Jacob Jacobowitz
The law is the law and we shall follow it lest we want to see a total collapse of our society in a free for all anarchist mad land. Also, the law is the sacred word the law student has set upon to interpret, uphold, and apply as they see fit within the boundaries established by it.
Not an easy oath to take and much less to maintain. One oath that demands that those who seek to take it are educated to highest level of the profession and capable of dispensing discerning judgment when called to.
To truly educate them into such depth the mandatory reading list of law school itself should suffice, but also, why not throw in some complementary material that the student can certainly relate to. These books that every law student should read were selected precisely by the input it offers to the minds of our lawyers in formation, their value cannot be understated.
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#1 The Republic, by Plato
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It poses the big fundamental questions of law and governance, and attempts to answer them using a dialectic and Socratic Method (which is how law professors try to ask questions in the classroom). It is THE classic book of western philosophy and a must-read of all students of the law.
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#2 How To Start And Build A Law Practice by Jay Foonberg
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It is chock full of enormously useful information for any future lawyer. Its lessons apply not only to those who want to start their own practice, but to all lawyers. It has advice on practicing law effectively, ethically, and successfully. This is a seminal book that has been around and popular for decades because its value is timeless.
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#3 Bleak House by Charles Dickens
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Charles Dickens is a must-read author. Period. His Bleak House, first published in 20 installments between 1852-1853, inspired reforms in England’s judicial system. This is a hefty piece of literature with colorful characters wallowing in greed, lawsuits, inheritance gone bad and spontaneous combustion. You betcha I will read anything by Dickens that involves somebody bursting into flames. A bleak and lengthy read but for anybody who fancies the law and the legal system, warts and all, this one’s for you!
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#4 Confessions of a Bad, Ugly Singer by Collette McLafferty
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“Confessions of a Bad, Ugly Singer” highlights the power law students will have once they pass the bar. In 2014 a local NYC singer found herself in a $10,000,000 lawsuit filed by a Long Island personal injury attorney- for singing one night in a P!NK cover band. The attorney claimed McLafferty conspired to steal his idea, while alleging she was a lousy singer and “too unattractive” to portray the singer. This detail of the case was highlighted by The New York Post, Time and Findlaw.com In reality, McLafferty was just a session singer showing up for a job. Still, The Supreme Court of Riverhead allowed the bogus case to drag on for two years.
Her case caught the attention of The Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York as well as Hannum Feretic Prendergast and Merlino partner, Attorney Steven Dyki. Together they started a state wide conversation about lawsuit abuse, change and restoring dignity and ethics to the courtroom. They introduced anti- abuse legislation in the New York State Assembly.
“Confessions of a Bad, Ugly Singer” explores the legal system from an underrepresented almost invisible voice- the victim of a frivolous lawsuit. The book highlights the emotional side of litigation and the toll it can take on a human level and encourages those in the legal system to use their powers for good.
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#5 Whose Monet: An Introduction To the American Legal System
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As an art and cultural heritage attorney and adjunct law school professor, I recommend students read Whose Monet. The book presents an introduction to the American legal system and clearly explains civil procedure against the backdrop of an ownership dispute over a valuable artwork. This book wonderfully illustrates legal concepts through the discussion of a well-known litigation (DeWeerth v. Baldinger), and does so in a way that is engaging to students.
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#6 Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake
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Catch me if you can, a Hollywood blockbuster that’s so much better when read from the real life star – Frank Abagnale. An over confident teen who dodged the law for years committing fraud after fraud. The result, an inspirational story of good coming of bad and a whole bunch of twists and turns along the way. You couldn’t make it up.
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#7 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
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Every law student should read To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee because of the main character Atticus Finch. It is such an important book because Atticus is often portrayed as the perfect lawyer and I really think that he is! If I, or anyone I cared about, was ever in need of any legal help I would hope that my lawyer would be like Atticus Finch!
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#8 One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School
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Before law school, I read 1L, by Scott Turow. 1L doesn’t have specifics about the law or even exams, but will prepare incoming law students for the intense competition and difficulty of law school courses. Basically this book will help incoming law students prepare for the worst, then be pleasantly surprised when anything is easier than they expected. The courses and exams will probably be harder than expected, especially during the first year, but this book helps students prepare mentally to be challenged like never before.
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#9 Getting to Maybe: How to Excel in Law School Exams
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The next series of books I didn’t read before law school, but I wish that I had. (I did take a 6 week non-credit, pre-law summer program, complete with exams, and we learned some of the information contained in these books, during that course.)
These are all essentially summaries of the most difficult law school courses and concepts, in order of importance. Reading them all, and even studying or outlying them, would be helpful to any soon-to-be first year law student. During law school, students will be expected to know all of these concepts.
And they are complicated, and extremely voluminous, so difficult to learn and remember. So reading course overviews before starting school most likely will help students gain a deeper understanding later, maybe more quickly than other students, and also will help with memorizing them for exams later. The sheer volume of material during law school makes repetition important for memorizing concepts during exams. Bottom line, early exposure to these concepts might help with understanding, retention, and memorization later.
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#10 Civil Procedure, 7th Edition (Examples & Explanations), by Joseph Glannon
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Civil procedure is basically the rules of court for all civil cases. So understanding the concepts is important to every other law school class, and practicing law in almost any practice area. Along with the property course, many of the most difficult law school concepts arise in this course, so early learning would definitely be helpful
Before buying a book make sure to compare price and outlet, we have included links below to several large book outlets for different regions in the world:
#11 Examples & Explanations for Evidence, written by Arthur Best
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Evidence teaches the rules for the admission of evidence into court. Again, very important as a foundational class.
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#12 Examples & Explanations: The Law of Torts
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Most civil lawsuits involve proof of something called torts. This book gives an overview of yet another foundational course in law school.
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#13 Examples & Explanations for Contracts, by Brian Blum
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Contracts is another foundational law school course, and this book provides a good overview and introduction to the most important concepts learned in the course.
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#14 Examples & Explanations for Property, by Barlow Burke
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Property is another foundational course, which also includes some of the most difficult concepts any student will encounter during law school. Incoming students shouldn’t expect to understand this material when first reading this book. But early exposure will still help during the course.
For all above courses, there are other study guide books, such as the Nutshell series, and even flash cards, and audio tapes. The more an incoming student is exposed to these concepts, the better. That being said, realistically, incoming students only have so much time to prepare. So I’ve suggested the guides that I found to be most helpful.
Before buying a book make sure to compare price and outlet, we have included links below to several large book outlets for different regions in the world:
Christopher Earley from Law Office of Christopher Earley
Vivian Young from Website Greenlight
Collette McLafferty from New Haven Publishing
Leila Amineddoleh from Amineddoleh & Associates LLC
Joe Flanagan from Suddora Sportswear
Brian Kelley from Bellwether Community Credit Union
Tina Willis from Tina Willis Law
