The legal landscape can be a minefield.

Here's a map.

Most people don't know all that much about the framework of the American legal system,

nor about details that haven't touched their lives or become major news stories. That

lack of knowledge can be dangerous, in ways one has to know more about the system to

understand and appreciate.

Also, the world of law and lawyers, with its suspense, its moral quandaries, and its

ripped-from-the-headlines subject matter, provides wonderful material for fiction.

This guide will help writers explore these many story possibilities -- while helping

writers and others avoid the pitfalls awaiting the unwary.