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Thinking Like a Lawyer
A New Introduction to Legal Reasoning
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Check link for latest rating. ( 326 ratings, 30 reviews)
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Ideal for law students, legal scholars, and anyone interested in the foundations of legal reasoning and concepts. Particularly suitable for upper-level undergraduates and first-year law students seeking a clear introduction.
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See moreAimed at law students and upper-level undergraduates, this primer on legal reasoning is also an original exposition of basic legal concepts that scholars and lawyers will find stimulating. Schauerβs analysis of what makes legal reasoning special will be a valuable guide for students and a challenge to a wide range of current academic theories.
This book will belong on every law professor's and law student's bookshelf--and on many others' bookshelves as well. -- Lawrence A. Alexander, University of San Diego School of Law, author of Is There a Right of Freedom of Expression? Schauer is a leading scholar of jurisprudence and legal process, and his new book is as comprehensive, thorough, and sophisticated an introduction to legal reasoning as it is a lucid one. All of the bases are covered, and law students, teachers, practicing lawyers, and judges alike will gain perspective and insight from seeing the entire range of legal reasoning techniques laid out before them. -- Richard A. Posner, Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, author of How Judges Think Thinking Like a Lawyer is by far the best available introduction to legal reasoning, of interest to law students and their teachers alike. It should be enlightening to the general reader as well, who will learn what, for better and perhaps for worse, distinguishes 'thinking like a lawyer' from other approaches to analyzing social problems. -- Sanford V. Levinson, University of Texas Law School, author of Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong Thinking Like a Lawyer is well-designed to work for first-year law school classes. It covers the most important themes relating to law and legal reasoning, and manages to do so in ways that are accessible and thought-provoking. -- Brian H. Bix, University of Minnesota, author of Jurisprudence: Theory and Context
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
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Description
This primer on legal reasoning is aimed at law students and upper-level undergraduates. However, it is also an original exposition of basic legal concepts that scholars and lawyers will find stimulating.
It covers such topics as rules, precedent, authority, analogical reasoning, the common law, statutory interpretation, legal realism, judicial opinions, legal facts, and the burden of proof. In addressing the question of whether legal reasoning is distinctive, Frederick Schauer emphasizes the formality and rule-dependence of law.
When taking the words of a statute seriously, when following a rule even when it does not produce the best result, when treating the fact of a past decision as a reason for making the same decision again, or when relying on authoritative sources, the law embodies values other than simply that of making the best decision for the particular occasion or dispute.
In thus pursuing goals of stability, predictability, and constraint on the idiosyncrasies of individual decision-makers, the law employs forms of reasoning that may not be unique to it but are far more dominant in legal decision-making than elsewhere.
Schauer's analysis of what makes legal reasoning special will be a valuable guide for students while also presenting a challenge to a wide range of current academic theories.
In Thinking Like a Lawyer, Frederick Schauer presents these insights in an accessible yet thought-provoking manner, making it an essential read for anyone interested in understanding the nuances of legal reasoning.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
A welcome complement to Edward Leviβs approach, accessible for legal novices yet rich in perspective for lawyers and scholars. -- Brian Leiter, Times Literary Supplement
Excellent for those seeking a deeper, more nuanced understanding of lawβs complexities. -- John Azzolini, Law Library Journal
Essential on the bookshelf of law professors, students, and many others interested in legal reasoning. -- Lawrence A. Alexander, University of San Diego School of Law
Well-designed for first-year law students, covering key themes in accessible and thought-provoking ways. -- Brian H. Bix, University of Minnesota
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780674062481
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 16 April 2012
Country: United States
Imprint: Harvard University Press
Audience: Adult education
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 17.0mm
Width: 156.0mm
Height: 235.0mm
Weight: 340g
Pages: 256
Collections
About the Author
Frederick Schauer was the David and Mary Harrison Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Virginia and the author of Free Speech: A Philosophical Enquiry; Playing by the Rules; Profiles, Probabilities, and Stereotypes; Thinking Like a Lawyer; and The Force of Law. He was a Fellow of the British Academy and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, was the Frank Stanton Professor of the First Amendment at Harvard University for twenty years, and was a founding editor of the journal Legal Theory.
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