2 comments about Consultant And Independent Contractor Agreements. Book with CD-Rom (5th Edition).

1. If you are running a small business, you will definitely need some sort of agreements to use with your clients or vendors. This Nolo guide should be used in conjunction with another Nolo guide 'How to Create Noncompete Agreements' to have the best combination of contracts to protect yourself.

   The first few chapters in the book outline both perspectives - hired consultant and client hiring the consultant. The chapters following these initial chapters focus on different kinds of situations like Agreements for Accounting and Bookkeeping Services, Agreements for Software Consultants (the one I started using right away), etc. These chapters basically outline the relevant contract and discuss the purpose of each clause in the contract along with their alternatives. You can then select the alternative that best suits your situation and modify the contract accordingly.

   You will find the various sample agreements to be used by the hiring firm and by the independent contractor at the end of the book (and on the CD-ROM).

   It took me all of 15 minutes to read the chapter on agreements for software consultants and highlight the clauses I wanted to modify. I spent an additional hour modifying the electonic version of the form and saving the file. After this, I emailed the electronic copy to my lawyer who charged me a much lower fee to check the contract! She basically found 3 errors I didn't know about and fixed them for me. I then sent the contract to my client to sign. Right there, the book paid for itself many times over!

   But don't forget to combine this book with the other book on Noncompete Agreements. It is especially critical if you are the hiring firm. Good luck!




2. This book pretty much covers the waterfront for independent contractors. The enclosed CDROM is quite helpful as it contains all the forms discussed. The discussion of liability and in particular liability to third parties is more extensively discussed in Fishman's other book, "Working for Yourself".

2 comments about High Court Case Summaries on Contracts (Keyed to Farnsworth, Sixth Edition).

1. This made the cases easy to understand. Help me get my best grade first year.



2. This book is my constant Contracts companion. In class, I have two books open: the casebook & this one. It's super helpful, and I love the funny comic for each case that serves as a visual reminder of the case facts. I wish I had one of these books for all of my boring casebooks.

No comments about Rules of Contract Law, 2007-2008 Statutory Supplement: Selections from the Uniform Commerical Code, the Cisg, the Restatement (Second) of Contracts, and ... on Contract D (Statutory Supplement).

4 comments about Law School Legends Contracts.

1. His voice has a kind of southern/Texas accent, but it is understandble. He speaks slowly--too slowly. His audio apparently followed an organizational style consistent with his books. His course organization is different than I am getting in a first year course taught using the Farnsworth casebook.
   
   However, I have taken 3/4 of a year course already and I am truly stunned about this audio for one reason--no content. I gave up on this audio after listening to 40% of it, because it said nothing. I might as well have spent my time just reading the section headers for my casebook for all the useful information being imparted.
   
   I know that someone is going to write this audio should be for review only, not learning the subject. I think the audio should be for review _and_ learning. This audio simply fails on both counts, for example the cases/hypos are infrequent and are so sparsely detailed that I could not follow what he was trying to say about them.
   
   The set of CDs was a real waste of money.



2. First thing. Let's set expectations. This is a five-hour lecture. First-year contracts is a six-semester-hour course. For every hour in class, if you spend two hours studying, then that means it is supposed to take 18 hours per week, times 15 weeks to learn contracts. That's 270 hours of preparation to sit for one or two exams. You are not going to "learn contracts" from this five-hour lecture. You should not expect that. What this lecture IS, however, is an excellent summary review of contracts. It is probably true that you might get the same information by reading the detailed table of contents from your casebook. (Except that the lecturer explains each heading and gives you a brief review of the rules). So if you are looking for an easy way to learn contracts without having to read your casebook, then I agree with the other rater, don't waste your money. Why did I buy this? I drive 7 hours every weekend. That's 3.5 hours of NPR every Friday evening, and 3.5 hours of law lectures every Sunday afternoon. What has this lecture done for me? Before starting my class, it gave me the lay of the land in contracts, so that when I began learning contracts, I had the perspective of how all the material fits together. That aided me with memory retention as I aquired the content. Second, during the middle of each semester, I gave it another listen, which helped me keep the perspective. Finally, I gave another listen before each final, which reinforced what I had learned. When you find yourself viewing your notes and outline in your head while the lecturer is speaking, it helps reinforce your memory recall, and it builds your confidence. I can tell you also that during my finals, as I was answering a few questions, I could hear Epstein's Texan accent blasting in my head, and yes, it did help me recall a few of the principles. No, this is not a 5-hour short-cut to learn a year-long contracts course. Nor will you become instantly rich or fluent in Spanish. But if you do read your book and attend your class, and you have dead time to listen to this lecture, it will help.



