In terms of how the book is structured, the first two chapters logically refer to jurisdiction issues, more specifically on personal and subject matter jurisdiction. The former discusses the court's jurisdiction over a case and the different situations in which it is able to involve itself in hearing a case and in proposing a judgment in that respective case. Notable theories are enumerated here, including the traditional power theory and the theory resulting from the consequences of the Pennoyer v. Neff case. As always, the two chapters are also very actual: there is a specific part of the first chapter dealing with how some of the judicial rules are applied to Internet activities. The second chapter moves to the federal level and discusses the framework that allows a federal court to involve itself in a case and to use its authority to propose a ruling in that case.
With the first two chapters thus described, it is clear that the third chapter attempts a discussion over how the two levels (state and federal) can be mediated. As previously mentioned, the book continuously sets for itself the goal of proposing several levels for discussion and tackling different dimensions and perspectives over those respective levels, including how the differences between them might occasionally impede the proper judicial operation and how this can be mediated. This is the case in chapter 3 when it comes to the state and federal jurisdiction.
The book also aims to identify all the elements that are part of a judicial procedure and analyze how that respective element fits into a larger framework. For example, there is a separate chapter that deals with the parties involved in a judicial procedure. At the same time, some of the chapters deal with particular procedures, such as the discover procedure (chapter 6) -- all matters related to scope...
The pleading chapter is perhaps one of the best organized ones, with a ton of information on practice (on both state and federal levels), the different duties of the attorney in this particular phase (detailed in section E. Of this chapter etc.).
Finally, two of the chapters are on pretrial and trial procedures. Although it may seem that the trial is the most important part of a judicial procedure, Gilbert's Summary of Civil Procedure actually emphasizes a significant number of other parts of the judicial process before actually arriving to trial. This is essential, because the reader can thus better understand how all these elements better fit into the larger perspective, as well as, from the point-of-view of a future lawyer, what needs to be done to properly arrive at the trial phase of the process, without making mistakes along the way that would potentially impede that.
Like all the other books from the law summaries series, the one on Civil Procedure is a very comprehensive summary of this particular segment of law and of judicial study. As previously mentioned, the book targets particularly students and, from that perspective, abounds in instruments aimed to make their learning process easier and more efficient.
However, this is not the complete target for the book. The actual practitioners are also considered and the logical way in which the book is written, as well as the way in which the facts and main elements are logically laid out emphasize the fact that the authors are also considering such potential readers. Overall, the book is definitely one of the best and most comprehensive outlines on a topic as complex as civil procedure.
