Customer Reviews:
 A thorough and fair review June 22, 2008
A fair coverage of the major issues of professional and ethical conduct confronting attorneys. Still, at times a little too cute for its own good. But overall, helpful guidance.
 A very comprehensive, easy to understand ethics text May 11, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I think the other reviewer, who gave this text one star, must not have invested sufficient time in understanding the material. The Gillers text is very comprehensive in its treatment, which is a STRENGTH. It is the nature of ethics that even well-chosen ethics cases will usually involve more than one issue, and the author has chosen to reinforce certain concepts over and over instead of shielding the student from this, which sometimes involves looks ahead to certain topics. In addition, the ethics
If the other reviewer wanted a treatment that just touched the high points of the rules, enough to pass the MPRE, he read the wrong book. Ethics is a massive, often complicated subject that is rapidly evolving due to our current place in history. Hence many of the cases illustrating key points will be bar association decisions from certain states, or decisions from seemingly minor state courts. The author has done exhaustive research to locate and summarize these cases across all jurisdictions, due to the many differences across jurisdictions.
The book also contains extensive case studies of important topics outside the opinions (for example the "Triangle Shirtwaist" fire, and what happened on cross of a key witness). These sections help to break up the many case opinions, and help keep the material interesting and illustrative.
The problems are, in my opinion, very well constructed. Instead of being five-minute exercises dealing with just one issue, they are designed to be difficult and represent possible real-world situations, as well as to reinforce previous material. This means that if you do a problem on malpractice, for example, you should expect to potentially deal with conflicts of interest and many other issues. A teacher who adequately explores the problems with her students could almost teach the material just from the problems and the rules.
The book is so well-organized that even a perennial C student could read it and understand the material with some effort, and become a relative master of ethics. Perhaps that's not what the other reviewer wanted. If you want to REALLY learn ethics, including issues beyond the scope of the rules proper, I can't imagine a better book. If you cover the material and give it the attention it deserves, you also couldn't possibly fail the MPRE.
 Too bad if your professor requries this one March 3, 2007
7 out of 10 found this review helpful
This book is just awful -
It is edited terribly, and very confusing, It's just really seems a listing of all the cases ever decided - awfully structured - a terrible way to learn ethics - it takes a subject that could be interesting and makes it terribly, boring. The book is fundamentally hard to read, hard to remember. It is totally not useful as a teaching tool. In the hands of an inexperienced professor its a nightmare!
Gillers, don't suffer anyone else your bad text books again. You've taken an interesting subject, made it bland, confusing, and almost incomprehensible. Please, professors considering this book - look somewhere else - don't encourage him to write again!
Look out this thing is terrible!
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