The Lawyer Bubble
The Lawyer Bubble

Author: Steven J Harper

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2016-03-08

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 0465097634

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A noble profession is facing its defining moment. From law schools to the prestigious firms that represent the pinnacle of a legal career, a crisis is unfolding. News headlines tell part of the story—the growing oversupply of new lawyers, widespread career dissatisfaction, and spectacular implosions of pre-eminent law firms. Yet eager hordes of bright young people continue to step over each other as they seek jobs with high rates of depression, life-consuming hours, and little assurance of financial stability. The Great Recession has only worsened these trends, but correction is possible and, now, imperative. In The Lawyer Bubble, Steven J. Harper reveals how a culture of short-term thinking has blinded some of the nation’s finest minds to the long-run implications of their actions. Law school deans have ceded independent judgment to flawed U.S. News & World Report rankings criteria in the quest to maximize immediate results. Senior partners in the nation’s large law firms have focused on current profits to enhance American Lawyer rankings and individual wealth at great cost to their institutions. Yet, wiser decisions—being honest about the legal job market, revisiting the financial incentives currently driving bad behavior, eliminating the billable hour model, and more—can take the profession to a better place. A devastating indictment of the greed, shortsightedness, and dishonesty that now permeate the legal profession, this insider account is essential reading for anyone who wants to know how things went so wrong and how the profession can right itself once again.

So You Want to be a Lawyer
So You Want to be a Lawyer

Author: Lisa Fairchild Jones

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2017-09-12

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 151072639X

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Completely revised and updated, So You Want to Be a Lawyer takes you through the process of becoming a lawyer, examining each phase in a helpful and easy-to-understand narrative. Find out what practicing law is like before you step into your first law school class. Practice solving legal problems as law students would in law school and lawyers might in an actual courtroom. Find out how to get into law school. And there’s much more: •Advice on how to select a law school, along with names and addresses of American Bar Association (ABA)-approved law schools •An explanation of the law school admissions process, and ways to improve your chances for getting in •Practical exercises and advice that will give you a head start over other first-year law students •Information about career opportunities as a lawyer Written by three experienced lawyers, this book will help you understand the types of problems facing law students and lawyers on a daily basis. Not only will it prepare you for law school, but it will also become your trusted guide on the path to becoming a successful lawyer.

Lawyer Games
Lawyer Games

Author: Dep Kirkland

Publisher: Dog Ear Publishing

Published: 2015-10-15

Total Pages: 414

ISBN-13: 1457539454

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In the early morning of May 2, 1981, Danny Hansford was shot dead by James Williams with a World War II vintage Luger in a historic Savannah mansion. For the next eight-and-a-half years, through four murder trials and intrigue which reached the highest levels of Georgia politics—including a former governor and the Georgia Supreme Court—lawyers battled over whether the 50-year-old Williams shot the 21-year-old Hansford in self-defense. The case inspired a best-selling book and a movie directed by Clint Eastwood. Written by Dep Kirkland, who arrived at the scene when Hansford’s body was still on the floor, Lawyer Games is the true story of this remarkable case. Kirkland, the Chief Assistant DA at the time, made the decision to arrest Williams and tried the first of four murder trials alongside the district attorney. His firsthand knowledge allows him not only to deeply analyze the murder case but also to expose the legal mischief spawned when a defendant facing unshakable physical evidence possesses almost unlimited funds. True crime aficionados will be drawn to the two stories told in the book: The riveting story of the case, its evidence (including facts never heard in the courtroom), trials and results, and the incredible eight-year campaign to beat a murder rap no matter what, with a look behind the curtain at a darker side of the American criminal justice system.

The New Yorker Book of Lawyer Cartoons
The New Yorker Book of Lawyer Cartoons

Author: The New Yorker

Publisher: Knopf

Published: 1993-11-30

Total Pages: 98

ISBN-13: 0679430687

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Critically acclaimed cartoonists including Addams, Steig, Arno, Shanahan, and Leo Cullum take pot shots at the legal profession in a collection of eighty-five cartoons from the pages of The New Yorker.

How to Think Like a Lawyer--and Why
How to Think Like a Lawyer--and Why

Author: Kim Wehle

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2022-02-22

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 0063067579

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A law professor and author teaches non-attorneys how to think like a lawyer to gain advantage in their lives—whether buying a house, negotiating a salary, or choosing the right healthcare. Lawyers aren’t like other people. They often argue points that are best left alone or look for mistakes in menus “just because.” While their scrupulous attention to detail may be annoying, it can also be a valuable skill. Do you need to make health care decisions for an aging parent but are unsure where to start? Are you at crossroads in your career and don’t know how to move forward? Have you ever been on a jury trying to understand confusing legal instructions? How to Think Like a Lawyer has the answers to help you cut through the confusion and gain an advantage in your everyday life. Kim Wehle identifies the details you need to pay attention to, the questions you should ask, the responses you should anticipate, and the pitfalls you can avoid. Topics include: Selling and buying a home Understanding employment terms Creating a will and health care proxy Navigating health concerns Applying for financial aid Negotiating a divorce Wehle shows you how to break complex issues down into digestible, easier-to-understand pieces that will enable you to make better decisions in all areas of your life.

