selfless efforts, but professionalism will lead to occupational suicide if it is used as a justification for not seeing and adapting to the world ahead." --Book Jacket.

An odd couple legal team takes on drug lords, corrupt judges, murderers, the government--and their own fully justified fears and self-doubts. From the high-powered offices of the Bay Area to the dangerous steets of Central America, Martel delivers a stunning legal thriller.

This book follows the development of the United States from the Founding Fathers through the twentieth century, looking through the eyes of the lawyers who shaped the country as they were shaped by it. Lawyers played many different roles in the design, development, and maintenance of democratic government in the United States, and American Lawyers contains vignettes of the participation of hundreds of lawyers in diverse events of significance that occurred between 1775 and 2000.

Three special features make this book unique in many respects. First, the book has been written by an eminent group of Mexican practitioners and academics recognized in Mexico for their legal expertise. These are attorneys working for prestigious law firms in Mexico who wrote their chapters keeping in mind the professional interest of American lawyers. Second, each of its seventeen chapters discusses a Mexican legal area commonly found in decisions rendered by state or federal courts in our country. These areas include personal injury, contracts, Fideicomisos, real estate, companies, Maquiladoras, promissory notes, family law, conflict of laws, letters rogatory, enforcement of judgments, etc. And third, most chapters include a legal glossary, a specialized bibliography and samples of practical Mexican legal documents. This up-to-date book, edited and co-authored by University of San Diego School of Law professor Jorge A. Vargas, a prolific author on Mexican law, will be invaluable for legal practitioners, judges and government officials who handle legal matters involving Mexican law, as well as for business and law students. "Whether a researcher is a seasoned Mexican legal scholar or new to the subject, tools that are laid out well, written by experts, and concisely written are always welcomed but not always available. This particular publication is one of the best structured books I have seen recently. If you deal with Mexican law you should consider having this one on your shelf." -- Legal Information ALERT