The Modern Law Library

Legal thriller author David Ellis’ day job? Appellate court justice

Justice David W. Ellis has served on the Illinois Appellate Court for the 1st District for nearly 10 years. But readers may know him better as author David Ellis, bestselling writer of more than a dozen legal thrillers.

Aug 29, 2024 8:41 AM CDT

‘Shaping the Bar’ author says bar exam protects legal profession, not public

Lawyer and author discusses with the ABA Journal’s Julianne Hill how the bar’s history of creating a method to test minimum competency is outdated and discriminatory.

Jul 24, 2024 8:48 AM CDT

Summer reading picks and why a YMCA-funded crusade against obscenity matters today

Do you need some distractions during vacation travel or while lying directly under your A/C unit and sweating? It’s time for The Modern Law Library’s summer recommendations episode.

Jul 10, 2024 3:15 PM CDT

‘The Lawyer Millionaire’ author shares the 7 biggest money mistakes lawyers can make

Despite a high earning potential, new lawyers usually have high debt. People who chose to get JDs instead of MBAs often find themselves operating as entrepreneurs to launch a solo practice. The author of The Lawyer Millionaire is here to help.

Jun 19, 2024 9:45 AM CDT

‘The Originalism Trap’ author wants to see originalism dead, dead, dead

Originalism is the ascendant legal theory espoused by conservative legal thinkers, including the majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices. But far from being an objective framework for constitutional interpretation, says author and attorney Madiba K. Dennie, its true purpose is to achieve conservative political aims regardless of the historical record.

Jun 5, 2024 9:04 AM CDT

How to strike up conversations that build your book of business

Networking is something that comes naturally to some people. But if the idea of talking to strangers makes you break out into a cold sweat, there's help and hope, says Deb Feder, author of the book After Hello: How to Build a Book of Business, One Conversation at a Time.

May 29, 2024 8:55 AM CDT

When states’ rights and health care access clash

From the COVID-19 response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the results of 50 states having individual approaches to public health, medical outcomes and health care access raise troubling questions. A husband-and-wife team of University of Utah professors dig into the ethics of the American health care system in States of Health: The Ethics and Consequences of Policy Variation in a Federal System.

May 15, 2024 4:40 PM CDT

‘In the Shadow of Liberty’ shines light on American immigration history

Ana Raquel Minian uses the personal experiences of four immigrants to walk readers through the history of immigrant detention in the United States in In the Shadow of Liberty: The Invisible History of Immigrant Detention in the United States.

May 1, 2024 9:00 AM CDT

Users Keepers: Pirates, zombies and adverse possession

“Trespassing plus time equals adverse possession,” Paul Golden writes in his new book, Litigating Adverse Possession Cases: Pirates v. Zombies. It’s a concept more popularly discussed as squatter’s rights.

Apr 10, 2024 8:48 AM CDT

James Patterson dishes on his new legal thriller, ‘The #1 Lawyer’

James Patterson has written bestsellers in many genres. But as he tells the ABA Journal's Lee Rawles in this episode of The Modern Law Library podcast, he has always been fascinated by legal thrillers, courtroom dramas and crime novels. He even considered becoming a lawyer—before his literary career took off.

Mar 20, 2024 9:46 AM CDT

‘When Rape Goes Viral’ looks at why cases like Steubenville happen

After cases like in Steubenville, Ohio, where the assault of an unconscious girl at a party by two boys was filmed and spread on social media, “the question gnawing at everyone, myself included, was: What were these kids thinking?” writes Anna Gjika.

Mar 6, 2024 9:51 AM CST

NY law prof is calling on ‘Lawyer Nation’ to reform

Ray Brescia, a law professor at Albany Law School in New York, has taken a hard look at the country's legal system in his new book, Lawyer Nation: The Past, Present, and Future of the American Legal Profession.

Feb 28, 2024 8:44 AM CST

‘Police & the Empire City’ explores race and the origins of the NYPD

In Police & the Empire City: Race & the Origins of Modern Policing in New York, Matthew Guariglia looks at the New York City police from their founding in 1845 through the 1930s as "police transitioned from a more informal collection of pugilists clad in wool coats to what we can recognize today as a modern professionalized police department."

Feb 14, 2024 9:09 AM CST

Yale Law’s Owen Fiss talks about threats to democracy and ‘Why We Vote’

After 50 years as a professor at Yale Law School, Owen Fiss says his students are still idealistic and passionate about the rights won in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965. A classroom discussion prompted his new book.

Jan 31, 2024 8:47 AM CST

Access to justice can be achieved, says ‘Law Democratized’ author—but not without change

In 2013, the ABA Journal named Renee Knake Jefferson a Legal Rebel for her work rethinking how legal services could be delivered to consumers. In 2024, she’s looking back at a decade of successes and failures aimed at improving access to justice.

Jan 10, 2024 8:22 AM CST