The
following topics and highly-regarded books have been carefully selected to provide
prospective law students with an introduction to the American legal system, legal
profession, study of law and law school.
-
Willamette College of Law Library Staff
| | | |
| Friedman, Lawrence M. American Law in the 20th Century.
New Haven, Yale University Press, 2002. KF 385.A4 F7 |
| Grossman, George S., ed. The Spirit of American Law. Boulder,
Westview Press, 2000. KF 351.S68 | | Honnold,
John. The Life of the Law: Readings on the Growth of Legal Institutions.
N.Y., Free Press of Glencoe, 1964. KF 352.A2H6 | |
|
AMERICAN LEGAL PROFESSION -
Organization and Culture
| |
| Abel, Richard L. American Lawyers. N.Y., Oxford University
Press, 1989. KF 297.A756 | | Carrington, Paul
D. Stewards of Democracy: Law as a Public Profession. Westview Press, 1999.
KF 352.C33. | | Friedman, Lawrence M. & Scheiber,
Harry N., eds. Legal Culture and the Legal Profession. Boulder, Westview
Press, 1996. K 487.C8L43 | | Glendon, Mary
Ann. A Nation Under Lawyers: How the Crisis in the Legal Profession is
Transforming American Society. N.Y., Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1994.
KF 297.G58 | | Nelson, Robert L., Trubek, David
M., & Solomon, Rayman L. Lawyers' Ideals/Lawyers' Practices:
Transformations in the American Legal Profession. Ithaca, Cornell University
Press, 1992. KF 300.L33 | | Rhode, Deborah
L. In the Interests of Justice: Reforming the Legal Profession. Oxford
University Press, 2000. KF 297.R48 | Sarat, Austin
& Scheingold, Stuart. Cause Lawyers and Social Movements. Stanford,
Stanford Law & Politics, 2006. KF299.P8 C38 | | | AMERICAN
LEGAL SYSTEM
| Clark, David S. & Ansay,
Tugrul, editors. Introduction to the Law of the United States. 2d ed.,
N.Y., Kluwer Law International, 2002. KF 385.I58 | | |
BIOGRAPHY
- Selected U.S. Supreme Court Justices
| |
| Black, Hugo (1886-1971). Nominated by President Franklin
D. Roosevelt. Supreme Court Tenure, 1937-1971.
Justice Black became "something of a folk hero in his own time." Dunne,
Gerald T. Hugo Black and the Judicial Revolution. N. Y., Simon &
Schuster, 1977. KF 8745.B55D86 Newman, Roger K., Hugo Black,
N.Y., Pantheon Books, 1994. KF 8745.B55N49 |
| Brandeis, Louis D. (1856-1941). Nominated by President Woodrow
Wilson. Supreme Court Tenure, 1916-1939. The first
Jew to sit on the court, Justice Brandeis believed that "great deeds, including
the creation of a civilized existence, could be done, if all citizens participated
in the workings of their societies." Strum, Philippa. Louis D.
Brandeis - Justice for the People. Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1984.
KF 8745.B67S78 | | Douglas, William
(1898-1980). Nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Supreme
Court Tenure, 1939-1975. Justice Douglas "preached his
beliefs and hopes for mankind ... in his many books and on his treks through the
wilderness, and most of all, from the bench of the U.S. Supreme Court." Simon,
James. Independent Journey: The Life of William O. Douglas. N. Y.,
Penguin Books, 1981. KF 8745.D6S55. | |
Holmes, Jr., Oliver Wendell (1841-1935) Nominated by President
Theodore Roosevelt. Supreme Court Tenure, 1902-1932. Justice
Holmes, "uniquely among American Judges, has been a figure that generation after
generation of scholars and laypersons has found intriguing." White, G.
Edward. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes: Law and the Inner Self. N.Y.,
Oxford University Press, 1993. KF 8745.H6W47 |
| Marshall, John (1755-1835). Nominated by President John
Adams. Supreme Court Tenure, 1801-1835. "The story of
John Marshall is the story of one man's devotion to law and his efforts to persuade
his country of the wisdom of such devotion." Baker, Leonard. John
Marshall: A Life in Law. N. Y., MacMillan, 1974. KF 8745.M3B3
| | Marshall, Thurgood (1908-1993).
Nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Supreme Court Tenure, 1967-1991.
