Boris Ignachkov Here are four enjoyable, yet educational books for law students that must be read at least once in their lifetime. Whether you are just starting your LLB course or mid-way through law school, you can learn a substantial amount of information from just reading these titles. Each book provides the reader with an insight into the unique world of law, with a different twist from the author.
#1 Winning Arguments – by Jay Heinrichs
This book is mainly focused on advocacy, which is a specialist skill widely used in the legal profession. As you progress through your studies, you will be assessed on your advocacy skills, whether it be written or oral. Winning Arguments is filled with examples of persuasion and helpful advice to ace your arguments. Throughout the book, Heinrich outlines methods to clearly structure your idea, using a clever rhetorical technique.
#2 Using a Law Library: A Student’s Guide to Legal Research Skills – by Peter Clinch
The ability to conduct effective legal research is a vital skill required by solicitors and barristers. Throughout your time at law school, you will also be required to use a law library, in order to search for cases, legislation, journal articles and other relatable sources. It can be daunting not knowing how to search for a case, especially when you are fairly new to the legal field.
This book provides the reader with advice on using a law library and how to make effective use of catalogues and indexes. Clinch takes the reader through a practical approach to undertake specific research problems, that may occur from time to time. Another very helpful aspect of this book, is that it demonstrates to the reader how you can reference and present the results of your research in projects, dissertations, and further work.
#3 Never Eat Alone – by Keith Ferrazzi
Your network is your net worth. There is a 98% chance you have heard this term and guess what? It’s correct! In this book, Ferrazzi guides the reader through the secrets to successful networking and how to elevate this to a form of art. Never Eat Alone is centred around building lasting relationships, rather than simply exchanging the typical business card. Ferrazzi also summarises his findings in a system of tested methods.
For example, a survey was conducted to find out information about the job market. The results revealed that out of the 282 men surveyed, 56% had found their jobs through personal contacts, compared to only 19% who had found theirs through job advertisements and an even smaller amount of 10% through making applications based on their own initiative.
#4 Letters to a Law Student – by Nicholas McBride
Through a collection of letters to a fictional student, McBride walks the reader through the process of studying law, and what the experience is like and also provides a basic explanation of the legal system. The main focus of the book is essentially based on informing you about how to study law effectively. McBride covers a selection of general topics, such as the average workload involved with studying for a law degree, to more specific topics such as how to make notes on a case.
To conclude, Letters to a Law Student addresses a variety of factors that would need to be considered by someone assessing whether they should study Law at University. The remaining sections of the book contain practical advice on how to get the most out of studying law, how to succeed in your exams and how to actually get started with a career in the legal profession.