Jump to ratings and reviews

The Terrible Truth About Lawyers: What Every Business Person Needs to Know

A few photographs, index.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

Loading...
Loading...

About the author

Irving Layton

86 books41 followers
Poet, Teacher.

Born as Israel Pincu Lazarovitch, author Irving Layton immigrated to Canada in 1913, as a baby, his family settling on the infamous St. Urbain Street in the city of Montreal. In the heavily French-speaking province of Quebec, some locals were weary of English foreigners and Jewish families, however, the Lazarovitches adapted to the city where a great Canadian literary scene flourished, producing several English (Canadian) authors such as Mordecai Richler, Leonard Cohen and Louis Dudek.

In the early 1930's, Irving Layton received a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from MacDonald College. In 1946, he received his M.A. in Political Science. He also began teaching English, History, and Political Science at the Jewish parochial high school, Herzliah, in 1949. He taught modern English and American poetry at Sir George Williams University (now Concordia) and worked as a tenured professor at York University in the 1970s. He lectured occasionally at McGill University in Political Science. He taught English and Literature at the Jewish Public Library.

Irving Layton often recited his works at readings and travelled the world doing so, gaining fame and popularity. Over the course of his life, Irving Layton received many awards and honours for his writing. In 1959, Irving Layton received the Governor-General's Award for "A Red Carpet for the Sun." He was titled an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1976. In 1981, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature by Italy and South Korea. He also received the Petrarch Award for Poetry.

Well loved, Irving led a full life surrounded by students, friends and family. He was married four times - to Faye Lynch, Harriet Bernstein, Annette Pottier and Betty Sutherland. He also lived with a woman named Aviva Cantor for several years. He fathered four children during his life named Max, Naomi, David and Samantha Clara.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
6 (18%)
4 stars
12 (36%)
3 stars
11 (33%)
2 stars
4 (12%)
1 star
0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Profile Image for Mike Cheng.
508 reviews9 followers
December 4, 2022
A pessimistic and oversimplified polemic about whether lawyers truly add value. Still, there were some points and advices that I agree with: (1) right or wrong we live in a litigious society that assigns intent and betrayal to almost every bad outcome (in other words, whenever we suffer an injury or loss we disregard bad luck and the role we ourselves might have played); (2) before deciding to file suit ask whether the dispute necessarily calls for a legal resolution; (3) be forewarned that winning your lawsuit might ultimately be a pyrrhic victory due to the cost, time, and emotional drain that comes with litigation; and (4) a good lawyer is one who promptly returns phone calls and emails, explains things in a straightforward non-legalese manner, and, without having to be asked to do so, perpetually keeps the client posted about important developments.
Profile Image for M.
706 reviews4 followers
June 13, 2018
The ideal book to give your lawyer as a gift...just to set him or her straight.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews