Law School Summer Reads

Read this books during the summer

About School
1L of a Ride: A Well-traveled Professor’s Roadmap to Success in the First Year of Law
School, Andrew McClurg*: “A candid, comprehensive roadmap to both academic and
emotional success in law school’s crucial first year…topics in the revised and updated third
edition include pre-planning, top student fears, first-year curriculum, the Socratic and case
methods of teaching, effective class participation, top habits of successful students, essential
study techniques, legal research and writing, exam strategies, maintaining well-being, and
much more.” (Amazon)

Finding Your Voice in Law School: Mastering Classroom Cold Calls, Job Interviews, and
Other Verbal Challenges, Molly Bishop Shadel: “A step-by-step guide to the most difficult
tests you will confront as a law student, from making a speech in front of a room full of
lawyers to arguing before a judge and jury.” (Amazon)

Swimming Lessons for Baby Sharks, Grover E. Cleveland: “This book contains hundreds of
tips from attorneys throughout the country with the critical advice new lawyers need to
ensure their success. The book is current and comprehensive, providing useful, practical
advice that law schools don’t teach.” (Amazon)

Thinking Like a Lawyer: A New Introduction to Legal Reasoning, Frederick Schauer:

“This primer on legal reasoning is aimed at law students and upper-level undergraduates…. It
covers such topics as rules, precedent, authority, analogical reasoning, the common law,
statutory interpretation, legal realism, judicial opinions, legal facts, and burden of proof.”
(Harvard University Press)

About academics (studying, reading, writing)

Want to write better, readbetter, even learn better? Start with these books.

The Elements of Style, William Strunk Jr., E. B. White: “This style manual offers practical
advice on improving writing skills. Throughout, the emphasis is on promoting a plain English
style. This little book can help you communicate more effectively by showing you how to
enliven your sentences.” (Goodreads)

Getting to Maybe: How to Excel on Law School Exams, Richard Michael Fischl, Jeremy
Paul: “The book contains hints on studying and preparation that go well beyond conventional
advice. The authors also illustrate how to argue both sides of a legal issue without appearing
wishy-washy or indecisive. Above all, the book explains why exam questions may generate
feelings of uncertainty or doubt about correct legal outcomes and how the student can turn
these feelings to his or her advantage.” (Amazon)

Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning, Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger
III, Mark A. McDaniel: “Drawing on cognitive psychology and other fields, Make It Stick
offers techniques for becoming more productive learners, and cautions against study habits
and practice routines that turn out to be counterproductive.” (Google Books)

Open Book: Succeeding on Exams from the First Day of Law School, Barry Friedman*:
“An insider’s view of what professors look for in exam answers and how exam-taking
connects to good lawyering.” (Amazon)

Reading Like a Lawyer: Time Saving Strategies for Reading Law Like an Expert, Ruth
Ann McKinney*: “The ability to read law well is a critical, indispensable skill that can make
or break the academic career of any aspiring lawyer…. Using seven specific reading
strategies, reinforced with hands-on exercises at the end of each chapter, this book shows
students how they can read law efficiently, effectively, powerfully, and confidently.”
(Goodreads)

Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of
Storytelling, Matthew Dicks: “Straightforward and engaging tips and techniques for
constructing, telling, and polishing stories that will hold the attention of your audience, no
matter how big or small.” (Amazon)

About productivity and life skills

From productivity hacks to ways of cultivating more gratitude, peace, and joy in yourself,
these books offer great advice on what it takes to live the life you’ve always imagined, in law
school and out.
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, James
Clear: “Learn how to make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy), overcome a lack
of motivation and willpower, design your environment to make success easier, get back on
track when you fall off course, and much more.” (Amazon)

Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work, Chip Heath, Dan Heath:
“Specific, practical tools that can help us to think more clearly about our options, and get out
of our heads, to improve our decision making, at work and at home.” (Goodreads)

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, Cal Newport: “In almost
any profession, cultivating a deep work ethic will produce massive benefits. [The author]
presents a rigorous training regimen, presented as a series of four ‘rules,’ for transforming
your mind and habits to support this skill.” (Amazon)

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, David Allen: “From core
principles to proven tricks, Getting Things Done can transform the way you work, showing
you how to pick up the pace without wearing yourself down.” (Amazon)

A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy , William B. Irvine: “Irvine plumbs
the wisdom of Stoic philosophy, one of the most popular and successful schools of thought in
ancient Rome, and shows how its insight and advice are still remarkably applicable to
modern lives.” (Amazon)

Hyperfocus: How to Be More Productive in a World of Distraction, Chris Bailey: “Our

brain has two powerful modes that can be unlocked when we use our attention well: a
focused mode (hyperfocus), which is the foundation for being highly productive, and a
creative mode (scatterfocus), which enables us to connect ideas in novel ways. Hyperfocus
helps readers unlock both, so they can concentrate more deeply, think more clearly, and work
and live more deliberately.” (Goodreads)

How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie: “A timeless bestseller, packed
with rock-solid advice that has carried thousands of now famous people up the ladder of
success in their business and personal lives.” (Goodreads)

Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor E. Frankl: “Frankl’s memoir has riveted generations of
readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual
survival.… [he] argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it,
find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose.” (Amazon)
About being a lawyer and legal careers
These books will help you explore legal career paths, hone your understanding of what the
law really is, and even preview the life of a lawyer (through non-fictional and fictional
lenses!).

