Product Description
In this practical and accessible introduction, Kenneth J. Vandevelde identifies, explains, and interprets the goals and methods of the well-trained lawyer, offering students, lawyers, and lay readers alike insight into a well-developed and valuable way of thinking…. More >>
Thinking Like A Lawyer: An Introduction To Legal Reasoning
Tags: accessible introduction, insight, introduction to legal reasoning, kenneth j vandevelde, lawyer, lawyers, lay readers
I am currently a “1L” at a school in Washington DC.
Professor Vandevelde introduces the reader to a brave new world: legal reasoning. As a first year law student, you will become intimately aquatinted with such creatures as Contracts, Constitutional Law, Civil Procedure, and the peculiar little buggers known affectionately as Torts. But what you will need most on your adventure, you will find strangely absent: a map & compass. “Thinking Like a Lawyer,” in my opinion, in simply that. Vandevelde’s text effectively explains what legal reasoning entails, how it evolved into the beast that it is, and what makes it live and breathe. Further, T.L.A.L. is written in a very readable prose you will appreciate more and more once you’ve tasted a few clumsy judicial opinions. Most insightful and practical, in my opinion, are the final chapters, which illustrate the material by applying it to each of the first year’s courses. I recommend this book, without reservation, to any now-or-future law student, and anyone curious about legal thought and application.
By the way, I met Mr. Vandevelde once, in 1997, at a law schools’ forum held at the World Trade Center. A sincerely friendly man.
Rating: 4 / 5