Office of Preprofessional Advising

Suggested Reading List for Pre-Law

 

Law School and Legal Education

 

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Believe and Achieve: Latinos and Law
. [video, 20 mins.] Newtown, PA: Law School Admission Council, 2000.

Bay Monica. Careers in Civil Litigation. Chicago: American Bar Association/Law Student Division, 1990.

Briggs, Amy Thompson. Degrees of Difference: A How-to Guide to Choosing a Law School. Washington, DC: National Association of Law Placement, 1998.

Dworkin, Elizabeth, Jack Himmelstein, and Howard Lesnick. Becoming a Lawyer: A Humanistic Perspective on Legal Education and Professionalism. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing, 1989.

Farnsworth, Edward A. An Introduction to the Legal System of the United States. 3d ed. Dobbs Ferry NY: Oceana Publications, 1996. (available in the Columbia Law Library)

Getting There: 4 Paths to Law School. [video, 20 min.] Newtown, PA: Law School Admission Council, 2001.

Gillers, Stephen, ed. Looking at Law School: A Student Guide From the Society of American Law Teachers. 3d ed. New York: NAL/Dutton, 1990.

Hirshman, Linda. A Woman's Guide to Law School. Bergenfield, NJ: Viking Penguin, 1999.

Indian Lawyers: Translators of Two Worlds. [video, 20 mins.] Newtown, PA: Law School Admission Council, 1999.

Journeys: Minorities and the Law School Experience [video, 22 mins.] Newtown, PA: Law School Admission Council, 2001.

Llewellyn, Karl N. The Bramble Bush: On Our Law and Its Study. rev. ed. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications, 1981.

OutLooks. [video, 27 min.] Newtown, PA: Law School Admission Council, 1998.

Roth, George. Slaying the Law School Dragon: How to Survive-and Thrive-in First-Year Law School. 2d ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1991.

Shapo, Helene and Marshall Shapo. Law School Without Fear: Strategies for Success. (2nd ed.) New York: Foundation Press, 2002.

So You Want to Be a Lawyer: A Practical Guide to Law as a Career. Newtown, PA: Law School Admission Council, 1999.

Stelzer, Richard. How to Write a Winning Personal Statement for Graduate and Professional School.Princeton, NJ: Peterson’s Guides, 1997.

Stewart, Mark. Perfect Personal Statements. New York: Macmillan, 1996.

Stevens, Robert. Law School: Legal Education in America From the 1850s to the 1980s. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1983. (available in the Columbia Law Library)

Stover, Robert V. Making It and Breaking It: The Fate of Public Interest Commitment During Law School. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1989.

Turow, Scott. One L.: An Inside Account of Life in the First Year at Harvard Law School. New York: Penguin Books, 1978.

 

Legal Profession

American Bar Association Center for Pro Bono. Law School Public Interest Law Support Programs: A Directory. Chicago: ABA, 2000.

Abrams, Lisa L. The Official Guide to Legal Specialties: An Insider's Guide to Every Major Practice Area. Chicago: The BarBri Group in association with the National Association for Law Placement (NALP), 2000.

Caplan, Lincoln. Skadden: Inside the Business of Law in America. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1993.

Epstein, Cynthia Fuchs. Women in Law. 2d ed. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1993.

Fox, Ronald W. Lawful Pursuit: Careers in Public Interest Law. Chicago: American Bar Association, Career Series, 1995.

Glendon, Mary Ann. A Nation Under Lawyers: How the Crisis in the Legal Profession is Transforming American Society. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1994.

Greene, Robert Michael. Making Partner: A Guide for Law Firm Associates. Chicago: American Bar Association, Section of Law Practice Management, 1992.

Henslee, William D. Careers in Entertainment Law. Chicago: American Bar Association/Law Student Division, 1990.

Kelly, Michael J. Lives of Lawyers: Journeys in the Organizations of Practice. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1994.

Luney, Perey R., Jr. Careers in Natural Resources and Environmental Law. Chicago: American Bar Association/Law Student Division, 1987.

Munneke, Gary A. The Legal Career Guide: From Lazv Student to Lawyer. Chicago: American Bar Association Career Series, 1992.(available on-line at NetLibrary.

