Law students have it tough enough — if you aren’t spending most of your time learning how to think like a lawyer, then you might be worried about school payments. But, you can find many of the books you need or that might interest you as a law student for free or less than what you’d pay for a regular hardback or paperback book. While most of the books in this list of 33 must-read e-Books for law students are PDF, some were created for Kindle and two were created specifically for the iPhone or iPad.

Free

1. Acing Your First Year of Law School The Ten Steps to Success You Wont Learn in Class 2nd Edition: First published in 1999, this book has gone on to become one of the bestselling law school preparation books of all time.
2. American Law in the Twentieth Century: The first general history of its kind, this book describes the explosion of law over the past century.
3. An Introduction to the Philosophy of Law: Although Roscoe Pound wrote this treatise in 1922, the editions following this earlier edition simply expound on the original author’s writings.
4. Constitutional Law, Twelfth Edition: What a bargain on this book — Amazon sells the Kindle edition for over $65 USD.
5. Criminal Law and Procedure: This book delivers cutting-edge coverage of every aspect of the law and the duties a paralegal is expected to perform.
6. Essays on the Doctrinal Study of Law: The main focus is on the interpretation and systematization of legal norms. This book has yet to be released on Amazon.com at a price over $100 USD.
7. Exploring Private Law: This collection of essays by leading private law scholars makes an important contribution to the law literature.
8. Law’s Quandary: Steven Smith argues that our legal vocabulary and methods of reasoning are out of sync with the world view that prevails today in academic and professional thinking.
9. Planet Law School II: What You Need to Know (Before You Go), But Didn’t Know to Ask…and No One Else Will Tell You, Second Edition: This book offers in-depth advice on hundreds of legal resources.
10. The complete law school companion: how to excel at America’s most demanding post-graduate curriculum (1992): You can borrow this book from the Open Library. The author offers complete, accessible information on every topic of concern to law students.
11. The Law: Frederic Bastiat wrote this book in 1850, two years after the third French Revolution of 1848. The translation to American English occurred in 1874. This large-print free download represents a timeless perspective on law.
12. The Law-Making Process: Michael Zander is an acknowledged authority on the operation of the legal system.

Purchase Under $15

13. Insider’s Guide To Your First Year Of Law School: This book addresses current issues that law students face every day, including computers issues, the Socratic method, outlining and study tips.
14. Later-in-Life Lawyers: Tips for the Non-Traditional Law Student: This book compiles advice from the author and dozens of current and former “nontrads,” on such matters as dealing with family issues, payment for law school, survival in law school and more.
15. Law 101: Everything You Need to Know about the American Legal System: Akin to a crash course in the first year of law school, Law 101 is a clearly written, eminently readable guide to the tenets of the U.S. legal system.
16. Law School Confidential, Revised: A Complete Guide to the Law School Experience: By Students, for Students: Robert H. Miller demystifies the life-altering thrill ride that defines an American legal education by providing a comprehensive blow-by-blow chronological account of what to expect.
17. Law School Fast Track: Essential Habits for Law School Success: Law School Fast Track is a concise, inexpensive, and easy-to-read guide written in an approachable, peer tone.
18. Law School: Getting In, Getting Good, Getting the Gold: Law schools operate on an inductive basis, while most students rely on informal, deductive learning. This book bridges the gap between the two.
19. Law School Labyrinth: This book acts as a road map to the entire law school experience — from admissions to graduation and beyond. iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch download.
20. Paying for Law School: Author and attorney Steven Sedberry understands what potential law school students are going through. iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch download.
21. The Articulate Advocate: Based upon 25 years of experience from coaching practitioners, this handbook reveals techniques, including cutting-edge discoveries in linguistics, neuroscience, and sports psychology, to help litigators look, sound, and feel natural and polished in the courtroom.

Purchase between $15 and $25

22. Deconstructing Legal Analysis: A 1L Primer: Peter T. Wendel provides a variety of time-tested techniques-including a unique model for visualizing legal analysis-to teach students how to think like lawyers and take law school exams.
23. Getting to Maybe: Professors Fischl and Paul explain law school exams in ways no one has before, all with an eye toward improving the reader’s performance.
24. Guerrilla Tactics for Getting the Legal Job of your Dreams: The best job hunt book with a huge list of job hunting tactics that you can customize for your situation, weaknesses and strengths.
25. Law School Exams: Preparing and Writing to Win: This This 200-page book conveys two points about exam taking that are vital to every law student — Exam scores can always be improved if the student masters effective exam techniques and preparing to perform well on exams begins with a positive mind-set on the first day of class.
26. The Law Student’s Pocket Mentor: From Surviving To Thriving: Ann L. Iijima guides students from the summer before starting law school straight through to their first clerking experience.

Over $25

27. Anderson’s Business Law and the Legal Environment, Comprehensive Volume, 21st Edition: This is the #1 business law text with summarized cases on the market today.
28. Business Law: Text and Cases, 11th Edition: This book combines in-depth coverage of business law in a unique student-friendly format.
29. Modern Trial Advocacy: Analysis and Practice: 4th edition: Steven Lubet guides the beginning advocate from developing a winning case theory through all phases of trial.
30. Student’s Guide to Landmark Congressional Laws on the First Amendment: An excellent student resource providing the carefully edited text of 31 key landmark laws on First Amendment issues.
31. The Language of Law School : Learning to “Think Like a Lawyer”: This book may appeal to a wide spectrum of readers interested in the intersection of law, language, and society: sociolinguists; anthropologists; feminist, race, and social theorists, and law professors.
32. The Modern Scholar: Law of the Land: A History of the Supreme Court: This book explores the court as a living, breathing institution — one subject to the press of public opinion yet removed from its direct impact.
33. Volokh’s Academic Legal Writing: Law Review Articles, Student Notes, Seminar Papers, and Getting on Law Review, 4th Edition: Designed to help law students write and publish articles, this text provides detailed instructions for every aspect of the law school writing, research, and publication process.