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The Legal Analyst: A Toolkit for Thinking about the Law, by Ward Farnsworth
PDF Ebook The Legal Analyst: A Toolkit for Thinking about the Law, by Ward Farnsworth
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There are two kinds of knowledge law school teaches: legal rules on the one hand, and tools for thinking about legal problems on the other. Although the tools are far more interesting and useful than the rules, they tend to be neglected in favor of other aspects of the curriculum. In The Legal Analyst, Ward Farnsworth brings together in one place all of the most powerful of those tools for thinking about law.
From classic ideas in game theory such as the “Prisoner’s Dilemma” and the “Stag Hunt” to psychological principles such as hindsight bias and framing effects, from ideas in jurisprudence such as the slippery slope to more than two dozen other such principles, Farnsworth’s guide leads readers through the fascinating world of legal thought. Each chapter introduces a single tool and shows how it can be used to solve different types of problems. The explanations are written in clear, lively language and illustrated with a wide range of examples.
The Legal Analyst is an indispensable user’s manual for law students, experienced practitioners seeking a one-stop guide to legal principles, or anyone else with an interest in the law.
- Sales Rank: #81549 in Books
- Published on: 2007-06-15
- Released on: 2007-06-15
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.00" h x 1.00" w x 6.00" l, 1.06 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 326 pages
Review
“Every good lawyer knows that there’s a standard set of argumentative moves that are repeatedly made in different legal settings.� Farnsworth’s book is chock full of the kind of tools that every legal analyst should have in his or her back pocket.� This ambitious book is likely to spur a lively debate about what exactly are the essential tools of legal analysis.� While some will grouse that their pet tool was excluded, the books points toward a new way of organizing the first-year curriculum.� Farnsworth is forging a new pedagogical canon.”
(Ian Ayres, Townsend Professor, Yale Law School and author of Super Crunchers)
“This is one of those rare books that will actually raise the level of analysis at every law school in the country.�A must-read not only for students just beginning law school, but indeed for anyone who could use a reminder of how diverse and powerful the legal toolkit really is.” (Douglas Lichtman, Professor, University of Chicago Law School)
“This book is a very accessible introduction to the major ideas of modern legal thinking and useful survey of current thinking in the field.� It covers an extraordinarily broad range of topics in a limited space and is very clearly written, studded with interesting examples and observations. It can profitably be read by law students, lawyers, and lay people with an interest in the legal system.” (Daniel Farber, Sho Sato Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley)
“The Legal Analyst provides an engaging and enlightening introduction to the most essential concepts of legal reasoning. In exceptionally clear prose, Ward Farnsworth walks the reader through concepts such as the Coase Theorem, the Prisoner’s Dilemma, and Property Rules and Liability Rules—peeling away the fog of confusion that often envelops them to reveal the deep and startlingly simple insights that they offer. The reader comes away from the book with a toolkit of ideas that can be used to take apart and examine almost any legal issue.”
(Oona A. Hathaway, Associate Professor of Law, Yale Law School)
“This is an outstanding book that occupies a significant and unique niche in the literature of jurisprudence and legal methodology. Farnsworth introduces students and practitioners alike to basic methods of legal analysis across a broad range of disciplines. This book should become the ultimate ‘toolkit’ for those new to the profession.” (David J. Bederman, Emory University School of Law)
About the Author
Ward Farnsworth, who clerked for both Judge Richard A. Posner and Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, is professor of law and Nancy Barton Scholar at the Boston University School of Law. He is the coauthor of Torts: Cases and Questions.
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
Not totally satisfactory, but that is primarily due to the law, not the author
By algo41
Farnsworth is very bright, with an active inquiring mind. In "The Legal Analyst" he explains legal principles, both as they are and as they might ideally be. He uses a discursive style, but organized by devoting each chapter to a different principle. The law is difficult and principles are inconsistently applied, not to mention that law varies by state. Often, the principles Farnsworth discusses are not used explicitly, but may underlay the decision making of judges even if they do not realize it. This all makes for a not totally satisfactory read, although if you love logical arguments you will love this book. I found that I most enjoyed the concrete cases, and discussion of the more widely and explicitly accepted legal principles. I had already been exposed to the psychological basis of decision making, such as anchoring and framing, but if you have not those chapters might be of particular interest.