24 Hours with 24 Lawyers: Profiles of Traditional and Non-Traditional Careers, Jasper

Kim: “From the time they wake up in the morning to the time they go to bed, each
professional illustrates what their position entails on a day-to-day basis.” (Amazon)

The Art of Cross-Examination, Francis Lewis Wellman: “A classic text for trial attorneys
and law students on how to cross-examine witnesses.” (Wikipedia)

A Civil Action, Jonathan Harr*: “This is a personal favorite. I was a practicing

environmental lawyer in Boston at the time the book came out, so I knew a lot about the
events and even some of the characters. Fortunately, none of my friends were major players
in the case—the lawyers do not come off in a very positive light!” (Professor Peter M.
Manus)

Called by Stories: Biblical Sagas and Their Challenge for Law, Milner Ball: “Ball explores
the ways in which biblical stories (primarily the stories of Moses and Rachel and the Gospel
of John) intersect with law, conceptions of justice, and the practice of law. He ties insights
from these stories to contemporary issues like Native Hawaiian sovereignty in a
thought-provoking and moving way.” (Professor Allison M. Dussias)

The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law, Mark Herrmann: “Find out what drives law
partners crazy, what will impress them, and the ten mistakes you should avoid.” (American
Bar Association)

Facing East from Indian Country: A Native History of Early America , Daniel Richter:
“This is a great read if you want to understand the development of the law in its historical
context. Richter shifts the focus from a fixation on the westward extension of white
settlement to the experiences and understanding of tribal members looking eastward from
Indian country. It fosters a much broader understanding of the development of American
Indian law and policy.” (Professor Allison M. Dussias)

Full Disclosure: The New Lawyer’s Must-Read Career Guide, Christen Civiletto Carey:
“A mentoring guide for new lawyers at the beginning stages of their careers. It embodies a
collective wisdom about the things lawyers wished they knew at the beginning of their
careers, rather than the end. Subjects covered include traditional and creative job hunting,
writing résumés and cover letters, first and second interviews, and developing relationships
with firms as a summer associate.” (Amazon)

Gideon’s Trumpet How One Man, a Poor Prisoner, Took His Case to the Supreme
Court-and Changed the Law of the United States, Anthony Lewis*: “A history of the
landmark case of Clarence Earl Gideon’s fight for the right to legal counsel….The classic
backlist bestseller.” (Amazon)

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, Bryan Stevenson: “An unforgettable
account of an idealistic, gifted young lawyer’s coming of age, a moving window into the
lives of those he has defended, and an inspiring argument for compassion in the pursuit of
true justice.” (Penguin Random House)

Law 101: Everything You Need to Know About the American Legal System, Jay Feinman:
“An exceptionally clear introduction to law, covering the main subjects found in the first year
of law school, giving us a basic understanding of how it all works.” (Goodreads)

The Official Guide to Legal Specialties, Lisa L. Abrams: “An inside look at what it’s like to
practice law in thirty major specialty areas, including appellate practice, entertainment,
immigration, international, tax, and telecommunications. This book gives you the insights
and expertise of top practitioners-the issues they tackle every day, the people and clients they
work with, what they find rewarding about their work, and what classes or work experience
you need to follow in their footsteps.” (Amazon)

The Sweet Hereafter: A Novel, Russell Banks:* “A small-town morality play that addresses
one of life’s most agonizing questions: when the worst thing happens, who do you blame?”
(Amazon)

Bonus! Movies to watch before law school

You won’t find these on any 1L syllabus…

The Maltese Falcon: “Convoluted plots, nail-biting suspense, and a world that’s morally
adrift—what’s not to love in the old noir mysteries? The Maltese Falcon, Asphalt Jungle,
Double Indemnity, and The Big Sleep are favorites on film and in print. Noir presents the
justice system as just one element of society, as prone to corruption as any other. It’s an
escapist genre, but it’s built on the grittiest elements of reality.” (Professor Peter M. Manus)
Michael Clayton: “This thriller happens to concern the work of lawyers, and the filmmakers
did their research. A small army of associates works late into the night to close a deal, and
their looks of concentration, distraction, and abject disinterest are just right. Better still is
George Clooney’s title character as he slowly pieces together the central puzzle of the plot
and the ethical dilemma at its heart. SPOILER ALERT: With his decision at the film’s end, he
finds his moral compass—the one that is available to all lawyers in similar
circumstances—leading to a sense of justice.” (Professor Lawrence Friedman)

Miracle on 34th Street: “The original 1947 version, with Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, and
Edmund Gwenn, has lots of lawyerly action, including that famous scene near the film’s end
in which Payne, as lawyer Fred Gailey, demonstrates that Gwenn’s Kris Kringle really is
Santa Claus. But the most interesting bit is earlier, when Gene Lockhart’s Judge Harper
declines to summarily conclude that Kringle is insane because he is advised that such an
unpopular determination could cost him re-election to his judicial post. Right there, in a
single marvelous scene, is the entire debate over whether judges should be democratically
elected or appointed by the chief executive. And the arguments begin anew over what we
should expect from our judges whenever the President has the opportunity to nominate
someone to the United States Supreme Court.” (Professor Lawrence Friedman)