The Tools of Argument: How the Best Lawyers Think, Argue, and Win
- Downloads：3686
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-08-18 06:55:44
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Joel P. Trachtman
- ISBN：1481246380
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Joel Trachtman's book presents in plain and lucid terms the powerful tools of argument that have been honed through the ages in the discipline of law。 If you are a law student or new lawyer， a business professional or a government official， this book will boost your analytical thinking， your foundational legal knowledge， and your confidence as you win arguments for your clients， your organizations or yourself。
Reviews
Michaell Cavllaro
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Learn How Lawyers ThinkReading this book really gave me a good understanding how lawyers thing。 Law is more then just referencing cases and court decisions。 It's also about how to present a case。 Learn How Lawyers ThinkReading this book really gave me a good understanding how lawyers thing。 Law is more then just referencing cases and court decisions。 It's also about how to present a case。 。。。more
Kyle
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Joel Trachtman compiles a useful， non-technical book for the "layperson" to understand the tools and approaches to arguments that are taught in law schools。 Having these presented in a clear way， with both easy to understand examples provides a great background。Joel does come off touting his credentials a bit and it takes on a somewhat condescending tone at times。 The book could use additional examples to be more engaging for the reader。 Joel Trachtman compiles a useful， non-technical book for the "layperson" to understand the tools and approaches to arguments that are taught in law schools。 Having these presented in a clear way， with both easy to understand examples provides a great background。Joel does come off touting his credentials a bit and it takes on a somewhat condescending tone at times。 The book could use additional examples to be more engaging for the reader。 。。。more
Abby
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Whether you are a 0L or 1L this is a great book to read。
William Thompson
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Not exactly an exhilarating read。 The main point: laws are rules that fit into “if-then” statements; in a given case， identify the facts and circumstances， test them against the rule/law （or find a more relevant rule/law and assume that burden of proof）， and explain why/why shouldn’t the law apply here; oh， and strive to be consistent and to apply the effects of others’ consistency to your synthesis。
Mirdhula
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Excellent！ I would highly recommend this book to new lawyers / law student who participate in moots。 The book is structured in a way to go through every single process in a litigation right from gathering information to closing statements。
Sinta
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Skimmed to prompt ideas for Jessup。 Knew the tricks already but very helpful to have them all structured up to kickstart your brain。
Jacob Kuba
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Think everybody should read this to better understand how to debate/argue with others。
Jose Roberto
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Pretty cool book， written in a very simple manner， understanding it is not complicated。 Kudos to the author for that。 Transmitting knowledge in a easy-to-comprehend way is not easy at all， and he achieves it here big time。 Great sights on different matters， and as a professional I'm aware of many of these techniques and viewpoints， but the book gave me new approaches to understand negotiation and argumentation。 I highly recommend this book to any Law student and even to lawyers。 It's never too l Pretty cool book， written in a very simple manner， understanding it is not complicated。 Kudos to the author for that。 Transmitting knowledge in a easy-to-comprehend way is not easy at all， and he achieves it here big time。 Great sights on different matters， and as a professional I'm aware of many of these techniques and viewpoints， but the book gave me new approaches to understand negotiation and argumentation。 I highly recommend this book to any Law student and even to lawyers。 It's never too late to check out this book and absorb this valuable content。 。。。more
Sergio GRANDE
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If you are halfway through Law School， brimming with ejusdem generis， post hoc ergo propter hoc and obiter dictum， and can tell your Brandeis brief from a collateral estoppel， this book will get you salivating。 If you’re an average Joe， there isn’t much for you here -even if the author tells you so。 He’s a lawyer who wants you to buy his book。
Shae
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Great read if you are a student of law， lawyer， or work in the legal field。 Most other reviews that state this book is not for everyone is correct in that aspect。 Most of the reasoning is for educated legal arguments， not everyday conversation， but you can certainly add the content in the book to your repertoire。
Renanreismartins
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Interesting intro on law argumentation。 Not really tools for a normal conversation。
Jon
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A helpful guide to crafting effective arguments。 I chose to read this out of pure curiosity， and it was a nice review of logic。
S