Munneke, Gary A. and William D. Henslee. NonlegaI Careers for Lawyers. Chicago: American Bar Association, 1994.

O'Neill, Suzanne B. and Catherine Gerhauser Sparkman. From Law School to Law Practice: The New Associate's Guide. Philadelphia: American Law Institute /American Bar Association Committee on Continuing Professional Education, 1989.

Shaffer, Thomas L., with Mary M. Shaffer. American Lawyers and Their Communities: Ethics in the Legal Profession. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1991.

Short Stories From the Real World of Law. [video, 20 min.] Newtown, PA: Law School Admission Council, 1997.

Shropshire, Kenneth. Careers in Sports Law. Chicago: American Bar Association/Law Student Division, 1990.

Smith, J. Clay, Jr. Rebels in Law: Voices in History of Black Women Lawyers. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1998.

Strauss, Debra M. Behind the Bench: The Guide to judicial Clerkships. Chicago: The BarBri Group, 2002.

Wayne, Ellen. Careers in Labor Law. Chicago: American Bar Association /Law Student Division, 1985.

Biography

Auchincloss, Louis. Life, Law and Letters: Essays and Sketches. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1979.

Baker, Leonard. John Marshall: A Life in Law. New York: Macmillan, 1974.

Barth, Alan. Prophets With Honor: Great Dissents and Great Dissenters in the Supreme Court. New York: Vintage Books, 1975.

Cray, Ed. Chief Justice: A Biography of Earl Warren. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997.

Douglas, William O. Go East Young Man: The Early Years. New York: Random House, 1974.

Douglas, William O. Court Years, 1939-1975: The Autobiography of William O. Douglas. New York: Random House, 1980.

Dunne, Gerald T. Hugo Black and the Judicial Revolution. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1977.

Frankfurter, Felix. Felix Frankfurter Reminisces. New York: Reynal & Co., 1960.

Goldman, Roger, with David Gallen. Justice William J. Brennan, Jr.: Freedom First. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994

Griswold, Erwin N. Ould Fields, Nezo Corne: The Personal Memoirs of a Twentieth Century Lawyer, St. Paul, MN: West Publishing, 1992.

Gunther, Gerald. Learned Hand: The Man and the Judge. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994.

Jeffries, John, Jr. Justice Lewis E Powell. New York: Scribner, 1994.

Lynn, Conrad J. There Is a Foundation: The Autobiography of a Civil Rights Lawyer. Westport, CT: Hill & Company, 1978.

Mason, Alpheus. Harlan Fiske Stone: Pillar of the Law. New York: Viking Press, 1956.

Noonan, John T., Jr. Persons and Masks of the Law: Cardozo, Holmes, Jefferson, and Wythe as Makers of the Masks. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1976.

Strum, Phillippa. Brandeis: Beyond Progressivism. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1993. Thomas, Evan. The Man to See: Edward Bennett Williams, Ultimate Insider; Legendary Trial Lawyer. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991.

White, G. Edward. Earl Warren: A Public Life. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982.

White, G. Edward. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes: Law and the Inner Self. New York: Oxford University , 1993.

Williams, Juan. Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary. New York: Time Books, 1998.

 

Financing Law School

Schlachter, Gail Ann. Financial Aid for Women, 1999-2001. E1 Dorado Hills, CA: Reference Service Press.

Schlachter, Gail Ann and R. David Weber. Financial Aid for African Americans, 1999-2001. El Dorado Hills, CA: Reference Service Press.

Schlachter, Gail Ann and R. David Weber. Financial Aid for Asian Americans, 1999-2001. El Dorado Hills, CA: Reference Service Press.

Schlachter, Gail Ann and R. David Weber. Financial Aid for Hispanic Americans, 1999-2001. El Dorado Hills, CA: Reference Service Press.

Schlachter, Gail Ann and R. David Weber. Financial Aid for Native Americans, 1999-2001. El Dorado Hills, CA: Reference Service Press.

Schlachter, Gail Ann and R. David Weber. Financial Aid for the Disabled and Their Families, 1998-2000. El Dorado Hills, CA: Reference Service Press.

Updated financial aid directories by Schlachter are available at NetLibrary.

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