Too simplistic
This is way too simplistic given the complex specialization of law today. If you look at the table of contents, you can pretty much figure out the differences they're talking about on your own. You'll learn more by looking up practice areas on the ABA website or on any CLE site (e.g. WestEd Legal Center) and then following up on your own or by looking at course offerings at your law school or any other law school.
Good place to start
This book is a good place to start, it gives a good overview for someone just exploring the different legal specialties out there.
I doesn't have as much detail as I would have liked, but I still think its a good place to start for anyone considering law school.
Well written, but not as comprehensive as the title suggests
The book is a decent reference, but not nearly as comprehensive as I had hoped. Let me down a couple of times when I was looking for information about a particular specialty.
If you are a student, don't buy it. Check to see if your library, law library, or career services office has a copy and borrow it from them. There is little need for you to buy a copy of your own.
Good for those who are considering law as a profession
details explaination of each specialization in law. worth reading for those who are considering law as a profession but not sure which field they are interested in.
Every law student (or would be law student) should read this book
As a law school career counselor, I can attest that one of the top challenges students face is determining what they want to do with their law degree and how to get what they want. This book goes a long way in helping to solve that riddle. I recommend it to every law student with whom I work. Each one who has followed my advice has praised the recomendation. My Admissions Office will not give me my personal copy back because they find it so useful.
This book lays out many of the typical and not-so-typical practice areas lawyers may enter, explaining what to expect, how to prepare for these jobs, and what employers are looking for. Law students will still need to do some self-analysis on what they are looking for, but this book will help immensely in sorting out areas that may work for them. It is especially helpful in that it may point them to areas they may not have thought of. I have seen many students gravitate towards areas because they are easy to understand or grasp onto. This book helps them open their eyes to many other areas.