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Seems like a wonderful book for law students and people practicing law。 However， as a normal person who just wanted to brush up on debate skills， lots of the stuff in here flew over my head。
Shubha Jindel
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Should've read it in the first year of law school。 Book - 4 stars。 My timing - 0 Should've read it in the first year of law school。 Book - 4 stars。 My timing - 0 。。。more
Ghost14
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Well presented hypotheses and cases of arguments not just restricted for the legal eyed。 Does get heavy on the concept where a few more case studies might have helped， to re inforce mental translation to application in the real more general world rather than be legal centric
Terri Short
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Well written， well worth the read As someone interested in going to law school， this provides exactly what I was looking for。That is; an introduction as to what law is， what it isn't， why it is and more importantly， how lawyers think。If I could give it 6 stars， I definitely would！ Well written， well worth the read As someone interested in going to law school， this provides exactly what I was looking for。That is; an introduction as to what law is， what it isn't， why it is and more importantly， how lawyers think。If I could give it 6 stars， I definitely would！ 。。。more
Paul C。 Stalder
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Absolutely a must read for aspiring lawyers。 I should have picked this up in the year before law school， instead of the year after。 A number of the "tools" within were either expounded upon in law school， or simply figured out as the student fumbled toward a passing grade。 That said， it remains beneficial， if only for the succinct nature。 It is a reminder of principles we would all be remiss to forget。 I will be returning to these pages to keep the "tools" sharpened。 And will be recommending it Absolutely a must read for aspiring lawyers。 I should have picked this up in the year before law school， instead of the year after。 A number of the "tools" within were either expounded upon in law school， or simply figured out as the student fumbled toward a passing grade。 That said， it remains beneficial， if only for the succinct nature。 It is a reminder of principles we would all be remiss to forget。 I will be returning to these pages to keep the "tools" sharpened。 And will be recommending it to those wayward souls entering the noble profession I have the privilege of calling my own。 。。。more
Edward Joyner
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Great insight into legal arguments One of the best books I have read on the subject。 Concise and cogent。 I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to reason effectively。
John
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Interesting straight to the point short book for the intellectual layperson， fresh lawyer or law student。 The author gives helpful examples of arguments and counter-arguments that lawyers may be faced with it。 My-self being in middle management I picked up， among other items， that: Healthy skepticism IS necessary; ensure you probe， probe， probe asking lots of questions for the assurances/ info needed， written agreements no matter how basic they are a must/ think ahead - add specific clauses no m Interesting straight to the point short book for the intellectual layperson， fresh lawyer or law student。 The author gives helpful examples of arguments and counter-arguments that lawyers may be faced with it。 My-self being in middle management I picked up， among other items， that: Healthy skepticism IS necessary; ensure you probe， probe， probe asking lots of questions for the assurances/ info needed， written agreements no matter how basic they are a must/ think ahead - add specific clauses no matter how ludicrous they may sound; don’t sell your soul keep your moral compass， if you’ve been found to be a liar/untrustworthy among the circle of peers/opponents/and importantly clients its time to move far away 。。。more
Adrian Halpert
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Trachtman has given us a really good roadmap of different forms of argumentatin that lawyers use and provided some really good examples。 Any law student or lawyer who reads this will recognzie thatwe dealt with a number of the types of argument he discusses in L1， such as the interpretation of statutes and precedent。 However， he did cover a few things we didn't discuss in law school， at least not on any of the classes I've taken， most notably procedural arguments。 His point that we tend to formu Trachtman has given us a really good roadmap of different forms of argumentatin that lawyers use and provided some really good examples。 Any law student or lawyer who reads this will recognzie thatwe dealt with a number of the types of argument he discusses in L1， such as the interpretation of statutes and precedent。 However， he did cover a few things we didn't discuss in law school， at least not on any of the classes I've taken， most notably procedural arguments。 His point that we tend to formulate our arguments around the structural pathways we follow in legal procedures is a really interesting idea and is becoming recognized more broadly in the legal community。 For example， in the common law system， we use an advesarial system and structure our legal thinking and argumentation around this idea。 However， in recent years many jurists have been questioning whether the advesarial system is necessarily the best way to handle certain types of stuations， which has led to the establishment of more collaborative， inquisitorial style， mental health courts and community based sentencing circles in aboriginal communities。 In both cases， the differeing court structures has led to differing approaches to argumentation。 This is a really cool idea that demands to be explored further。 In sum， this is a great resource for law students and lawyers as either a refresher or food for thought and I would highly recommend it。4/5 Stars 。。。more
