The Best Law Books

From legal reference books to entertaining works of fiction, there are many types of law books.  In this hub, I discuss what I think are the best books in each category of law books.  Enjoy and please share your favorite books in the comments section!

Legal Fiction

Let's start with the fun books that people actually like to read! Here are some of my favorite books:

The Firm

One of John Grisham's first books. This book tells the story of an imaginary law student at Harvard Law School who ends up working for a law firm that is astoundingly corrupt. The firm is allegedly tied to organized crime, and all sorts of excitement ensues. If you can get past the unbelievably unrealistic situations, it is an enjoyable thriller. I recommend skimming over the parts about the description of the firm itself and the party after the attorney passes the bar exam. Even a difficult state such as New York has about 70% of the people who take the bar exam pass it! I can hardly imagine a large law firm being excited simply because someone who graduated from an ivy league law school actually passed the bar exam on their first try. Also, the book is showing its age via the dollar amounts of the starting salary offers. I recommend doubling or tripling any quoted dollar figure to bring the book up to today's prices. Enjoy!

The Runaway Jury

I give John Grisham a lot of credit for exposing the somewhat shady practice of jury consulting in this work of fiction. Before this book, the average American was unaware that such work actually went on. Attorneys have been aware of this for years.

This book tells the story of a young couple who successfully try to get one of them seated on a jury for a trial against a big tobacco company. The defendant is a company named Pinex (a thinly veiled likelihood of Philip Morris), which of course has done bad things. In real life, the cases against the big tobacco companies were weak at best, but Grisham has taken some liberties with the truth in order to make a more interesting novel. We don't begrudge him too much for this.

The insider trading sequence that happens just before the end is way beyond unrealistic, but forget about that and enjoy it anyway.

In general, any book by John Grisham is pretty good legal fiction.  I give him a lot of credit for writing books that even most lawyers appreciate.  On a side note, you will notice that people who graduate from law school and pass the bar exam use the term "attorney" while people who have not generally say "lawyer."  This can be a useful tip when assessing the inside knowledge of an author who has written a work of legal fiction.

Legal Reference Books

These books are good to have on your desk if you are an attorney. If you are not an attorney, then you will probably never need them! Here is the list of some of the best legal reference books:

Black's Law Dictionary

This ubiquitous dictionary is on the desk of nearly every attorney I know. Most people get their first copy in law school or for a college debate team or law class. A new edition of this dictionary comes out every few years, but the basic format always stays the same. Considering that most of the words in it are Latin terms that predate the founding of the United States, you should only have to buy one copy in your lifetime. It is an excellent legal dictionary, and I strongly recommend it as a gift for someone who is about to start law school. They will definitely need it!

The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation

Known to attorneys simply as "The Bluebook" (as in, "did you Bluebook that citation?") this is the definitive source on citing cases, statutes, and other sources of law. I cannot imagine writing a paper in law school without it. I certainly refer to it every time I draft a brief to be submitted to an opposing party or a judge.  The Bluebook is recognized across the United States, and it even has a section on citing materials and cases from foreign jurisdictions.

Learning the Law

This section features books that many attorneys read while they were in law school, even though they were not assigned by the professor. These books do an excellent job of explaining difficult legal concepts. Even though they are not required reading at most law schools, they probably should be!

1L

One of Scott Turbin's earliest works and probably also his best.  This tells the true story of a student who is in his first year of law school.  Having been through law school myself, I can attest that his descriptions of classes, other students, and general mayhem are all too accurate.  I found this book to be a bit more true to life than "The Paper Chase."  I recommend reading this book before you go to law school, or better yet before you decide to apply!

Black's Law

Written by renowned criminal defense attorney Roy Black, this book is a must read for anyone who wants to practice criminal law.  The reader will slowly see the genius of Black as he discusses several of his most famous cases in utmost detail.  I particularly enjoyed the way in which he was able to get a man in Florida who was accused of murdering his girlfriend acquitted.  Black shows the importance of evidence, and what can go wrong when people perform sloppy work or take shortcuts.  If you want to be a District Attorney, U.S. Attorney, or a criminal defense attorney like Roy Black himself, you should definitely read and study this book.