Bookstore
Books by John S. Shields
Enter the Practice
The First 90 Days in the Civil Litigation Practice
Book 1 of The Student Becomes the Master series
Law school teaches you how to think about a case. It rarely teaches you how to work on one inside a firm.
Seasoned attorneys expect new lawyers to figure it out, and supervising attorneys are often too busy to explain. Enter the Practice: The First 90 Days in the Civil Litigation Practice fills that gap. It is a practical, plain-English guide for new litigators and litigation paralegals who want to be trusted with real responsibility, fast.
Every chapter follows one fictional personal injury case from the first file review to mediation. Each one shows a weak response to a realistic assignment, then an improved one, and explains exactly what changed.
You'll learn how to
- Turn a two-line assignment into a clear plan by asking the right questions up front
- Learn a firm's file, calendar, and review systems, and trust them over your memory
- Read an unfamiliar case file in the right order and spot urgent problems the same day
- Build a chronology a supervising attorney can rely on, with a source for every line
- Deliver research and deposition prep an attorney can use without redoing it
- Communicate with clients warmly without overstepping your role
- Record your time accurately and completely
- Recognize when to ask for help, and how to report a problem so it can be solved in one reply
- Correct mistakes promptly and turn feedback into a plan for your first year
Each chapter ends with a 20-to-40-minute exercise and a checklist, and suggested answers are in the back. The appendices include a status update checklist, an assignment intake sheet, a chronology template, and a guide for supervising attorneys who want to use the book with new hires.
Along the way, the book draws on lessons from martial arts masters, military leaders, scouts, and American strategists, all built around one idea that fits civil litigation: si vis pacem, para bellum. If you want peace, prepare for war. The cases that settle fairly are the ones where someone was plainly ready for trial.