“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors, and the most patient of teachers.” – Charles W. Eliot
Reading is an essential component of the life of any law student. During their formal education and even stepping into their profession, a law student is required to read voraciously through a number of materials starting from textbooks to research papers, statutes and court judgements. It is therefore, important to cultivate the habit of reading early on.
In this article, we bring you a list of fiction and non-fiction books that should be read at least once by any law student. Read on!
1. Letters To A Law Student
Author– Nicholas J. McBride
Letters to a Law student is, as the title suggests, a series of 20 letters written by a law teacher to a student who is deciding whether to read law at university. Assimilated together the letters form a collection of essential advice, guidance and words of wisdom given throughout the significant period from first thinking about becoming a law student, through to embarking on university applications, obtaining a good law degree and subsequently, thinking about becoming a lawyer.
Overall, Letters to a Law Student provides a creative, candid and enlightening guide to studying law at university.
2. The Tools of Argument: How the Best Lawyers Think, Argue, and Win
Author– Professor Joel P. Trachtman
This book presents in plain and lucid terms the powerful tools of argument that have been honed through the ages in the discipline of law. If you are a law student or new lawyer, a business professional or a government official, this book will boost your analytical thinking, your foundational legal knowledge, and your confidence as you win arguments for your clients, your organizations or yourself.
3. To Kill a Mockingbird
Author– Harper Lee
To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the all-time classic novels- a coming-of-age story, an anti-racist novel, a historical drama of the Great Depression and a sublime example of the Southern writing tradition.
4. The Trial
Author– Franz Kafka
The Trial is the chronicle of that intervening year of K.’s case, his struggles and encounters with the invisible Law and the untouchable Court. It is an account, ultimately, of state-induced self-destruction. The Trial remains one of the most acclaimed reads for law students and professions alike.
5. Landmark Judgments That Changed India
Author– Justice Ashok Kumar Ganguly
In the last few decades, the judiciary has consistently acted as a harbinger of social change in the country. Where the legislature has faltered, the judiciary has stepped up and provided justice and relief.
In this book, the author analyses certain cases that led to the formation of new laws and changes to the legal system. Discussed in this book are judgments in cases such as Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala that curtailed the power of Parliament to amend the Constitution; Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India and Others that defined personal liberty; and Golaknath v. State of Punjab, where it was ruled that amendments which infringe upon fundamental rights cannot be passed. Of special significance for law students and practitioners, this book is also an ideal guide for anyone interested in the changes made to Indian laws down the years, and the evolution of the judicial system to what it is today.
6. 10 Judgements That Changed India
Author– Zia Mody
This book presents a compilation of 10 essays on some of the most influential judgments that were passed by the Supreme Court of India and proved to be life-altering for the common man and the democracy of the nation. A well-known author, Zia Mody is also a famous legal consultant specializing in corporate mergers and acquisition law. A graduate from the Cambridge University, she got her Masters from Harvard Law School. She is also a managing partner of AZB & Partners.
7. The Firm
Author– John Grisham
The Firm, the author’s second novel selling over 1.5 million copies, is an insightful book that dives deep into the reality of how an ambitious, intelligent, and hard-working young person with a dream can easily have everything turned around for him due to corruption, bad management, and things not in his hands. It also looks into systematic corruption and how it works to favor a few, and how dangerously it operates.
8. Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges
Author– Antonin Scalia & Bryan Garner
This law classic is ideal for law students and young professionals who plan on litigating cases and need to master persuasion skills. Antonin Scalia was the Supreme Court Justice and good friend of notorious Ruth Blader Ginsburg with whom they had famously different views on the Constitution and the role of the court. In this book he shares his valuable law toolkit on how to convince generally anyone of anything in your legal career.
9. Twelve Angry Men
Author– Reginald Rose
A teleplay written in the year 1954, by Reginald Rose, for the Studio One anthology television series. A behind the scenes look of the American Legal System, Twelve Angry Men shows the epic conflict between twelve jurors who hold a man’s life in their hands.
The turmoil within their hearts comes to the fore with their opinions being swayed by their changing beliefs. With one dissenting member of the jury serving as the voice of reason, the agitated jurors bicker behind closed doors in a stuffy room.
10. The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of A Nation
Author– Granville Austin
This book provides a history of the Indian Constituent Assembly. It discusses how and why the members of the Assembly wrote their constitution as they did.
YLCC would like to thank Sachet Labroo for his valuable insights in this article.
