Inspired in part by Natalaw, Jim Dedman has posted a "Pre-Law Reading List," which contains many good reading suggestions for those planning to start law school. Some of Jim's choices are obvious, some aren't. Helter Skelter, for example, is a particularly interesting choice. (I wonder if Jim has also read And the Sea Will Tell, a later book by Vincent Bugliosi that's also entertaining.)
My only reservation: reading Jim's list, I wonder if some might benefit from a more difficult book. Isn't difficult reading what the first year of law school is all about? One that comes to mind is Karl Llewellyn's Bramble Bush, which I read in the summer before I started law school, and which gave me an immediate head start on everyone else.
Although Llewellyn's writing style is antiquated, what Llewellyn teaches about the common law is still as true as ever. Chapters two through four about the "case system" are especially noteworthy. On re-reading these chapters yesterday, I noticed immediately that I had retained almost every word, which I can't say about many books. In fact, much of the way I think today about case law and legal precedent came directly from Llewellyn's book, which at $15 was about $50,000 cheaper than the rest of my law school eduction. (Those are 1990 dollars, by the way.)
For more about Karl Llewellyn, see this brief biography. If you want to take Bramble Bush for a test drive, a short selection is posted here.
Bramble Bush appears on other pre-law reading lists. Here's one from the Law School Admission Counsel (PDF). And here are some others from the University of Miami, Harvard, and Brandeis.
Miami makes a big deal out of Llewellyn, and requires all 1Ls to read Bramble Bush. In fact, one of the classes is based out of the second half of Bramble Bush and Llewellyn's "Law as a Liberal Art" essay. As far as I know, only Chicago and Cardozo make similar pushes.
Posted by: Schteino | June 28, 2005 at 08:47 PM