The Lawyer's Bookshelf

MATRIMONIAL CASELAW, NEW YORK EDITION.
Jay Landa, editor; Matrimonial CaseLaw Corp., publisher.

Reviewed by Saul Edelstein

NECESSITY, IT HAS been said, is the mother of invention. For the practicing attorney, keeping abreast of the latest case law is an absolute necessity. Now two prominent practitioners, Willard H. DaSilva and Jay Landa, have come up with an inventive new solution.

"Matrimonial CaseLaw, New York Edition" is a one volume, loose-leaf publication which is, as the title indicates, specifically geared to matrimonial and related topics. It offers a unique updating system that facilitates the review of new cases, as well as recently cited and landmark decisions. (I'll describe this updating system presently.) At the same time, the book provides a comprehensive desk reference for research and citation.

The book is divided topically into thirty-two chapters: Adoption, Agreements, Appeals and Decisions, Attorney and Client, Business and Professional Practice, Classification of Property, Constructive Trust, Contempt, Custody and Visitation, Disclosure, Distribution, Education Expense, Emancipation, Enforcement, Evidence, Fees and Allowances, Grounds and Defenses, Injunctions and Restraints, Interference with Custody and Visitation, Judgments and Orders, Marital Residence, Miscellaneous, Modification of Support, Necessaries, Order of Protection, Paternity, Pendente Lite, Pensions, Percentage of Distribution, Procedure and Jurisdiction, Support and Valuation.

WITHIN THE chapters, each casenote is prefaced by a headnote, enabling the researcher to scan an entire chapter quickly and pick out those cases which are relevant to a particular issue, without having to read the entire casenote. Research time is further reduced and repetition is minimized by the way DaSilva and Landa have "grouped" similar cases. For example, if three cases contain the same proposition of law, often only one casenote will appear, followed by the names of the three cases to which it refers. On the other hand, if a particular case is relevant to more than one concept, multiple casenotes will appear, either in the same or other relevant chapters.

Each casenote deals only with the topical proposition for which it is cited; it does not "brief" the entire case. The case note may contain a direct quote from the decision itself, but more often it will paraphrase and, on rare occasions, editorialize. The authors are careful to alert the user (as well they should) that their publication is not a substitute for reading the complete decision. Nevertheless, the casenotes are clear and precise enough to give the researcher an excellent starting point, and to give overview of the topic. In this regard, the general practitioner will find this reference extremely useful.

The name of the case immediately follows the casenote to which it refers, along with the court in which the case was decided. In order to locate the actual citation, it is necessary to turn to the Table of Cases in the last section of the book. At first blush, this method may seem cumbersome, but the Table of Cases also serves another function. A cross-reference table is posted after each cited case, enabling the user to instantly locate all other casenotes (and thus all other topics) in the book which cite that case.

In order to utilize the material effectively, the user must become acquainted with the book's method of organization. Each chapter has a designated letter or symbol. In order to use the reference table, located in the Table of Cases, the infrequent user may then have to turn to the Table of Contents, located on the first page, in order to decipher the code.

IN THEIR attempt to be concise whenever possible, DaSilva and Landa have made frequent use of abbreviations. Cases are cited by only one name, unless the name of the defendant differs. If two or more cases have the same name, they are differentiated by number. For example, there are three Bennett cases: Bennett, decided in the Second Department is found in the Procedure chapter; Bennett 2, decided in the First Department is found in the Pendente Lite chapter; and Bennett 3, decided in the Third Department is also found in the Pendente Lite chapter.

The highest commendation goes to the authors for their method of supplementing the material. Cumulative monthly updates report new cases, some of which have been published in the New York Law Journal or the advance sheets as late as two days prior to the day on which the subscriber receives the update. Each casenote contains the best available citation. Every third month, the updates are superseded by a Quarterly Revision which transfers the new casenotes to their respective chapters. Thus, the subscriber has a completely new and updated book every three months. This method of supplementing, updating and adding casenotes and citations eliminates the tiresome, frustrating, and all too familiar practice of muddling through the stacks of periodicals, newsletters and the like that routinely clutter that one particular corner of the office. This constant integration of new cases into the book's topical format is what makes matrimonial caselaw unique; a comprehensive, efficient case law guide that is always current. It should prove a most valuable research tool for both matrimonial specialists and general practitioners, and very possibly may become a standard reference work throughout the state.

If you are looking for a scholarly treatise in the matrimonial field, you will have to look elsewhere. As the authors are, themselves, practicing attorneys, they have designed a sourcebook to be used by the practitioner. There is no fat, no extranea, no extrapolation and no commentary. Instead, there are concise, informative, accurate and timely casenotes. This publication provides quick, simplified research to the practitioner. The by-product is cost-effective legal service to the client.

Saul Edelstein is a Brooklyn lawyer who practices matrimonial law.