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Even after long years at Law School, the education of a legal professional is never over. In fact, lawyers are on a constant learning curve, seeking knowledge from various sources in order to better their careers and win more cases. At the same time, it is also key to find a good balance between your personal life and career goals and learn to manage this equilibrium effectively.
Many suggest that lawyers could be much happier in their roles if they dedicate time to learning and development, so here we reveal the best books for lawyers to read in 2023 - to not only help with personal downtime but with career growth and inspiration, too!
Best books for fledgling lawyers:
- The New Lawyer's Handbook: 101 Things They Don't Teach You in Law School
- The Tools of Argument: How the Best Lawyers Think, Argue, and Win
- Tomorrow's Lawyers: An Introduction to Your Future
Best books about happiness and personal growth:
- The Happy Lawyer: Making a Good Life in the Law
- The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
- The Lawyer, the Lion, & the Laundry: Three Hours to Finding Your Calm in the Chaos
Best books for career development in law
- Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
- Storytelling for Lawyers
- Cross-Examination Handbook: Persuasion, Strategies, and Techniques
- Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
Best books for lawyers managing their own law firm
- You Can't Teach Hungry...Creating the Multimillion Dollar Law Firm
- Legal Tech: How Technology is Changing the Legal World
- Law Is A Buyer’s Market: Building A Client-First Law Firm
- Success Is Within: The 21 Ways for Achieving Results, Prosperity, and Fulfillment by Changing Your Leadership Mindset
Best books for career inspiration
- The Little Black Book of Lawyer's Wisdom
- How to Win in a Winner-Take-All World: The Definitive Guide to Adapting and Succeeding in High-Performance Careers
- Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
See detailed description below!
Best books for law students and fledgling lawyers
#1 The New Lawyer's Handbook: 101 Things They Don't Teach You in Law School
With this, the title says it all! Definitely, one of the best books for young/new lawyers, The New Lawyer’s Handbook offers 101 essential things to know in order to excel in the sector. Written by Karen Thalacker, the textbook offers practical, expert advice on being a better lawyer, focusing on all the things that you won’t learn in the classroom.
Offering advice on everything from client and colleague relationships, to how to maintain a work-life-balance, this handbook will provide new law professionals with all the knowledge they need to succeed.
#2 The Tools of Argument: How the Best Lawyers Think, Argue, and Win
Another best-seller, Joel Trachtman's The Tools of Argument: How the Best Lawyers Think, Argue, and Win, offers powerful insight into how lawyers can discipline themselves to be better at disputing their cases.
Trachtman's analytical text is one of the best books for young/new lawyers and aims to test and develop your thinking skills, boost your legal knowledge, and improve your personal confidence levels - all things that will help you to start winning arguments both in and out of court!
#3 Tomorrow's Lawyers: An Introduction to Your Future
In Tomorrow's Lawyers: An Introduction To Your Future, Professor Richard Susskind delves into the future of the legal profession. Aimed at lawyers and partners wanting to modernize their approach to the law, this book predicts how legal jobs will evolve as technology and society change.
Susskind has created a survival guide for the rapidly changing legal sector, looking at the causes of this shift, from virtual courts to online legal businesses, as well as routes to embracing innovative concepts. This is ultimately one of the best books for young/new lawyers, revealing to lawyers of all ages and experience how they can build careers within the modern legal landscape.
Best books about personal growth and happiness
#1 The Happy Lawyer: Making a Good Life in the Law
We all know that lawyers aren’t always happy, but this insightful book by Nancy Levit and Doug Linder takes an in-depth look at why. In The Happy Lawyer: Making a Good Life in the Law, the pair explores the main causes of lawyer dissatisfaction, before providing insightful suggestions on a solution.
They reveal a list of law schools dedicated to your long-term happiness, tell legal fledglings which jobs may boost their wellbeing, and provide established lawyers with a step-by-step guide to improving their career satisfaction.
#2 The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
The Monk Who Sold His Farrari is an inspiring choice. Written by former lawyer Robin Sharma, who left his blossoming career as a litigator at the age of 25, the novel tells the story of Julian Mantle, who sets out on a journey to discover joy and balance.
Based on the real-life adventures and learnings of Sharma himself, this beautiful and inspiring book will make you rethink your career path. Sharma wants you to follow your calling, value the time you spend with loved ones and nurture relationships. The tale also features a step-by-step guide to living with balance, courage, and joy - even when working in the legal sector!
#3 The Lawyer, the Lion, & the Laundry: Three Hours to Finding Your Calm in the Chaos
Available from September 2019, The Lawyer, the Lion, & the Laundry: Three Hours to Finding Your Calm in the Chaos will be a God send for many lawyers! The book’s author, Jamie Jackson Spannhake, was a successful lawyer and busy parent, cleverly juggling all of her duties while managing to enjoy a social life. Yet instead of being happy, she was exhausted and overwhelmed.
In her new book, Spannhake explains how she came to understand that time management alone was not enough to lead to a happy lifestyle. She shares with her readers how she used mind management to enjoy life in the way that she wanted. With plenty of take aways for busy professionals, this book will guide you to finding calmness and satisfaction, both in and out of the office!
Best books for career development in law
#1 Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
We’ve talked a lot about lawyer happiness levels and finding the perfect work-life balance, but can legal professionals find fulfilment at work simply by changing the way they think? Well, Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck certainly thinks so!
Dweck spent over 20 years researching the impact that mindsets can have on the success of a lawyer. She believes that people with a ‘growth mindset’ are far more likely to prosper than those who think their abilities and talents are fixed.
