Law Resources
Reading List
About Law - Tony Honoré
Excellent introductory text and it is included in most pre-uni law reading lists. It is great for anyone interested in understanding the fundamentals of law. The book covers a wide range of topics from differences between various legal systems to philosophical underpinnings of law. Honoré does a great job of explaining the relationship between law and morality.
Landmarks in the Law - Lord Denning
This is a great read to understand the evolution of the legal system. Lord Denning is one of the most influential judges in British history and he offers a interesting exploration of landmark cases and legal principles. It is also accessible for for those with fairly minimal prior legal knowledge.
The Rule of Law - Tom Bingham
“The Rule of Law” is a principle that underpins a fair society. Bingham discusses key concepts and discusses how important the rule of law is in any functional democratic government.
Letters to a Law student - Nicholas McBride
A great book for those contemplating a career in law or anyone curious about the legal profession. It is a very accessible and engaging read that is also on many must read pre-uni lists. McBride goes through why you should choose law, choosing the right uni, mastering legal reasoning and coping with the stress of law school.
Bleak House - Charles Dickens
I wanted to include a couple of famous fiction novels in this list. Bleak House is a big one and is considered one of the great books of all time. It centres around a legal case but also offers a insightful view of Victorian England that covers themes such as class disparity, social justice and the pursuit of truth.
The trial - Franz Kafka
This novel is a slightly unsettling exploration of the human condition and society. It follows a respectable bank officer who is arrested and prosecuted by an inaccessible authority for an unspecified crime. It is quite a nightmarish world with a somewhat absurd judicial process.
Watching List
12 Angry strangers
One of the most critically acclaimed movies of all time based on a play by Reginald Rose. The movie is set in a jury room where 12 jurors must deliberate on the fate of a defendant accused of a serious crime. What seems to be an open-and-shut case becomes an excellent critique on each jurors views, biases and values. 10/10 movie.
Erin Brokovich
A true story of a woman who brought down a giant corporation to its knees. Julia Roberts is excellent in this and won an academy award for her performance.
Legally blonde
A classic - enough said.
OJ: Made in America /
American Crime Story: The People V. OJ
A true story that almost every adult knows. It is a great series that explores race, celebrity and justice in America. I had to include two as they are both excellent and award winning. Honestly, a must watch.
My cousin Vinny
I watched this one at law school. A fun watch and a little silly. A New York lawyers goes to a small town in Alabama to defend his cousin. There is some “bad” law but a legal classic nonetheless.
A couple of Cases to read
R v Dudley and Stephens (1884)
Landmark case involving two shipwrecked sailors found guilty of murder after they killed and ate a fellow shipmate to survive. The case discusses profound ethical and legal questions about necessity, survival cannibalism and the limits of the defence of necessity in criminal law.
Donoghue v Stevenson (1932)
Another landmark case about negligence law. A woman gets bought a ginger beer that has a decomposing snail inside of it. She then gets seriously unwell and sues, however, as she did not buy the drink, can she sue the ginger beer company?
Cases to keep an eye on
Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) v. Meta
The CMA bought a case against Meta (formerly Facebook) regarding its acquisition of Giphy. The regulator argues that this will harm competition and this case with undoubtably raise questions about tech mergers and market dominance.
ECHR Migrants rights case also concerning the Rwanda Scheme
This is an ongoing case that concerns the UK’s detention policies of migrants, particularly the use of indefinite detention.