Consider the case where a cow manages to reach a road, causing an auto accident. One legal ideal is maxium efficiency; i.e. reducing the burden on the legal system including the resources of litigants as well as judges. The idea of efficiency is one basis for statutes of limitations, even when their application can lead to injustice in the colloquial meaning of the word. One might therefore conclude that the rancher should always be held liable for the cow/car accident. However, there is another principle that a person like the rancher is not liable if he/she takes all the precautions that are reasonable, so the accident apparently still can go to trial on that basis. An interesting example of statute of limitations, not cited in the book, is a recent decision by the North Carolina Supreme Court that a group of homeowners in North Carolina can't sue a company that contaminated their drinking water because a state deadline has lapsed - even if residents did not realize their water was polluted until years later.
Suppose a piece of art is stolen. No matter how many times it is resold, the original owner can still claim ownership. Now suppose the original owner loses the art work due to fraud instead of outright theft. If a subsequent buyer purchases the item in good faith, and not at some huge bargain price, the purchaser maintains ownership. The justification is that the original owner should have been more careful but he/she cannot try to prove due diligence as a basis of reclaiming the painting. This is the type of concrete, consistent decision making I found most satisfactory.
Conversely, suppose a photo processor promises to take your old photos, which mean a lot to you, and make them computer readable, but loses the photos instead. Regardless of efficiency, and disclaimers in the processor's literature, you can claim compensation above the minimal value of what it costs to produce a photo; but how much should you be compensated? There are various ideas that Farnsworth puts forward for computing the value, but in fact there may be great discrepancy in what is awarded and only ambiguous guidance; in one case the award was $7,500. For maximum efficiency, I would have though the customer should have been given the opportunity to purchase insurance against loss and that would be the only recourse.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
Great Summary of Key Legal Theories
By LadySherlock
This is THE book for anyone who wants to understand the rationale behind the key legal rules that govern society. It's readable and interesting -- not one bit dry! -- and presents the theories in a logical order, building from the simplest (ex post vs. ex ante -- or downstream vs. upstream reasoning) to the more complex tools, such as game theory's Prisoner's Dilemma. It encourages the reader to ponder why the creation of incentives for good behavior in a complex world is a challenge, and explains just how the easy solutions can go badly wrong. In short: it helps you think clearly and deeply about big issues by providing a very nice set of "Thinking Tools." (I wish all our Senators and Congressmen were required to read this; it would surely elevate the level of the debate.)
For the student contemplating law school, this would be a fine introduction to legal reasoning. It would set you up well for the first year's work, especially in Contracts and Torts.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
Concepts useful to anyone thinking about how the world works -- not just for lawyers!
By Jeff Walden
How do laws and the legal process balance the competing interests of everyone involved? What do judges consider when deciding how a law should be construed? Ward Farnsworth here presents tools to help answer these questions, and others like them: thirty-one concepts that underlie our legal system. Paraphrasing part of the book's preface, the goal is to gather and clearly explain, with numerous examples, the most interesting ideas presented in law school.
That said, I think this book is under-sold as specifically being for legal-minded people. Some of the concepts are more specific to the law, to be sure. But most of the ideas have general applicability to thinking about how people interact generally. The economic ideas give ways to think about how much things are worth (in a broad sense of the word), how people value them, and whose responsibility problems should be. These ideas are all useful in considering group dynamics well outside the legal context. The game theory concepts are useful to anyone in any sort of business, in thinking about, and talking about, how their competitors will act and react to them. The psychological phenomena studied are immensely valuable to advertisers, and to anyone in the general public interested in recognizing the subtle tactics advertisements use. The concepts deriving from statistics are valuable to anyone thinking about what the figures people give actually mean, or don't mean. Even the jurisprudential ideas studied are often useful for argument and persuasion in general, and making one's point more effectively.
This book isn't really about law, although it frequently touches upon it, and the topic of law is an undercurrent throughout. It's really about concepts that show up everywhere, not just in law: concepts useful to anyone wanting to think about how the world works, why it works the way it does, and how to successfully navigate it. It's not a long book, but it is a deep book: best digested a chapter at a time, giving time for thought about the concepts discussed to see them elsewhere in the world. (In this regard I regard it much as I regard The Federalist Papers: a book worthy of slow digestion and extra time to chew on the topics presented.)
I've never been to law school and have no intention of going. I don't know how useful it is specifically for the aspiring lawyer. But I do think it's well worth reading for anyone interested in thinking deeply about the world and how we move through it. Highly recommended.
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