For current and future attorneys, literacy is a tool of the trade. To “think like a lawyer” you must be willing to read like a lawyer. A lawyer without books would be like a workman without tools.
The top 10 must-read books for law students are presented below the second section of this article and the top 10 books for lawyers are presented.
All the books ranked in this article are listed in the first section for you to rank.
Contents
- Rank Your Favorite Law Books
- Top 10 Books Every Law Student Must Read
- Top 10 Books Every Lawyer Must Read
Rank Your Favorite Law Books
Top 10 Books Every Law Student Must Read
- The Paper Chase by John Jay Osborn Jr.
The Paper Chase is a 1971 novel that tells the story of Hart, a first-year law student at Harvard, and his tumultuous relationship with Professor Charles Kingsfield, a demanding contracts professor.
- One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School by Scott Turow
One L is a 1977 autobiographical journal of author, Scott Turow’s first year at Harvard Law School.
- Getting to Maybe: How to Excel on Law School Exams by Richard Fischl and Jeremy Paul
Getting to Maybe teaches how to excel on law school exams by showing readers how legal analysis can be brought to bear on exam problems.
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Handmaid’s Tale is a novel that explores an overthrow of the Constitution that results in a reversal of women’s rights.
- Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges by Bryan Garner and Antonin Scalia
Making Your Case presents critical ideas about judicial persuasion in a unique, entertaining way.
- The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin
The Nine takes readers into the chambers of the Supreme Court, revealing the complicated dynamic among the nine people who decide the law of the land.
- Tomorrow’s Lawyers: An Introduction to Your Future by Richard Susskind
In Tomorrow’s Lawyers, author Richard Susskind predicts fundamental and irreversible changes in the world of law.
- The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr.
The Elements of Style is a stable cornerstone on which to build your writing skills.
- Letters to a Young Lawyer by Alan Dershowitz
Letters to a Young Lawyer is a meditation of the legal profession that discusses life, law and the opportunities young lawyers have to do good and do well at the same time.
- 1861 by Adam Goodheart
1861 is an original account of how the Civil War began and a second American revolution unfolded, setting Abraham Lincoln on his path to greatness and millions of slaves on the road to freedom.
Top 10 Books Every Lawyer Must Read
- Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
Just Mercy is a story about Walter McMillian, a man wrongly convicted of murder and facing the death penalty.
- The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
The Color of Law presents a forceful argument on how federal, state and local governments gave rise to and reinforced neighborhood segregation.
- Bleak House by Charles Dickens
Bleak House is a complex mystery story that deals with themes of loss, law, social class and inheritance.
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel that deals with serious issues, including racial inequality and rape yet it is renowned for its humor and warmth.
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
The New Jim Crow discusses race-related issues specific to African-American males and mass incarceration in the United States.
- Storytelling for Lawyers by Philip Meyer
Storytelling for Lawyers helps lawyers construct compelling narratives that will impact audiences and win cases.
- Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Robert Fisher
Getting to Yes offers a proven strategies for negotiation to help attorneys with conflict resolution.
- The Trial by Franz Kafka
In The Trial, Josef K. is arrested and prosecuted yet the nature of his crime is never revealed to Josef nor to the reader.
- The Happy Lawyer: Making a Good Life in the Law by Nancy Levit
The Happy Lawyer examines the causes of dissatisfaction among lawyers and offers practical tools to achieve satisfaction.
- The Rule of Law by Tom Bingham
The Rule of Law is a short book written by Tom Bingham, who explains that the rule of law is not an arid legal doctrine but is the foundation of a fair and just society.
Did we miss any must-read books for law students or lawyers? Let us know in the comment section below.