The authors balance depth of coverage with ease of use: - A comprehensive, intelligent overview of all the key concepts covered in a typical introduction to law course - Use of the critical thinking approach to introduce students to the study of law and encourage interaction with the materials through hypotheticals, examples, and well-designed questions - The three parts of the book reflect the topics of the introductory course: Part I, Paralegals and the American Legal System introduces students to the role of the paralegal, sources and classifications of law, the structure of the court system, and an overview of litigation. Part II, Finding and Analyzing the Law, reviews the basics of legal analysis, research, and writing. Part III, Legal Ethics and Substantive Law, covers the full range of statutory law - Teaches students the basic skills necessary to understand statutes and court cases - Supports learning with ethics alerts, marginal definitions, Internet references, and legal reasoning exercises throughout the book - Presents material in an accessible and well-organized format - Substantive law chapters use edited cases to teach students how to read and analyze the law - Helpful appendices contain material on good writing, citation, excerpts from the U.S. Constitution, Ethical Codes, and additional Net Notes The text is scrupulously revised for its Third Edition: - Updated chapters on Ethics and Legal Research - Updated internet references throughout the book - New material and cases in substantive law chapters, including: - more on recklessness as a requirement for sport participant injuries in the Torts chapter - inclusion ofeminent domain cases currently before the Supreme Court in the Property/Real Estate Law chapter - expanded section on the Americans with Disabilities Act in Laws Affecting Business chapter, including PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin - developments in same-sex marriage in the chapter on Family Law - revised material on sentencing guidelines in the Criminal Law and Procedure chapter