So you’ve screwed up and enrolled in law school. Hey, it happens to the best of us. But at least you have one last, glorious summer to enjoy before you’re cast into the Lord of the Flies atmosphere of 1L. Go to the beach! Fly a kite! Murder a hobo! Whatever it is you do for fun. But under absolutely no circumstances let a law professor coax you into jump starting your law school career before the fall. Law school’s already a year too long — don’t add another three months.
Despite this obvious conclusion staring America’s future debtors in the face, the venerable Washington Post decided to print a summer reading list from GMU’s Professor Michael Krauss to get 0Ls into the swing of denying themselves any pleasure when there’s homework available. Let’s review his list:
1. Truman Capote, In Cold Blood (affiliate link): An important book for any prospective law student. It’s important to learn that there are lawyers out there doing important work in both criminal justice and death penalty work. It’s also important to learn that you will never be one of them.
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2. Brooke Goldstein and Aaron Eitan Meyer, Lawfare: The War Against Free Speech: A First Amendment Guide for Reporting in an Age of Islamist Lawfare (affiliate link): As Voltaire said, “I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to slander the faith of a billion people in the pursuit of an unending xenophobic state of warfare.” At least I think that was Voltaire.
3. Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird (affiliate link): I’ve said it before, but why do we lionize Atticus Finch? The guy let an innocent man get convicted. Perry Mason and Paul Drake would have set up Boo Radley to take the fall. Pretty sure they had the death penalty for the mentally challenged in Alabama. Whatever. A better summer reading suggestion: Go Set a Watchman (affiliate link) — it teaches you the grave importance of trusts and estates.
4. Karl N. Llewellyn, The Bramble Bush (affiliate link): If you’re entering this profession because of an almost mystic faith in its spiritual majesty, go ahead and let Llewellyn burst that bubble now. Legal realism is legal academia’s ice bucket challenge — you’ll never be the same and you’ll probably look shocked and upset while it happens to you.
5. Herman Melville, Billy Budd, Sailor (affiliate link): Blah blah blah “role of the judge” blah. Instead, get your Melville fix with this one (affiliate link) and learn how Biglaw is really just an exercise in covering for someone who doesn’t do a damn thing yet never gets fired.
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6. Publius, The Federalist Papers (affiliate link): Get a firm understanding of the foundational texts that Justice Scalia will be misapplying in your casebooks.
7. Patrick J. Schiltz, On Being a Happy, Healthy, and Ethical Member of an Unhappy, Unhealthy, and Unethical Profession, Vanderbilt Law Review, Volume 52, 1999: TL;DR. Booze!
8. B.F. Skinner, Walden Two (affiliate link): To quote Professor Krauss: “‘Walden Two’ is, I think, best seen as dystopia — a scary description of the premises of social-legal planning.” Except, Walden Two is the exact opposite of a dystopia. Skinner’s novel shows how all this social engineering is successful. It’s possible Professor Krauss is channeling Lionel Hutz:
9. Barry Werth, Damages (affiliate link): Read about tort law in action! Hey, maybe you should read this one — it could get you running for the hills before you’re hundreds of grand in debt and working an hourly document review job.
In all seriousness, this is a fine list of books — even if it doesn’t include The Trial (affiliate link) — so go ahead and enrich your mind this summer if you must. Or just binge watch Daredevil on Netflix again. Either way.
Whatever you do, the most important thing to take away from this list is the jarring absence of Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link). That’s the one book 0Ls should be reading this summer!
After all, they need to get their clerkship applications in by August.
Entering law school? Here’s what to read this summer. [Washington Post]