Peter Van Der Walt
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Not for everyone。。。 but an excellent book if you are a lawyer， a debater， or often find yourself in an argument。 It's a list， broken down and explained。 "You can argue this， if that doesn't work， try option B， or C。" Probably not a relaxing read。。。 but a very useful tool。 Vital reading if making or breaking arguments are part of your day job。 Not for everyone。。。 but an excellent book if you are a lawyer， a debater， or often find yourself in an argument。 It's a list， broken down and explained。 "You can argue this， if that doesn't work， try option B， or C。" Probably not a relaxing read。。。 but a very useful tool。 Vital reading if making or breaking arguments are part of your day job。 。。。more
Ian
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This is generally good。A few problems I found。 The author often uses terms that they do not define。In places its not very readable but perhaps this is sacrificing clarity for precision， which is what lawyers do。My main issue is that the author constantly gives examples that aren't really examples but just restatements of a principle， in the form of dialogue。 This is generally good。A few problems I found。 The author often uses terms that they do not define。In places its not very readable but perhaps this is sacrificing clarity for precision， which is what lawyers do。My main issue is that the author constantly gives examples that aren't really examples but just restatements of a principle， in the form of dialogue。 。。。more
Ahmad
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Very informative book。 The books I've read on how to argue tend to give broad， impractical info like "be confident" and stuff of that sort， but this one has a lot of practical how to information。 Cool info and made me have a greater appreciation for the profession and to law as a whole。 Awesome read。 Very informative book。 The books I've read on how to argue tend to give broad， impractical info like "be confident" and stuff of that sort， but this one has a lot of practical how to information。 Cool info and made me have a greater appreciation for the profession and to law as a whole。 Awesome read。 。。。more
Sanam
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Good read This book covers good Key points。 Very Well written。 Good to know some tricks of trade of the legal industry。
Kyle Lu
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It's an amazing book for Trachtman was able to synthesize the concepts of law， the legal profession， procedural law， substantive law， and statutory construction。 It's an amazing book for Trachtman was able to synthesize the concepts of law， the legal profession， procedural law， substantive law， and statutory construction。 。。。more
Rakesh Ohan
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Excellent。 I crave for more of such reading。An excellent book。 I learnt a lot。 Thank you author。 Please suggest more books of such quality and content。 Thanks again。
Sauod Almutawa
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I found the book to be a memory refresher。 Partly because the majority of contents were studied at law school， and due to it being my job。 The author guides the reader towards a fact， that lawyers （most law proffesions in fact） think in a particular way， that differs from others。 This way of thinking， is inspired by mental tools that partitions variables and constants in any legal issue into X， Y and Z， and from that point， conclude the X result。 This way of thinking is a mental upgrade to be ho I found the book to be a memory refresher。 Partly because the majority of contents were studied at law school， and due to it being my job。 The author guides the reader towards a fact， that lawyers （most law proffesions in fact） think in a particular way， that differs from others。 This way of thinking， is inspired by mental tools that partitions variables and constants in any legal issue into X， Y and Z， and from that point， conclude the X result。 This way of thinking is a mental upgrade to be honest， with time and practice， it reforms your personality into a ruthless being that parks his emotions 10 miles away。（Pardon my English） 。。。more
Paul Bulger
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This is a really neat guide into how to take a stance and adequately defend it， but I really wish more of these principles were adequately demonstrated with examples of how each of these strategies have been used in court。
R
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This book is good for a new law student。 I appreciate the 'point and counter-point' sections as it shows that the author is able to think flexibly。 However， I wish some of the ideas， such as 'passive virtue' & 'passive aggression'， had been expanded upon。 I'm glad that I was exposed to the ideas but I couldn't transform them into anything practical as the explanations were too short and vague。 This book is good for a new law student。 I appreciate the 'point and counter-point' sections as it shows that the author is able to think flexibly。 However， I wish some of the ideas， such as 'passive virtue' & 'passive aggression'， had been expanded upon。 I'm glad that I was exposed to the ideas but I couldn't transform them into anything practical as the explanations were too short and vague。 。。。more
Sara
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