Thinking Like A Lawyer

THINKING LIKE A LAWYER is an essential guide for those starting out on their study of law. Drawing on a wealth of sources, it shares key tips on how to stay afloat in an ocean of legal texts. The volume answers the crucial questions facing first and second-year law students: What is close reading? What does thinking critically mean? How can you analyse a problem efficiently and effectively? It takes you step-by-step through the process of acquiring the skills you will need to get the most out of your law studies.

The book uses landmark cases from England and Hong Kong to demonstrate these skills. It also draws on literature, musicology, judges’ biographies, and podcasts to show how you, too, can think like a lawyer.

Using a fun, unconventional, yet highly rigorous, approach to law, the volume will build students’ confidence by demonstrating:

• Legal analysis skills – statutory interpretation, close reading of case law
• Different registers of argument and analysis – from black-letter law to socially and politically aware approaches
• Legal research and reasoning: how to ask the right questions, locate the right sources, and use them effectively
• The importance of communication – from tweets to appeal court judgments.

It also contains a handy Short Guide to Survival, which contains crucial advice for new law students.