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required reading for aspiring law students?

post #1 of 51
12/17/09 at 6:51pm
Thread Starter 
short background: i'm currently toiling away in my undergraduate studies, working hard to keep my grades up for law school.

i've always had the idea that if i could survive on $30k a year, i'd gladly accept that type of salary to practice law because i genuinely think that i'll enjoy the career.

but i've got some downtime right now inbetween semesters...so i wanted to ask:

are there any good books that would give more insight on practicing law? i know that's very broad but atleast this way i can get some suggestions.

maybe an autobiography of a lawyer? i have no idea, just looking for a good read on law.
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post #2 of 51
12/17/09 at 6:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rjakapeanut View Post
short background: i'm currently toiling away in my undergraduate studies, working hard to keep my grades up for law school.

i've always had the idea that if i could survive on $30k a year, i'd gladly accept that type of salary to practice law because i genuinely think that i'll enjoy the career.

but i've got some downtime right now inbetween semesters...so i wanted to ask:

are there any good books that would give more insight on practicing law? i know that's very broad but atleast this way i can get some suggestions.

maybe an autobiography of a lawyer? i have no idea, just looking for a good read on law.

A Civil Action was a decent read. And while the central focus is the relationship between a journalist and his subject, Janet Malcolm's The Journalist and the Murderer (or maybe it's the other way around, I can't remember) is a good read built around a trial.
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post #3 of 51
12/17/09 at 7:10pm
Thread Starter 
cool, thanks lawyerdad. a civil action has been added to my amazon cart ;P. hope to buy like 5 or 6 books todayl.
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post #4 of 51
12/17/09 at 7:12pm
What year are you in school and have you made a determination about what kind of law you'd like to practice?
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post #5 of 51
12/17/09 at 7:14pm
One L by Scott Turow is a pretty good book about the experience of a first year law student.

To Kill a Mockingbird is good to inspire you about your future career.
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post #6 of 51
12/17/09 at 7:15pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rusty G. View Post
What year are you in school and have you made a determination about what kind of law you'd like to practice?

i'm in year 1, lol.

i haven't figured out what area i'd be most interested in....that's something that i think i'd be foolish to settle upon this early. it's very early.

one of my mentors is a public defender, though. i know that's not exactly the typical dream job for a law student...but i could see myself enjoying that line of work, atleast for a while.
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post #7 of 51
12/17/09 at 7:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rjakapeanut View Post
one of my mentors is a public defender, though. i know that's not exactly the typical dream job for a law student...but i could see myself enjoying that line of work, atleast for a while.

A lot of public defenders are very disgruntled. The way I see it, the problem with being a public defender is that you see a lot of clients who could theoretically raise a lot of issues in their defense and stand a chance at beating charges, yet you have so many clients that it's not feasible for you to really prepare a solid defense in every case. So, what ends up happening is that people slip through the cracks. Then, when you get a really good and juicy case, the office will end up assigning it to a pool attorney because the pool attorney will have more time to adequately prepare the case.

Also, your clients will think that you must not be a very good lawyer, because if you were a good lawyer, you would be in private practice taking in the cash instead of slaving away as a public defender.
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post #8 of 51
12/17/09 at 7:22pm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Trials

Book by John Edwards, former VP Candidate and multi-multi-millionaire attorney that used bad science and med-mal to become filthy rich so he could help "fix" healthcare.
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post #9 of 51
12/17/09 at 7:24pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by odoreater View Post
A lot of public defenders are very disgruntled. The way I see it, the problem with being a public defender is that you see a lot of clients who could theoretically raise a lot of issues in their defense and stand a chance at beating charges, yet you have so many clients that it's not feasible for you to really prepare a solid defense in every case. So, what ends up happening is that people slip through the cracks. Then, when you get a really good and juicy case, the office will end up assigning it to a pool attorney because the pool attorney will have more time to adequately prepare the case.

Also, your clients will think that you must not be a very good lawyer, because if you were a good lawyer, you would be in private practice taking in the cash instead of slaving away as a public defender.

good insight, thanks.

yeah, i totally can see how that would all lend itself to the distinction that being a public defender isn't...the most desirable job. definitely going to be something in consider when i weigh all of my options down the road.
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post #10 of 51
12/17/09 at 7:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by odoreater View Post
A lot of public defenders are very disgruntled. The way I see it, the problem with being a public defender is that you see a lot of clients who could theoretically raise a lot of issues in their defense and stand a chance at beating charges, yet you have so many clients that it's not feasible for you to really prepare a solid defense in every case. So, what ends up happening is that people slip through the cracks. Then, when you get a really good and juicy case, the office will end up assigning it to a pool attorney because the pool attorney will have more time to adequately prepare the case.

Also, your clients will think that you must not be a very good lawyer, because if you were a good lawyer, you would be in private practice taking in the cash instead of slaving away as a public defender.

The second part is definitely true. From what I've seen, one of the really challenging parts of being a pd is that you'll be busting your butt for clients that most people wouldn't trouble to spit on, and many or most of them will show you nothing but contempt. I have great admiration for people who manage see past that and stay focused on the important and admirable parts of the job.

I don't really disagree with any of OE's points, but his comment that many public defenders are disgruntled may have to be taken in context, given that there's no shortage of people and studies insisting that many lawyers generally are professionally disgruntled (although I, and from what I can tell OE, both enjoy what we do).
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post #11 of 51
12/17/09 at 7:32pm
The main thing is this, don't get into the practice for the money. That's in the past. There are a handful of people who do make a great deal of money, but they work more hours than most people are willing to, and if you don't like practicing law you aren't going to be able to make yourself do it.

I love my job, and after a few years of toiling away, I am doing ok financially. But I could probably be making more (especially taking into consideration my loan payments) if I had spent the same time and effort in banking, finance, sales, advertising, etc.
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post #12 of 51
12/17/09 at 7:33pm
Also, I was totally off topic and didn't even read the rest of the thread. Sorry.

PD work is rough. I couldn't do it.
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post #13 of 51
12/17/09 at 9:57pm
My Life in Court, by Lewis Nizer. He was one of the best litigators of the 20th century. The book is a play-by-play of some of his most famous cases. It is entertaining and informative, as it gives you a good overview of how litigation works.

Move it to the top of your list - you won't regret it.
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post #14 of 51
12/17/09 at 10:09pm
Not really a life of the lawyer book, but I think "Death of Contract" (or something like that) is the typical summer before law school book that gets assigned for a number of law schools (but not mine, I've never read the book, but it is on my to read list)

There are a number of Law and Economics books or pamphlets out there that might be worth reading.
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post #15 of 51
12/18/09 at 12:45am
Philalawyer's Happy Hour is for Amateurs.
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