Despite being published in 2007, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success remains a best-seller, changing the lives of millions of professionals around the world.
#2 Storytelling for Lawyers
Despite its title, this is not a story book! In fact, Storytelling for Lawyers aims to help legal professionals construct narratives that will impact audiences and win cases. Author Philip Meyer explores how to construct narratives that have an emotional impact and can better explain the case details to judges and jury members.
With this fantastic tool in their pocket, lawyers of all levels will be able to improve their techniques in order to succeed at litigation. For this reason, Storytelling for Lawyers is one of the best books for lawyers to read in 2023 and is sure to be an enduring text for years to come.
#3 Cross-Examination Handbook: Persuasion, Strategies, and Techniques
On a more serious note, the Cross-Examination Handbook is a technical guide that explores the skills and strategies involved in planning and conducting successful cross-examinations! Author Ronald H. Clark uses impressive real-life trial examples in order to explain how such strategies have been put to use, making a real impact in court.
Alongside the historic trials, Clark provides step-by-step instructions for students and lawyers to use in order to master the art of persuasive cross-examination for themselves.
#4 Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
This international bestseller was originally published over 30 years ago, yet its message is still very relevant today. Offering a proven step-by-step strategy for negotiation, Getting to Yes aims to assist lawyers with conflict resolution and establishing mutually beneficial settlements without yielding.
Based on the work of the Harvard Negotiation Project, this dedicated textbook is a must for fledgeling lawyers looking to develop their careers.
Best books for lawyers managing their own law firm
#1 You Can't Teach Hungry...Creating the Multimillion Dollar Law Firm
If you’re looking to start your own law firm, then this book is for you! Author John Morgan shares the knowledge he has gained over the last few decades as a Managing Partner of the largest personal injury firm in America.
As a renowned trial lawyer in his own right, Morgan explores the methods and philosophies he used to create his lasting and flourishing practice - and why it will continue to thrive.
Both motivational and aspirational, this book is an essential guide for anyone looking to open their own legal business.
#2 Legal Tech: How Technology is Changing the Legal World
With the incredible rise in legal technology, this dedicated guide aims to help lawyers understand the state of the sector and how it is changing. Authors Markus Hartung, Micha-Manuel Bues and Gernot Halbleib explore what the future of law might look like for legal companies, as well as the impact that modern technology may have on professionals around the world.
From AI to automated workflows, this handbook is a must for any legal business owner wanting to make sure their firm keeps up with the changing state of the industry, their competitors and their clients.
#3 Law Is A Buyer’s Market: Building A Client-First Law Firm
If you’re looking for a new and exciting way to build or develop your law firm, then look no further. Law Is a Buyer’s Market explores how author Jordan Furlong went about creating a client-first law firm.
By re-thinking the purpose of legal practices, Furlong was able to design a new business model, placing clients’ buyer habits at its core - an approach that has led to immense success! If your firm needs to adapt to the modern legal sector, then this book could help you design a law firm for the future.
#4 Success Is Within: The 21 Ways for Achieving Results, Prosperity, and Fulfillment by Changing Your Leadership Mindset
For over 20 years, Payal Nanjiani has been a globally acclaimed motivational leadership speaker, helping businesses owners and employees with career growth, happiness and leadership success.
In her new book, Success Is Within, Nanjiani provides 21 strategies that will help you unleash your inner leader - so if you’re hoping to start your own legal firm, her tips and techniques could prove invaluable!
Aimed at management, corporate leaders, and entrepreneurs, the book explores how mindset can affect success. Each chapter looks at a different route to altering the way we think, in order to become better bosses.
Drawing on real life case studies about the challenges of business, Success Is Within will help you gain control of your mind in order to lead your team to business success.
Best books for career inspiration
#1 The Little Black Book of Lawyer's Wisdom
Unlike the other reads in this list, The Little Black Book of Lawyer's Wisdom offers something for non-legal professionals as well. Written by Tony Lyons, this is an entertaining collection of insightful and inspiring quotes from some of the world’s greatest thinkers.
From U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Voltaire, this little book brings you remarkable words on crime, justice and life from the realms of history. The perfect coffee table addition, this pocket-sized gem is a fantastic choice for when you need a career boost!
#2 How to Win in a Winner-Take-All World: The Definitive Guide to Adapting and Succeeding in High-Performance Careers
Neil Irwin is a bestselling author and senior economic correspondent at The New York Times, so he seems the perfect person to provide lawyers, or any high-performance professionals, with career inspiration.
In his brand new book, How to Win in a Winner-Take-All World, Irwin provides a clear guide to surviving and succeeding in an increasingly difficult and evolving economy.
As technology develops and job roles change, Irwin shows professionals how to adapt. Using case studies, original data and insightful analysis, he explains how you can succeed within the modern-day corporate landscape - both now, and in the years to come.
#3 Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
This New York Times bestseller is dedicated to the untold story of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a unique character from legal history.
Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been described as a love letter to the icon, offering a personal look into Ginsburg's life, from her family and friends to her former colleagues - there’s also an interview with Ginsburg herself.
Ideal for lovers of powerful female figures and remarkable legal professionals from history, this book is a fun and intimate exploration of the life and career of one of the law’s most enduring characters.
Hungry for more?
We hope you find inspiration and career guidance in these fascinating, unique and empowering books, each dedicated to the development and endorsement of a productive and happy career in the law. If you know of any other must-read books that you want to share with us, send us your ideas and we add them to this list!