3. 
   I almost returned the cd after reading the reviews but decided against it after getting assigned an abstract theoretical professor in contracts in a gigantic class. Knowing full well she will ask us the basic contracts exam hypos I still have to learn the main stuff. This cd set is wonderful. Epstein may not tell the funny jokes that Freer does but he certainly makes the stuff easy to learn, easy to understand - especially the definitions and what to look for in exams mentioning which fact patterns professor love to trick students with.
   
   Easy to use cd's that tell you which topic is being discussed. One cd gives a full outline - just print away. I think I will go ahead and buy the rest of the series. As a student, I'm on a budget but these actually do a very good job supplementing you studies. I recommend them over all the Emmanuel books out there (which I also have) b/c as a 1L you will get tired of reading and this is when you just sit back and absorb the info.



4. If you're a law student who is studying contracts these lectures WILL NOT help you. Epstein is a brilliant and effective scholar who does everything in his power to hide that fact from you in these lectures. The information he provides is general and too vague to be useful to effective law students. He mentions all the right principles (Offer/Acceptance, Consideration, Adhesion, ect) but with no real discussion of the rules and exceptions behind the principles that you'll need on your exam. It feels like Epstein is teaching a mini-course for non-lawyers who only need a passing familiarity with a few contract principles.
   His advice on how to take the exam is essentially just a series of reminders like, "On an exam, for Offer and Acceptance, make sure that someone is offering something and that someone is clearly accepting the offer." -Brilliant! I stopped listening after the first CD, by then it was obvious that it wasn't going to be helpful.
   If you want a good Contract review, buy the "Sum & Substance Contracts" audio lectures by Douglas Whaley. Contracts (Sum & Substance Cd's "Outstanding Professor"Series)
   They cost more, but it is worth the money. Whaley will give you an in-depth understanding on the principles and give you straight-forward rules you can apply on your exam questions. I used his CD as I was constructing my outline and preparing for the exam. I received a 91 on my exam which was the 3rd highest grade in my class.
   Do yourself a favor and pass on Epstein's contracts.

2 comments about Negotiating and Drafting Contract Boilerplate.

1. This book contains legal background and practical advice for drafting and negotiating many basic contract provisions, such as indemnification, limitations on remedies, and the like. The text is organized and laid out in an easy-to-use format, and the book comes with a CD that includes the template provisions.

   The next edition should include a chapter on termination provisions




2. I purchased this item just to familiarize myself with basic contract terms and the reasoning behind the "boilerplate" that I see and use everyday in my practice. Glad to say it has already paid for itself and I highly recommed this purchase. Obviously no book will tell you how to advise your clients but its another CLE tool any contract attorney can put to use. And for us younger attorneys ...its in english not legalese

5 comments about Contracts: Cases and Materials (University Casebook Series).

1. This is a law book that many 1L's will come across this year and years to come. Having said that if you're reading this review you probably are shopping for a law book because it is on a reading list for a class. When I purchased this book through Amazon, with the expedited 2 day shipping, it was still cheaper than other comparable law websites (lawbooks.com, barristerbooks.com etc). Having said that the book was the right edition and brand new for a price that was slightly less than what I would have paid at the bookstore (considering I was in NY and the law school was in MA that wouldn't have been prudent). So if you are wary of buying used; stressing day-in-day-out whether the seller is going to send the book or if they'll send the right edition or numerous other problems that may run through your mind when purchasing a used book from an anonymous source without even seeing the product, then buy this new edition. You'll be happy to know you got a great product for a reasonable price. Plus without the notes or highlight marks that may distract some readers (present company included)



2. I agree with previous posters that the cases are well selected. That is possibly the only saving grace for this book. Of all my first year books, this is by far the worst. It's lack of organization and direction is confusing and unhelpful, especially to a first semester 1L.
   
   First, it approaches contracts from a somewhat backward and non-linear direction. Instead of discussing what a contract is and its various parts in an ordered manner, it essentially presents the concepts in a jumble (similar to a large bucket of Legos dumped on the floor) and expects you, a poor oblivious fool of a 1L, to put them all together without any direction. I understand it's law school, and that if you can't figure things out you probably shouldn't be in law school. But this takes unhelpful to an unnecessary level.
   
   Second, Farnsworth seems overly taken with the Restatement (2d) position. Perhaps that's because he was the reporter for it. He presses quite forcefully at times for its position, without giving due credit to alternative views or opposing positions.
   
   Finally, while I see the reason for having three levels of case discussion (principle cases, secondary cases, and cases discussed in the notes), it's net effect is unnecessary confusion. If it's important enough to discuss, give the case. If the concept is all that's important, put it in a note. The way most other successful casebooks do.
   
