Book description
Law students, law professors, and lawyers frequently refer to the process of "thinking like a lawyer," but attempts to analyze in any systematic way what is meant by that phrase are rare. In his classic book, Kenneth J. Vandevelde defines this elusive phrase and identifies the techniques involved in thinking…
Why read it?
1 author picked Thinking Like a Lawyer as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I value this book because it showed me the importance of reasoning by analogy and using metaphors in critical thinking.
Although a secondary benefit of this book is demystifying how lawyers work, a primary benefit is recognizing how to adapt what already exists in day-to-day problem-solving. By describing how lawyers are trained to draw connections between sometimes disparate situations to argue for a particular ruling, the book showed me ways to be more creative in combining things I already have on hand—data, methods, theories—to solve problems and make decisions.
(Imagine a cognitive version of the 1980s TV secret agent MacGyver,…
From Haywood's list on Haywood Spangler's favorite critical thinking books for the intellectually curious.
If you love Thinking Like a Lawyer...
December on 5C4
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
Want books like Thinking Like a Lawyer?
Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 94 books like Thinking Like a Lawyer.
Share your top 3 reads of 2026!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
164
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like Thinking Like a Lawyer, you might also like...
The Tao of Poison
A poisonous maiden, a Daoist sex cult, and a violent insurgency.
The polyandrous Yan family in China's rural Shaanxi Province takes in two carpenter brothers. When one brother is convicted of murder after killing their neighbor in a dispute, a constable threatens to expose the family's rumored polyandry and extorts…
Big Ideas... For Small Businesses
Big Ideas… for Small Businesses is a straight-talking, no-nonsense guide to growing a small business without sacrificing your lifestyle. Written by a former civil servant turned entrepreneur, the book challenges hustle culture and instead champions the idea of an "ambitious lifestyle business" - one that provides freedom and financial stability,…
