Acknowledgments to the Fifth Edition
The acknowledgments to this edition begin with a delayed acknowledgment: to my former student, David Wagner, who allowed me to adapt one of his excellent submissions as an example for the appendix of a previous edition.
I apologize for neglecting to include these thanks previously. I also thank more recent alums who have allowed me to adapt their work: Ryan Semerad, Arlene Boruchowitz, and Rachel Elwood.This is the first edition of the text published since my move to Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a move that has been wonderful in too many ways to count. First, I am grateful to Dean Daniel Hamilton for welcoming me to Boyd, and for his generous research support. I am also grateful to Terrill Pollman, my friend and colleague, who provided a wealth of guidance as I made the move and completed my first year on the faculty. I’m also grateful to my legal writing colleagues at UNLV, including Linda Berger, Linda Edwards, Peter Bayer, Laura Vlieg, Lori Johnson, and Rebecca Scharf. I’m particularly grateful to Lori Johnson, who suggested the new chapter on statutory analysis that appears in this text.
I’ve been delighted to get to know a new group of students at UNLV. They’ve made my first year wonderful, and I’m looking forward to the second. In particular, James Puccinelli has provided valuable research assistance. You will see the names “Amanda Lamb” and “Shannon Zahm” sprinkled throughout the book, in entirely fictional contexts. These students are receiving this dubious honor because they successfully bid on an auction item at an event benefitting UNLV’s Public Interest Law Association.
Finally, I’m grateful to the anonymous reviewers who provided suggestions for this edition, to Monte Smith, who reviewed and commented on the new chapter, and to Dana Wilson, who provided editorial nudging and support.
Chapter One