ZiefBrief

Whither Quality in Legal Publishing?

Perhaps it's because ZiefBrief is a cynic, but we weren't at all surprised to learn from the Stanford law librarians' excellent Legal Research Plus blog that two law professors are suing West Publishing Corp. for defamation for daring to claim that the professors actually wrote the latest supplements (a.k.a. pocket parts) to Pennsylvania Criminal Procedure, the treatise that bears their names. Evidently the dispute began when West cut the professors' compensation in half, whereupon the professors ceased providing updates. Nonetheless, pocket parts appeared, and the professors were listed as authors. Worse yet, the pocket parts "were not up to standard," in the words of the judge hearing the case.

This is no less that what ZiefBrief has learned to expect ever since West was acquired by a publicly-held entity in the 1990s. In the ensuing years we've heard rumors of "downsizing of editorial staff, and yet we've seen prices go up and errors increase. We can't fault a publicly-traded company for seeking to maximize shareholder revenue, but we wonder what the long-term outcome will be if West (or any other legal publisher) should get a reputation for doing shoddy work. Lawyers need to trust that the resources they use are accurate, and if publishers betray that trust, will they be able to continue to command the high prices they are getting now?

For more on the Pennsylvania Criminal Procedure dispute, visit Legal Research Plus and read:

• So Who Does Write Those Expensive Supplements and Updates to Big Name Treatises?

and

• Rudovsky v. West Publishing Corp. - Judge writes readers were "not informed that some cases cited in earlier volumes had since been reversed or modified."

Professor Peter Honigsberg's New Book on the War on Terror

Professor Peter Honigsberg's new book, Our Nation Unhinged: The Human Consequences of the War on Terror, is now available!  Published by the University of California press, Professor Honigsberg's book tells "the story of the Bush administration's response to the attacks of September 11, 2001—and of how we have been led down a path of executive abuses, human tragedies, abandonment of the Constitution, and the erosion of due process and liberty."

Erwin Chemerinsky lauds Professor Honigsberg's work, calling Our Nation Unhinged "a magnificent book telling the story of what has occurred since September 11, 2001, and how the Bush administration has betrayed the most basic principles of constitutional law and international human rights protections. He tells the story of Guantanamo in moving, human terms, and he also shows how it relates to the other abuses that have occurred over the last seven years."

We are pleased and touched to see that Professor Honigsberg gave a prominent acknowledgment to Zief librarian Lee Ryan for her research assistance on this book, praising her as a "librarian extraordinaire."  Congratulations, Lee!

Our Very Own Raiderette!

The San Francisco Chronicle has a great profile of attorney Emily Compagno, who is not only a USF Law alum, she's also a Raiderette!  In the profile, Emily describes her typical practice and game day routines, which sound demanding and tough.  Emily notes in the profile that she wanted to audition for the Raiderettes for quite some time, but "the irony is that I didn't have time when I was in law school, but as a practicing attorney I did."  It's always fabulous to hear about newly-minted attorneys who are able to practice law and still pursue outside passions.  But as a die-hard Niners fan, I hope that Emily will think about auditioning for the Gold Rush!