What's on the Shelf?

Bonding Experience: Chickie Leventhal did it her way in the male-dominated bail bonds business

In 2003, famed musical producer Phil Spector was in police custody in Alhambra, California, on suspicion of murder. His attorney, Robert Shapiro, wanted his client released without delay. He sent Chickie Leventhal to post a $1 million bond. Leventhal’s road to having such renowned lawyers calling her to spring their celebrity clients had humble beginnings.

Jun 9, 2026 3:28 PM CDT

After more than a decade, book explores forensic evidence from shooting death of Trayvon Martin

Two Florida-based authors say they’ve researched 11,500 newspaper and journal articles, scoured investigative records and pored over Martin’s autopsy report. They both maintain basic crime scene processes were not followed. Other concerns involve the bullet trajectory, George Zimmerman’s re-enactment of the crime being admitted into evidence and the history of racial tensions in Sanford.

Apr 30, 2026 9:21 AM CDT

Biography examines the career of a New Yorker and single mom who went to law school in the 1970s

In Passion and Power: A Life in Three Worlds, Harriet Newman Cohen chronicles her journey as a divorce lawyer whose clients have included actor Laurence Fishburne, actress Linda Lavin and other celebrities.

Apr 1, 2026 12:50 AM CDT

Bill Kurtis’ memoir tells how law school trained him for covering trials

In Whirlwind: My Life Reporting the News, Bill Kurtis’ memoir, the newsman tells how being an attorney built the foundation for his six-decade career in journalism, in which he covered major trials and investigated issues such as Agent Orange.

Apr 1, 2026 12:45 AM CDT

Winning From Losing: Attorney who lost Gideon looks back on landmark case and how it reshaped his career

On the day Bruce Jacob came to the U.S. Supreme Court to argue one of the nation’s most significant cases, there was just one person in the public seating area: his wife. Ann Jacob watched her 27-year-old husband stand before the high court for the first time to argue for the state of Florida in the landmark Gideon v. Wainwright case in 1963. The young lawyer faced the imposing Abe Fortas, who later became a Supreme Court justice. Jacob recalls this moment and how it forever changed his life and career, in his new book, The Gideon Case: Inside the Supreme Court’s Historic Right to Counsel Decision. This March marked the 63th anniversary of the court’s decision.

Mar 31, 2026 11:10 AM CDT

Understanding women in their lives is important for men’s happiness, divorce lawyer says in new book

In Passion and Power: A Life in Three Worlds, Harriet Newman Cohen chronicles her journey as a divorce lawyer, with clients including actress Linda Lavin, actor Laurence Fishburne and many other celebrities. Cohen recently talked with the ABA Journal about her book, which is available Feb. 5.

Jan 21, 2026 9:19 AM CST

From Jailhouse Lawyer to 'Real' Lawyer: Calvin Duncan talks about his extraordinary journey

Calvin Duncan was wrongfully convicted. So the inmate with a ninth-grade education taught himself the law behind bars. In 2011, after being incarcerated for 28½ years, he secured his release. Duncan went on to earn an undergraduate degree at Tulane University in New Orleans. At age 60, he graduated from the Lewis & Clark School of Law.

Dec 11, 2025 9:05 AM CST

Cannibalism on Trial: How a shipwreck in the 1800s changed legal history

For centuries, sailors who survived shipwrecks but faced starvation after running out of food and water had a tradition known as “the custom of the sea.” It was permissible, the custom went, to kill and eat one of their own after drawing lots. In 1884, four British sailors had to make this difficult decision as they drifted in a lifeboat for more than two weeks after their ship sank in a storm. Suffering from parching thirst and dizzying hunger, they had no other options. Journalist and lawyer Adam Cohen revisits this compelling and thought-provoking tale in his new book, Captain’s Dinner: A Shipwreck, an Act of Cannibalism and a Murder Trial That Changed Legal History.

Dec 1, 2025 9:07 AM CST

Hitting the Books: Law school can be taught with just baseball cases, retired judge says

Lou Schiff, 70, is the co-author of Baseball and the Law: Cases and Materials, a 1,000-page book that tags many of the law school bases. Earlier this year, he published Attorneys in the Baseball Hall of Fame, featuring biographical essays of the 11 individuals who have turned this double play.

Oct 21, 2025 10:13 AM CDT

‘Whirlwind’: Bill Kurtis memoir tells how law school trained him for covering trials

The ABA Journal talked with the retired CBS News anchor and executive producer of many legal-oriented television documentary series—including Cold Case Files, American Greed and Investigative Reports—at his home outside Chicago.

Oct 2, 2025 9:08 AM CDT

AALS shows and tells its 125-year history in coffee table book

The First 125 Years: An Illustrated History of the Association of American Law Schools is a coffee table book that shows while it tells the history of the group’s dedication to developing law students into lawyers.

Aug 13, 2025 10:08 AM CDT

New book examines how messaging targeting middle class shifted politics

In Outclassed: How the Left Lost the Working Class and How to Win Them Back, Joan C. Williams, a professor emeritus at the University of California College of the Law in San Francisco, offers insight on the wedge between college and noncollege graduates and how those differences have shifted politics to the right.

May 20, 2025 8:47 AM CDT

Book shares a female associate’s experiences with harassment in BigLaw 30 years later

In Look What You Made Me Do: Confronting Heartbreak & Harassment in Big Law, lawyer-turned-author Erin Gordon recounts her alienation as a young associate in the early 1990s—almost 25 years before the #MeToo movement.

Aug 1, 2024 1:10 AM CDT

Chicago lawyer writes about being GOAT at New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest

There’s a cartoon with a dolphin panhandling on a street corner. A man is reaching into his pocket to give it money. His female companion looks irritated. Chicago lawyer Lawrence Wood put words to her displeasure: “If he’s so damn intelligent, let him get a job.” With that line, Wood…

Jul 25, 2024 12:19 PM CDT

Writing novels helps this employment lawyer avoid burnout

Brooke Tabshouri was a few years into her legal career when she experienced what she describes as “bad burnout.” She learned through therapy and mindfulness classes that she needed to do something creative when she wasn’t being a lawyer or caring for her two children.

Jul 9, 2024 9:42 AM CDT