Lawyers: Make space on your bookshelves for these must-reads. It’s hard to narrow down the vast number of books out there that can assist with professional and personal development. We’ve decided to help and present these top five essential reads for lawyers, broken down by category.
1. Growing and Managing Your Business
One of the most important considerations for attorneys is how to effectively build and sustain a business. How to Start & Build a Law Practice by Jay G. Foonberg is a great place to start. Foonberg is an attorney himself, and he offers up over 600 pages of guidance based on his own experiences.
Aside from advice about starting and growing your practice, the newest edition of the book covers topics ranging from how the internet has changed things to how to be aggressive with your marketing strategy.
2. Becoming a More Mindful Lawyer
Another must-read for attorneys is The Anxious Lawyer: An 8-Week Guide to a Joyful and Satisfying Law Practice Through Mindfulness and Meditation by Jeena Cho.
Being a successful lawyer is more than bringing in clients and growing the bottom line. To be a more effective professional, it’s important to practice mindfulness and to focus on the meaning behind what you’re doing. This book helps attorneys begin a meditation practice to better deal with everyday challenges that are specific to the legal field.
3. Navigating Legal Technology
New technologies arise each year that change the way businesses of all kinds operate. Law practices are no exception, as artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to streamline processes and to leverage data analytics for a more successful practice.
The book to read about technology and the law is On Legal AI by Joshua Walker. This book covers how you can use automation in the legal realm while recognizing the risks it can bring to the industry as well.
4. Managing Client and Peer Relationships
A major part of any attorney’s career is managing relationships with others. This includes your clients and their family members, as well as your network of peers and colleagues. Because interpersonal relationships are such an important part of the job, lawyers should read How to Win Friends and Influence People, the classic book by Dale Carnegie. This work covers common workplace and personal situations to help guide you through things like how to make people like you, how to improve your way of thinking about others, and how to leave resentment at the door.
This book has been a foundation for leaders across industries since it was first published in the 1930s.
5. Improving Productivity
Finally, lawyers know that to be successful, productivity and time management needs to be at top of mind. As such, Time Management for Attorneys: A Lawyer’s Guide to Decreasing Stress, Eliminating Interruptions & Getting Home on Time by Mark Powers and Shawn McNalis is a must-read for attorneys.
This book covers issues specific to being a lawyer and helps you learn to manage work-life balance and to increase productivity during working hours.
Whether you’re fresh out of law school or have been building your practice for decades, taking the time to read these important books can do wonders for your career. Reading helps you to know that you’re not alone in your struggles and offers new perspectives to age-old challenges faced by attorneys.
Happy reading!