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Thinking and Writing About Law
By: Kevin Bernardo
Carolina Academic Press, 2021. 140 pages
ISBN: 9781531019532
While Thinking and Writing About Law is primarily geared toward law students, it should be accessible for anyone who wants to improve their abilities in legal analysis and communication. Written in an approachable, no-nonsense style, the book is divided into two parts.
The first part guides readers toward an understanding of legal analysis in our common-law system. Properly conceptualizing our system of law is the most fundamental—and overlooked—component in the process of legal analysis. To that end, the book walks the reader step-by-step through the analytical process and then reinforces the reader’s understanding by introducing a novel technique for visualizing legal analysis.
The second part guides readers toward successfully communicating their analyses to both inform and persuade. It draws upon the author’s experiences as both a legal writing professor and a supreme court justice to bring a distinctive blend of academic expertise and judicial practicality to the subject.
MBEs for the MBE: Mnemonics, Blueprints, and Examples for the Multistate Bar Examination
By: O.J. Salinas
West Academic, 2022. 773 pages
ISBN: 9781636593425
In MBEs for the MBE, O.J. Salinas makes the daunting task of preparing for the bar more approachable. It instills confidence in students’ test preparation by providing tools to study more effectively and efficiently. It also serves as a useful supplement for law students, as the book summarizes the substantive law typically covered during the 1L curriculum and gives students multiple opportunities to assess their understanding of the substantive law.
“With over 500 highlighted rules, numerous mnemonics and 150 AdaptiBar® practice questions, I hope this book can be a helpful resource for anyone reviewing the substantive law tested on the MBE.”
O.J. Salinas
The book is organized by “Blueprints” that include summaries of the seven substantive areas of law tested on the MBE: civil procedure, contracts, constitutional law, criminal law/criminal procedure, evidence, property and torts. Within the chapters are “Mnemonics” where Salinas provides memorization strategies and techniques to help students categorize and recall the immense amount of black letter law tested on the MBE.
Each chapter also contains “Examples” in the form of AdaptiBar® questions and answers where students can practice answering multiple choice questions and assess where they are in their test preparation. Students have access to the popular AdaptiBar® questions and answers in the text and in an accompanying online platform.
Punishment Without Trial: Why Plea Bargaining is a Bad Deal
By: Carissa Byrne Hessick
Abrams Press, 2021. 288 pages
ISBN: 9781419750298
The right to a trial by jury was once the centerpiece of the criminal justice system, but those trials have been all but replaced by plea bargaining. In 2018, more than 97 percent of defendants in this country pleaded guilty.
Carissa Byrne Hessick makes the case against plea bargaining in Punishment Without Trial. Her research shows that criminal justice reform is impossible without first changing plea bargaining.
“I wanted to write this book because most Americans don’t know how plea bargaining has warped the criminal justice system.”
Carissa Byrne Hessick