The first African-American appointed to the High Court, Justice Marshall "was
the legal conscience for all Americans, not just black Americans." Bland,
Randall Walton. Justice Thurgood Marshall: Crusader for Liberalism; His
Judicial Biography. Bethesda, MD, Academica Press, 2001. KF 8745.M34B547
Davis, Michael D. & Hunter, R. Clark. Thurgood Marshall: Warrior
at the Bar, Rebel on the Bench. N. Y., Birch Lane Press/Carol Publishing Group,
1993. KF 8745.M34D38 Tushnet, Mark V. Thurgood Marshall: His
Speeches, Writings, Arguments, Opinions, and Reminiscences. Chicago, Chicago
Review Press, 2001. KF 8745.M34A4 | | Stone,
Harlan Fiske (1872-1946). Nominated by President Calvin Coolidge.
Supreme Court tenure, 1925-1946. Justice Stone was characterized
by "(S)heer force of character, extraordinary ability to inspire confidence in
those whose lives he touched, tolerance and humaneness." Mason, Alpheus
T. Harlan Fiske Stone: Pillar of the Law. N. Y. Viking Press, 1956.
KF 8745.S8M3 | | Story, Joseph (1779-1845).
Nominated by President James Madison. Supreme Court Tenure, 1832-1845.
Justice Story was the youngest Supreme Court nominee in history and "belonged
to that generation touched by the idealism of the American Revolution. He
grew up with the Republic, [and] intermingled his ambition with its fate." Newmyer,
R. Kent. Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story: Statesman of the Old
Republic. Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 1985. KF
8745.S83N48 | | Warren, Earl (1891-1974).
Nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Supreme Court tenure, 1954-1969.
Justice Warren "served...through one of the few periods in
American history during which the Court became the center of intense public controversy,
and was himself a highly visible and controversial figure." White, G. Edward.
Earl Warrren: A Public Life. N. Y., Oxford University Press, 1982.
KF 8745.W3W45 |
FICTION - The Law School Experience
| |
| | Osborne, John. The Paper Chase.
Mattituck, N.Y., Amereon House, 1978. PS3565.S38P3 | |
Turow, Scott. One L. N.Y., Farrar Straus & Giroux,
1988. KF 373.T88 A33. |
INTRODUCTION TO LAW SCHOOL
| |
| | Falcon, Atticus. Planet Law School:
What You Need to Know (Before You Go) - But Didn't Know to Ask. Honolulu,
Fine Print Press, 2003. LAW RESERVE KF 283.F35 | | Gillers,
Stephen, ed. Looking at Law School: A Student's Guide From the Society
of American Law Teachers. Rev. 4th ed. N.Y., Meridian, 1997. LAW RESERVE
KF283.L66 | | Llewellyn, Karl N. The Bramblebush:
On Our Law and its Study. N.Y., Oceana Publications, 1951. KF 273.L54 |
| Stropus, Ruta & Taylor, Charlotte D. Bridging
the Gap Between College and Law School: Strategies for Success. Durham, N.C.,
Carolina Academic Press, 2001. KF 283.S77 |
INTRODUCTION
TO LEGAL REASONING
| | |
Burton, Steven J. An Introduction to Law and Legal Reasoning.
3rd ed., Boston, Little Brown & Company, 2007.. REF. KF8775.B87 |
| Cardozo, Benjamin N. The Nature of the Judicial Process.
New Haven, Yale University Press, 1921. KF 5130.C37 | |
Levi, Edward H. An Introduction to Legal Reasoning. Chicago,
University of Chicago Press, 1949. KF 387.L48 | | Vandevelde,
Kenneth J. Thinking Like a Lawyer: An Introduction to Legal Reasoning.
Boulder, Westview Press, 1996. K 212.V36 |
INTRODUCTION
TO THE AMERICAN LEGAL SYSTEM
| |
| Farnsworth, E. Allan. An Introduction to the Legal
System of the United States. 3rd ed. Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.., Oceana Publications,
1996. REF KF 387.F3 | | Friedman, Lawrence
M. American Law: An Introduction. 2nd ed. N.Y., W. W. Norton & Co.,
1998. KF 387.F74. | |
INTRODUCTION
TO THE STUDY OF LAW
| | |
| Hegland, Kenney F. Introduction to the Study and Practice
of Law in a Nutshell. 4th ed., St. Paul, West Group, 2003. LAW RESERVE
KF 273.H4 | | Honore', Tony About Law: An Introduction,
Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1995. K230.H66 A3 | | Shapo,
Helene & Shapo, Marshall. Law School Without Fear: Strategies for
Success. 2nd ed. Westbury, N.Y., Foundation Press, 2002. LAW RESERVE
KF 386.S44 | | Last
updated 10/26/07
Return
to Reading List Index |