   Farnsworth may have been a great teacher. However that does not make him a good textbook writer. Other's I've talked to have agreed. Perhaps it does take a very special professor to make good use of this text. If that is the case, then the book is largely useless to the general 1L population.



3. It is a class textbook. You just have to have it to show up in class.



4. I have no idea what the hell this book is trying to say...it's so damn cluttered that I can't seem to follow it. It's boring, to say the least, and I don't really give a rat's a** because you could just go to Wikipedia and get a much clearer interpretation of the case/contract. But what do I know, I'm just a first year JD student trying to get through law school so I can make money.



5. The seller claimed to have sent this book overnight on Friday for a price of $77.69 for shipment, but I didn't get the book till the following Thursday. Either they have a defective mail system, or the seller did not mail it out on time as a responsible seller should.

No comments about Emanuel Law Outlines: Contracts (AspenLaw Studydesk Edition) (Emanuel Law Outlines).

1 comments about Basic Contract Law for Paralegals, 5th Edition.

1. I like the over-all organization of the book and I found it easy to read. I like all the examples and cases that support the elements of a contract.

5 comments about How to Plan, Contract and Build Your Own Home.

1. I bought the book with the intention of using it as a guide as I built my new home. I found it more of a research guide to use in the process of preparing to build or purchase a new home. The "how to" portion is absolutely not there. It is a good book and well worth the money, but not what I was looking for. I was looking for something to "knock the cobwebs off my brain", since it has been over 20 years since I was involved in home construction in my late teens. I just bought another book on line, "How to design, build, remodel and maintain your home", hopefully this will meet my needs.



2. This book is very helpful for you to work with and speak the language of your contractor. It is not designed for you to be your own contractor, but to work with one that you select. In Part II "How to Build It", the book shows how a house is put together. If you never lift a hammer throughout the entire construction process, it still pays to know how a house can and should be put together. The difference between mediocre and excellent construction involves a ridiculously small materials cost. Knowing construction methods and materials will also assist you in your dealings with whichever contractor you choose.



3. We bought a house to be built, but had no experience or background in construction. This book was a tremendous help in getting us up to speed and it allowed us to be conversant, and more importantly watchful, of the developer and contractor. I was able to intelligently review plans and specs after reading through this book. It did not make me an expert, but I am light years ahead of where I was before I picked it up. Essential for anyone planning to build or buying new construction that is yet to be built/completed. Highly recommended.



4. I have a slight problem with the title of this book. Will it enable you to build your own home? Yes, if by build your own home you mean hiring carpenters, plumbers, electricians and the like. But no if you mean grabbing a hammer, pipe wrench and a roll of wire.
   
   This book is a general introduction to the concept of building a house. Here's what to think of when you are planning a house. Here are some of the basic concepts of plumbing. Think about wiring like this. It's a general introduction to nearly every aspect of building a house from footers to roofing.
   
   Could you use this book to act as your own contractor. Probably if you study it really carefully, have some experience yourself or someone you trust to spend a lot of time talking to you.
   
   The orientation of the book is for you to really get a contractor. But by reading the book, you know a lot more than most people, you'll save a lot of time, and you'll understand the jargon that they use to describe parts of the house.



5. This book gives excellent strategic advice. It is not a tactical manual on how to build a house with your own hands, but rather informs a buyer on how to get the job done and which decisions are critical (e.g. site selection, architecture design selection, and builder selection). If you want to learn how to install drywall, then this is not the book for you. If you want to get a general idea of how it is done, but want to learn more about specifications from an owner's perspective, then this is the book for you. Some of the best advice in the book is really in the chapters on builders (how to select them, and how to work with them). This 'soft sceince' is the critical knowledge that I needed to build my own home that I would not have obtained otherwise. The sample specifications list using a HUD form proved to be invaluable to me. I didn't need an architect after that.

2 comments about Drafting Contracts: How and Why Lawyers Do What They Do.

1. The majority of law books on the market today add more confusion and fog to understanding basic legal principles. "Hide-the-ball" as opposed to "this is how you solve this type of problem" seems to be the status quo. As my first year property law professor once said, "the moment you solve a legal problem for you client is the moment you stopped getting paid." So, you can understand why most attorneys and "legal experts" play hide-the-ball. Also, one major reason for the large quantity of litigation clogging our civil courtrooms is due to poor legal drafting.
   
   In "Drafting Contracts," author Tina L. Stark provides the best "How To" guide on the market today for drafting and understanding contracts in the United States. Ms. Stark has checklists, examples, and step-by-step instructions of how to draft a preventive legal document.
   
   Highly reccomended.



2. This is one of those rare useful law school texts. I could see myself keeping this and going back to it after I graduate and get out into practice.