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94 Law Libr. J. 108 (2002)
Understanding the Americans with Disabilities Act: An Overview for Lawyers

handle is hein.journals/llj94 and id is 118 raw text is: 108 Law Library Journal [Vol. 94:1 it is dedicated to eliminating legalese: learn to detest simplifiable jargon (p.34); shun newfangled acronyms (p.47); and draft for an ordinary reader, not for a mythical judge who might someday review the document (p.91). All of it is designed to yield readable, persuasive, and transparent documents. 20 But you may find some of Gamer's advice disconcerting. I counted at least four ideas that directly contradict what I learned in law school: contractions are okay (p.49); you can start sentences with conjunctions (p.50); there's nothing wrong with one-sentence paragraphs (p.72); and use real names instead of legal labels for both your client and your opponent (p.44). The point of each of these suggestions is to create coherent prose-prose that sounds right, that's speak- able. In that context, the advice makes good sense. But Garner doesn't always support or qualify these suggestions. For instance, he tells us that one-sentence paragraphs are okay in moderation, but he doesn't tell us when they are appropri- ate. All the same, a lot of Gamer's advice is quite convincing, which is why this review is filled with contractions and with sentences introduced by conjunctions. 21 Controversial or not, the advice Garner provides is extremely valuable. Since the book presumes a lot of preexisting knowledge, it will probably serve best as a text for advanced law school writing classes or for less formal groups of expe- rienced writers. It should also prove useful as a supplemental text for first-year legal writing classes, though instructors may need to do some creative juggling to coordinate the book and its exercises with the rest of their syllabus. Individual users outside of a structured group will get as much out of the book as they are willing to put into it. Those who are willing to approach the book systematically and to complete the exercises will see drastic improvement in their writing. Even casual users who skim through the book will probably discover some useful ideas. With a list of potential users this long, Legal Writing in Plain English should prove a useful addition to almost any legal collection. So, I confidently recommend the book for all law libraries. Goren, William D. Understanding the Americans with Disabilities Act: An Overview for Lawyers. Chicago: American Bar Association, General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section, 2000. 179p. $64.95. Reviewed by Shaun Esposito 22 In this book's preface, author William Goren lays out his purpose: This book is not a treatise and is not meant to address every contingency that could arise under the ADA. Rather, the book highlights various aspects of the ADA so that by the end, the reader will have an excellent overview of the law, as well as a framework for dealing with the ADA in a preventive manner (p.vi). Although promises in prefaces often go unmet, Goren delivers on his in this short yet informative book. 23 As might be expected from a work emanating from the ABA's General Practice, Solo and Small Finn Section, this work takes a decidedly practical, as opposed to theoretical or scholarly, tone. An examination of chapter titles, which range from Concepts Underlying the ADA and Key Definitions to Are You

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