Recommended Reading

Recommended Reading List

From time to time we are asked to recommend resources for new PD professionals or those who would like more focused reading on a particular development-related topic.

We asked our Board members and our Trusted Advisors to identify a few seminal texts for our profession. While this list is by no means exhaustive, we hope it is a good starting point for your continued learning.

Note that articles in blue were written by a Trusted Advisor or TA alum and articles in lilac were authored by a current or former Board Member.

To sumbit a suggestion, please email us at info@pdclegal.org

Recommendations

Coaching Questions – A Coach’s Guide to Powerful Asking Skills (Tony Stoltzfus)
Co-Active Coaching (Henry and Karen Kimsey-House)
Let’s Coach All the Lawyers (Jessica Hernandez and Jessica Natkin)

Thinking Like a Writer (Stephen Armstrong and Timothy Terrell)
Difficult Conversations (Doug Stone and Sheila Heen)
Gain the Edge: Negotiating to Get What You Want (Martin Latz)*
Getting to Yes (Roger Fisher)
Legal Writing in Plain English (Bryan Garner)
Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading (Antonin Scalia) *free
Point Made (Ross Guberman)*
Point Taken (Ross Guberman)*
Simply Said (Jay Sullivan)
The Articulate Advocate (Brian K. Johnson)
The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen (Dan Heath)
The Psychology of Persuasion (Robert Cialdini)
Women Don’t Ask (Linda Babcock)
Working with Contracts (Charles Fox)

Creative Confidence – Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All (Tom Kelley and David Kelley)
Erin Walczewski’s Design Thinking article in NALP Bulletin
Six Thinking Hats (Edward De Bono)

White Fragility (Robin Diangelo)
The Warmth of Other Suns (Isabel Wilkerson)
A Knock at Midnight (Brittany Barnett)

Emotional Intelligence 2.0 (Daniel Goleman)

Feedback – Radical Candor (Kim Scott)
Thanks for the Feedback (Doug Stone and Sheila Heen)
You Get What You Measure (Scott Westfahl)*

A Life in the Law: Advice for Young Attorneys (William S. Duffey, Jr. and Richard A. Schneider)
A Young Lawyer’s Jungle Book (Thane Josef Messinger)
A Streetwise Guide to Litigation (Kenneth Noland)
An Associate’s First Year: A Guide to Thriving at a Law Firm (Jennifer Bluestein)
Anatomy of a Trial: A Handbook for Young Lawyers (Paul Mark Sandler)
Building Your Ladder: An Associates’ Guide to Success (Marian Lee)
Humor in the Salt Mines: A Master Lawyer’s Guide to Associate Success (Asa Rountree)
Introduction to Law Firm Practice (Michael Downey)
Jagged Rocks of Wisdom: Professional Advice for the New Attorney (Morten Lund)
Lawyers’ Professional Development: The Legal Employer’s Comprehensive Guide, 2nd Edition (Ida Abbott)
Rantings of a Partner and Pushback from the Associate (Bart Greenwald)
Stepping It Up: A Guide for Mid-Level Law Firm Associates (Jennifer Bluestein)
Swimming Lessons for Baby Sharks (Grover Cleveland)
The Creative Lawyer: A Practical Guide (Michael Melcher)
The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law (Mark Hermann)
The Essential Associate (Jay Harrington)
The Happy Lawyer: Making a Good Life in the Law (Nancy Levit)
The Marble and the Sculptor: From Law School to Law Practice (Keith Robert Lee)
The New Lawyer Survival Guide from Lemons to Lemonade (Richard Hermann)
The Paperless Law Office: A Practical Guide to Digital (Benjamin Yale)
The Partner Track: How to Go from Associate to Partner (Cliff Ennico)
The Rules of Retail for First-Year Performers (Werten Bellamy, NALP Bulletin article)
Tomorrow’s Lawyers (Richard Susskind)
What Law School Doesn’t Teach You But You Really Need to Know (Kimm Alayne Walton)
Your Billable Life: A Law Firm Survival Guide (Bruce Dravis)
Virtual Law Practice (Stephanie Kimbro)
50 Lessons for Women Lawyers – From Women Lawyers: Career and Life Lessons From 50 Successful Women Lawyers (Nora Riva Bergman)

Developing Legal Talent: A Practical Guide (Gaye Mara and Nora Mara, eds.)
Innovating Talent Management (Terri Mottershead, ed.)
A Learning Dialogue for the Evolving Legal Workplace (Kristen Hulse)

Roadmap (Neil Hamilton)
The Foundations for (Private) Practice: Building Professional Identity Through Law Firm Externships (Kristen Hulse)

Leadership for Lawyers (Rebecca Normand-Hochman & Heidi Gardner, eds.)
Primal Leadership – learning to Lead with Emotional Intelligence (Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee)
That’s What (She) Said (Joann Lipman)
The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups (Daniel Coyle)
The Leadership Imperative: A Collaborative Approach to Professional Development in the Global Age of More for Less (Scott Westfahl and David Wilkins)
Women Lead the Way (Linda Tarr-Whelan)

The Lawyer’s Guide to Mentoring (Ida Abbott)

All In (Josh Levs)
Drive (Daniel Pink)
Flow (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi)
Grit (Angela Duckworth)
Grit, the Secret to Advancement (Milana Hogan)
Lawyering from the Inside Out (Nathalie Martin)
Mindset (Carol Dweck)
Positive Professionals (Anne Brafford)*
The Granularity of Growth (Patrick Viguerie)
The Joychiever Journey (Tracy LaLonde)
The Power of Habit (Charles Duhigg)
www.Lawyerbrainblog.com

Deep and Deliberate Delegation (Dave Stitt)
Done 2.0 (Paul Burton)
Indistractible (Nir Eyal)
Quiet Spacing (Paul Burton)