Bookings

ISBA past president Fred Lane of Chicago and Richard M. Calkins of the Drake University Law School are co-authors of “Lane & Calkins Mediation Practice Guide,” a new alternative dispute resolution publication of Aspen Publishers.

The authors provide expert, step-by-step insights on the mediation process and its ad--vantages; the roles of mediator, attorney and insurance representative; closing techniques, and creative strategies toward resolution.

Lane is president of the International Academy of Dispute Resolution, a past president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, and a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the Society of Trial Lawyers.

Calkins, dean of the International Academy of Dispute Resolution, was a founder of Burditt & Calkins and Drake law dean. He is a past president of the Blackstone Inn of Court, the American Mock Trial Association and the American Academy of ADR Attorneys.

Chicago attorney Scott Turow of Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal has written a 208-page, digest-size paperback about the legal and emotional challenges of a fictional judge in “Kindle County,” where his 1999 novel, ”Personal Injuries,” was based.

A review of “Limitations” (Picador, $13) in the Chicago Tribune book section on Nov. 12 outlines the situations facing a judge who is seeking retention, but his wife is ill and he has been threatened by an imprisoned gang leader.

“All in all, Turow gives us the judicial world without melodrama,” the reviewer concludes, “and that seems just about right for anyone truly interested in how that world – part of our larger world – works.”

The publisher calls the book “a compelling new legal mystery.” Originally commissioned and serialized by The New York Times Magazine, it contains additional material.

James A. Serritella of Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella, Chicago, is the editor of a new anthology, “Religious Organizations in the United States: A Study of Identity, Liberty and the Law” (Carolina Academic Press).

The 834-page work includes 26 individual essays on critical public policy issues derived from a project of the DePaul University College of Law Center for Church/State Studies. Authors include Craig B. Mousin, DePaul ombudsman and former director of the center.

Among others are Martin E. Marty of the University of Chicago, DePaul professors Patty Gerstenblith and Donald H. J. Hermann, and Patricia B. Carlson and Angela C. Carmella of Serritella's law firm. Serritella contributed the prologue and epilogue

The American College of Trial Lawyers has announced an essay contest with prizes of $10,000 and $5,000. The subject is “Judicial Independence and the Separation of Powers Doctrine.”

The contest is open to all United States law students. Essays should be about 5,000 words and can be submitted by e-mail to essaycontest@actl.com. The deadline is March 1. For more information, access www.actl.com.