The American Bar Association Business Law Section has published "Law and Poetry: Promises from the Preamble," a collection of 56 poems - one for each state, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories. This anthology uses the language from the preamble to the U.S. Constitution as a structure and framework.
Editor Kristen David Adams notes the connection between law and poetry, where she reveals that poetry about the law may be the single most effective way to connect with the human experience of the law - what it feels like to be the judge, juror, attorney, witness, or even the accused. The anthology includes works by famous poets as well as others who are not as familiar. From Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Carl Sandburg to Rudyard Kipling, Jack Mapanje and Emily Dickenson, this collection of poetry attempts to share the meaning of the law.
The anthology was inspired by Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural address in 1861 where he states, "Continue to exercise all the express provisions of our National Constitution, and the Union will endure forever." Adams conveys that one of the declared objects for ordaining and establishing the Constitution was "to form a more perfect Union." With this goal in mind, the collection is separated into sections using language and themes from the preamble. Each section seeks to challenge the reader to consider how the promises and ideals of the preamble might be fulfilled by "the better angels of our nature" and to illuminate opportunities for changes that might assist in reaching those ideals.
Adams is the William Reece Smith Jr. Distinguished Professor of Law at Stetson University College of Law. She has authored seven books and is an active member of the ABA Business Law Section.
"Law and Poetry: Promises from the Preamble" ia available in paperback for $34.95. To order a copy, call 800-285-2221 or go online to ShopABA.org.
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The American Bar Association Business Law Section has published "Global Financial Collateral: A Guide to Security Interests in Securities, Securities Accounts, and Deposit Accounts in International" that is based on a questionnaire that focuses on the choice-of-law complexities and substantive similarities and differences involved in international secured transactions.
Covering more than 40 jurisdictions, this compendium reveals the richness and complexity of commercial law with respect to security interests in financial collateral for international transactions. Members of the Business Law Section Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Committee's International Law Subcommittee developed a fact pattern and questionnaire that lawyers from G-20 countries, offshore jurisdictions and other countries in Latin America, Europe and Asia completed. This questionnaire provided a common framework through which variations among jurisdictions could be readily identified, thus facilitating cross-border analysis. In one single volume, the scope of the project includes more than 40 jurisdictions worldwide.
This guidebook is a valuable resource for lawyers working on cross-border secured transactions involving common types of financial collateral, such as directly held certificated securities; directly held uncertificated securities; securities accounts (and securities credited to them); and deposit accounts. The book dedicates a chapter to each jurisdiction that is surveyed to provide general guidance when negotiating such a secured transaction in that jurisdiction. The guide aims to assist lawyers in framing their choice-of-law analysis and helping them gain insight into the substantive law complexities that can arise in transactions with this type of collateral.
Leading practitioners from more than 40 jurisdictions contributed their expertise to Global Financial Collateral, which was co-edited by Penelope L. Christophorou and Celeste Boeri Pozo. Christophorou is counsel at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen, & Hamilton LLP, based in its New York office. She is chair of the Business Law Section and also a past president of the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers. Pozo is lead counsel at the Inter-American Investment Corporation in Washington, D.C. She is vice-chair of the Business Law Section's UCC Committee.
"Global Financial Collateral: A Guide to Security Interests in Securities, Securities Accounts, and Deposit Accounts" is available as a paperback for $189.95 by calling 800-285-2221 or online at ShopABA.org.