The Happy Lawyer
The Happy Lawyer

Author: Nancy Levit

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2010-07-30

Total Pages: 302

ISBN-13: 0199750831

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You get good grades in college, pay a small fortune to put yourself through law school, study hard to pass the bar exam, and finally land a high-paying job in a prestigious firm. You're happy, right? Not really. Oh, it beats laying asphalt, but after all your hard work, you expected more from your job. What gives? The Happy Lawyer examines the causes of dissatisfaction among lawyers, and then charts possible paths to happier and more fulfilling careers in law. Eschewing a one-size-fits-all approach, it shows how maximizing our chances for achieving happiness depends on understanding our own personality types, values, strengths, and interests. Covering everything from brain chemistry and the science of happiness to the workings of the modern law firm, Nancy Levit and Doug Linder provide invaluable insights for both aspiring and working lawyers. For law students, they offer surprising suggestions for selecting a law school that maximizes your long-term happiness prospects. For those about to embark on a legal career, they tell you what happiness research says about which potential jobs hold the most promise. For working lawyers, they offer a handy toolbox--a set of easily understandable steps--that can boost career happiness. Finally, for firm managers, they offer a range of approaches for remaking a firm into a more satisfying workplace. Read this book and you will know whether you are more likely to be a happy lawyer at age 30 or age 60, why you can tell a lot about a firm from looking at its walls and windows, whether a 10 percent raise or a new office with a view does more for your happiness, and whether the happiness prospects are better in large or small firms. No book can guarantee a happier career, but for lawyers of all ages and stripes, The Happy Lawyer may give you your best shot.

The End of Lawyers?
The End of Lawyers?

Author: Richard Susskind OBE

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2010-09-16

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 9780199593613

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This widely acclaimed legal bestseller has ignited an intense debate within the legal profession. It examines the effect of advances in IT upon legal practice, analysing anticipated developments in the next decade. It urges lawyers to consider the sustainability of their traditional role.

Thinking Like a Lawyer
Thinking Like a Lawyer

Author: Frederick F. Schauer

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2009-04-27

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 0674032705

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This primer on legal reasoning is aimed at law students and upper-level undergraduates. But it is also an original exposition of basic legal concepts that scholars and lawyers will find stimulating. It covers such topics as rules, precedent, authority, analogical reasoning, the common law, statutory interpretation, legal realism, judicial opinions, legal facts, and burden of proof. In addressing the question whether legal reasoning is distinctive, Frederick Schauer emphasizes the formality and rule-dependence of law. When taking the words of a statute seriously, when following a rule even when it does not produce the best result, when treating the fact of a past decision as a reason for making the same decision again, or when relying on authoritative sources, the law embodies values other than simply that of making the best decision for the particular occasion or dispute. In thus pursuing goals of stability, predictability, and constraint on the idiosyncrasies of individual decision-makers, the law employs forms of reasoning that may not be unique to it but are far more dominant in legal decision-making than elsewhere. Schauer’s analysis of what makes legal reasoning special will be a valuable guide for students while also presenting a challenge to a wide range of current academic theories.

The Lost Lawyer
The Lost Lawyer

Author: Anthony T. Kronman

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 452

ISBN-13: 9780674539273

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For nearly two centuries, Kronman argues, the aspirations of American lawyers were shaped by their allegiance to a distinctive ideal of professional excellence. In the last generation, however, this ideal has failed, undermining the identity of lawyers as a group and making it unclear to those in the profession what it means for them personally to have chosen a life in the law.

The Defense Lawyer
The Defense Lawyer

Author: James Patterson

Publisher: Little, Brown

Published: 2021-12-20

Total Pages: 380

ISBN-13: 0316494380

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For more than a decade, criminal lawyer Barry Slotnick never lost a case, no matter how notorious or dangerous his clients—because everyone deserves the best defense. ​ Known for his sharp mind, sharp suits, and bold courtroom strategies, Bronx-native Barry Slotnick is known as the best criminal lawyer in the US. He calls himself “Liberty’s Last Champion.” Slotnick mediates Bette Midler’s bathhouse contract and represents John Gotti, “The Dapper Don.” He defends “Subway Shooter” Bernie Goetz and negotiates future First Lady Melania Trump’s pre-nup. His unparalleled legal brilliance defines a profession, a city—and an era.