. Berger has compiled just such a resource in Elements of Florida Civil Causes of Action and Defenses. First published in 1997, Elements has become a fairly well-known desktop reference, and it is not uncommon to see it carried into court or conference. In this, his Second Edition, Berger has changed little of what made the original Elements so popular (and useful), and has in fact made a number of noticeable improvements.

The one-volume softcover text lists approximately 100 civil actions and defenses, and the book is printed in an easy-to-read full-size format. New entries in this Second Edition include "assault" and "battery," and "declaratory judgment"--along with "rescission" and a handful of others.

Elements contains a significant amount of valuable "nuts and bolts" information, all carefully organized and clearly presented for ready...