Pennsylvania Lawyers Publish Profusely

On August 7, 2008, Professor Gerry W. Beyer noted in his posting on the Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog that "Carmina Y. D'Aversa (estate tax attorney with the International Estate Tax Group of the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, D.C.) has published her book entitled Tax, Estate, and Lifetime Planning for Minors."

His introduction seemed somewhat misleading to me on two minor points, but his recognition of the book remains laudable; and it caused me to think about other Pennsylvania attorney-authors.

First, Carmina Y. D'Aversa edited the book (382 pages), as described on the American Bar Association's bookstore website (as also noted by Gerry within his posting):

Tax, Estate, and Lifetime Planning for Minors brings together the knowledge and insights of fourteen experienced practitioners and law professors, including Jon J. Gallo, Christopher P. Cline, E. Paul Van Horn, Nancy E. Shurtz, Aen Walker Webster, Naomi R. Cahn and Cynthia L. Barrett.

Second, the book was published on January 25, 2007 (copyrighted 2006) -- not recently. The ABA's bookstore website offered a one-page update for the book, as issued through May, 2007, but not since then. The book is also referenced by commercial vendors online, including Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Best Book Buys, among others.

Those points aside, I am happy that Gerry drew our attention again to this book, one edited by a Pennsylvanian.

Well, perhaps I should say, more accurately, a former Pennsylvanian. Her biography correctly notes that she "served as an elected member of the Council of the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section." That is how I met her before she moved to Washington, D.C. around 2002 to join the Internal Revenue Service's central offices.

I communicated with her after she left Pennsylvania, as she was arranging for contributors to the book and writing the section about advanced reproductive technologies (ART).

She thought about ART in Pennsylvania before few others did. Carmina is the person who inspired me to an interest in that cutting-edge topic. I am certain that she would be pleased with our attempts to create a legal framework for advanced reproductive technologies here, now. See: EE&F Law Blog posting JSGC's Final Report on Assisted Reproductive Technologies (06/25/08), and the topic "Reproductive Technology" on this Blog.

Since its publication, the book that she conceived and edited remains unique among legal publications in addressing personal-, estate-, and tax-planning issues from the distinctive viewpoint of a minor, someone under the legal age of majority (18 years old). It is highly-recommended as a resource.

Carmina is not the only lawyer from or in Pennsylvania who has written or edited useful books on estate and trust topics, or elder law practice.

• In January, 2005, Don W. Llewellyn & Jill R. Fowler (who currently serves as the Chair of the PA Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section) published Tax Planning for Lifetime and Testamentary Dispositions, 2nd Edition, with Forms (672 pages; ISBN-13: 9780831807580), through the American Law Institute.

• In July, 2006, Stephan R. Leimberg, Jerry A. Kasner, Stephen N. Kandell, Morey S. Rosenbloom, & Herbert L. Levy published Tools and Techniques of Estate Planning, 14th Edition (716 pages; ISBN-13: 9780872186934), through National Underwriter Company.

• In 2007, Patti Spencer published Pennsylvania Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts Library Forms and Practice Manual, 1st Edition (2 volumes, 1,500 pages, 280 forms; ISBN# 978-1-57400-117-4) through Data Trace Publishing Company.

• In July, 2007, Robert C. Gerhard, III published Pennsylvania Medicaid: Long-Term Care Lawsource (605 pages; ISBN: 0-9755281-6-5) through George T. Bisel Co., Inc., as a complement to the previously-published Pennsylvania Medicaid — Long-Term Care treatise. See: EE&F Law Blog posting Gerhard's Revised Book on Medicaid in PA.

• On September 1, 2007, Jeffrey A. Marshall published Elder Law in Pennsylvania, 2nd Edition (PBI Product №:04882-BK) through the Pennsylvania Bar Institute. See: EE&F Law Blog posting PBI Publishes "Elder Law in PA", 2nd Edition (09/07/07).
  

• In January, 2008, Daniel B. Evans published How to Build and Manage an Estates Practice, 2nd Edition (232 pages; ISBN: 1-59031-951-6) through the American Bar Association (sponsored by the Law Practice Management Section and the Section of Real Property, Trust & Estate Law). See: EE&F Law Blog posting Evans' Book on "Estates Practice" Updated (03/20/08).

• In March, 2008, Professor Lawrence A. Frolik published Residence Options for Older and Disabled Clients (416 pages; ISBN: 1-59031-916-8), through the American Bar Association (sponsored by the Senior Lawyers Division). See also: EE&F Law Blog posting "Elder Law" Textbook by Frolik & Barnes (07/11/07).
  

• In April, 2008, Stephen L. Bloom published The Believer's Guide to Legal Issues (208 pages; ISBN: 0899570313), through Living Ink Press. See: EE&F Law Blog posting Bloom's Book for Christians in Law (04/03/08).

This is only a partial list of attorney-authors and their publications that relate to the subject matter of this Blog.

Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Pennsylvania lawyers write book-length legal materials issued by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute (the legal education arm of the Pennsylvania Bar Association). Pennsylvania lawyers probably write most of the publications issued by George T. Bisel Co., Inc., of Philadelphia, a distinctive, family-owned legal publisher. Pennsylvania lawyers also write textbooks and contribute to legal works published by other prominent national & international publishers.

Pennsylvania is a great place to practice law, partly because such attorney-authors professionally and precisely map this Commonwealth's legal topography.