Who needs fiction when you’re reading hundreds of pages a week on the ins and outs of civil procedure, evidence or torts?
Well, as it turns out, everyone. Fiction and narrative nonfiction have been shown to improve mental abilities and increase emotional intelligence. In law school, it provides a much needed break from the daily grind, which has been known to kill students’ love of learning and dull their motivation to pursue a law career.
To help you rekindle the fire in your heart, we have identified 10 books that every law student should read. From fiction to nonfiction, from serious to funny, these books will enrich your knowledge of the law, test your moral bearings and shed light on the law’s far-reaching effect on individuals and communities.
The books we chose encompass works that are designed to stretch your legal education beyond your brain and into your heart. Some provide practical insights with tips and tricks, while others examine the ethical dimensions of lawyering by delivering in-person accounts of what it’s like to fight for someone’s life.
So take a break from studying, and inspire yourself with these must-reads before your billable hours kick in.
To Kill a Mockingbird
By Harper Lee
Published: 1960
Publisher: HarperCollins
Available in e-book, audiobook, hardcover, paperback
We start with the quintessential legal novel. “To Kill a Mockingbird” vividly portrays the legal system’s complexities, ethical dilemmas and the importance of upholding justice. Atticus Finch’s commitment to representing Tom to the best of his ability is an exemplary model for aspiring lawyers.
Synopsis: “To Kill a Mockingbird” is a classic and a perennial favorite for school reading lists. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and is considered to be a masterpiece of American literature. While it is a fictional story, it is believed to be based on Harper Lee’s lawyer father and an actual event in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama.
The story takes place in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, from 1933 to 1935. It is told from the perspective of Jean Louise Finch, nicknamed Scout, who is 6 years old at the start of the story. The main plot revolves around Scout’s father, who was appointed to defend Tom Robinson, a Black man accused of raping a white woman.
This Southern Gothic novel explores the issues of rape, racial inequality, discrimination and gender bias and provides a historical look at systemic injustices that still resonates today.
Fun Fact: The character of Dill is based on Truman Capote, a childhood friend of Lee’s.
The Paper Chase
By John Jay Osborn Jr.
Published: 1971
Publisher: Peninsula Road Press
Available in e-book
Synopsis: John Jay Osborn Jr.’s famous novel explores the life of Hart, a first-year at Harvard Law School, and his relationship with the complicated and mysterious professor Kingsfield, a brilliant and demanding Contracts instructor.
Hart idolizes Kingsfield to the point of obsession: “I read his books in the library, and I abstract the cases he’s chosen. I know everything about him. The stripe of his ties. How many suits he has. He’s like the air or the wind. He’s everywhere … pounding his mind into mine. He screws around with my life.”
Hart also starts a relationship with Kingsfield’s daughter, who dismisses everything Hart cares about.
Osborn was a third-year at Harvard Law School when we wrote this book. It’s a perfect example of law students’ arduous academic path, depicting the difficulties and demands they encounter. It effectively conveys law students’ psychological and personal challenges, illuminating the struggles, the costs and the opportunities for personal development associated with a legal education.
The 40th anniversary edition contains a new preface by Osborn in which he said the novel was “an attempt to create more options for myself, a new story with a new ending.”
The bestseller has been adapted into a movie and a TV series.
Fun Fact: The “hairy hand” case mentioned in the book is a classic in contract law. It’s based on Hawkins v. McGee in New Hampshire in 1929. Dr. McGee said he could fix Hawkins’ burned hand with a skin graft, which would be 100% perfect. Dr. McGee was unfamiliar with the procedure and failed to remove the scars. He also used skin from Hawkins’ chest area, which caused thick hair to grow on the hand. The judge decided to compensate Hawkins by awarding him the sum that would have been due had McGee
not messed up.
Presumed Innocent
By Scott Turow
Published: 1987
Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux
Available in e-book, paperback
Synopsis: Scott Turow’s “Presumed Innocent” is a legal thriller with an unpredictable twist. The book tells the story of Rozat “Rusty” Sabich, a prosecutor who lives through numerous nightmares when he is appointed to handle the murder case of Carolyn, a beautiful attorney and co-worker who was found raped and murdered. Things take a turn for the worse when he is named as the accused.
With the story told in first person by Rusty, the book explores his emotions and his attachment to the victim, who was not only his co-worker but also his lover. With allies turning against him, Rusty faces shock and betrayal.
The story accurately describes the various procedures used by lawyers in prosecution and defense, but with deals being cut in every corner, justice may not be all that clean.
Fun Fact: Turow earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School. He has written numerous fiction and nonfiction books, which have been translated into more than 40 languages and have sold more than 30 million copies. “Presumed Innocent” was Turow’s
first novel.
The Firm
By John Grisham
Published: 1991
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday
Available in e-book, audiobook, hardcover, paperback
Synopsis: John Grisham’s “The Firm” is a legal thriller about a young lawyer named Mitch McDeere who is hired by Bendini, Lambert & Locke, a well-known Memphis law firm. Mitch is thrilled by BL&L’s offer of a large salary, a lease on a new BMW and a low-interest mortgage on a house. But he quickly learns that the company has some dark secrets. He gets caught up in a web of lies, illegal actions and danger as he learns more about how the company works.
“The Firm” is a must-read for law students because it shows the moral problems lawyers can face if they run into inappropriate behavior at work. The story raises essential moral issues, stressing how important it is for lawyers to uphold justice and honesty, even when strong interests push them to do otherwise.
Marilyn Stasio, a book reviewer for The New York Times, wrote, “Mr. Grisham, a criminal defense attorney, writes with such relish about the firm’s devious legal practices that his novel might be taken as a how-to manual for ambitious tax-law students.”
Fun Fact: Grisham earned his J.D. from The University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981. He practiced criminal law for about a decade and served in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1983 to 1990. “The Firm” was Grisham’s first bestseller and spent 47 weeks on The New York Times Best Sellers list.
