Recommended Reads for Paralegals

Books to Help You Excel in Your Legal Career

If you have a genuine appetite for learning, you’re likely to excel in your work. Curiosity may compel you to ask thoughtful questions of your peers and the lawyers in your legal practice, and take notes to refer back to later on.

There are hundreds of podcasts and videos and continuing ed courses to expand your professional knowledge and boost your confidence in executing your daily responsibilities. 

Books remain the ultimate package for long-term learning–whether you prefer print, ebooks, or audiobooks. 

We reached out to the r/paralegal community on Reddit to find out which nonfiction books they recommend, and here are the results.

Happy reading!

For Writing and Research

While it is commonly accepted that all forms of reading improve one’s skills as a writer, these books are targeted specifically to those in the legal field.

• Aspen Handbook for Legal Writers by Deborah E. Bouchoux

• The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation by Columbia Law Review, Harvard Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and Yale Law Journal

• Garner’s Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style by Bryan A. Garner

• HBR Guide to Better Business Writing by Bryan A. Garner

• Legal Research: Step by Step by Arlene Blatt & JoAnn Kurtz 

• Legal Writing in Plain English by Bryan A. Garner

• Point Made: How to Write Like the Nation's'Top Advocates by Ross Guberman

• Typography for Lawyers by Matthew Butterick

• The Winning Brief: 100 Tips for Persuasive Briefing in Trial and Appellate Courts by Bryan A. Garner

• Writing with Style: Conversations on the Art of Writing by John R. Trimble

For Efficiency and Time Management

Who doesn’t want to optimize the time spent at work? (That’s a rhetorical question…)

• Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy

• Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen

For Personal and Professional Growth

Sometimes focusing outside of the specific practice area–or industry–opens up new ways of thinking.

• The Moral Compass of the American Lawyer: Truth, Justice, Power, and Greed by Richard Zitrin and Carol M. Langford

• Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

• Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

• Who Moved My Cheese?: An A-Mazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life by Spencer Johnson, M.D.

• Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott

For Paralegals in Medical and Personal Injury Practices

• Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science by Atul Gawande

• Courtroom 302: A Year Behind the Scenes in an American Criminal Courthouse by Steve Bogira 

• Torts and Personal Injury Law by Cathy J. Okrent

For Matters of Business Law, Contracts, and Ethics

• Basic Contract Law for Paralegals by Jeffrey A. Helewitz

• The Legal Environment of Business: Text and Cases: Ethical, Regulatory, Global, and Corporate Issues by Frank B. Cross and Roger LeRoy Miller

• The Moral Compass of the American Lawyer by Richard Zitrin and Carol Langford

Thank You, r/paralegal

These and other books to boost your legal prowess are available at bookstores across the country, online, and from many library systems.

For more tips and advice from paralegals–and a forum to be curious–visit the Paralegal subreddit on Reddit.

Our sincere thanks go out to the r/paralegals community for generously sharing their thoughts about which books they'd recommend to other paralegals!