Collecting Rare Books Makes Me a Better Lawyer

Manatt Health Partner wrote an article for Law360 about how some of the stories in his collection of books by early American lawyers have helped him navigate his own practice.

A collector of books on history, law and politics from some of the nation’s founding attorneys and historical figures, Brown highlights three stories from his collection that have helped him improve his skills as an attorney. For a lesson in outside-the-box thinking, Brown pointed to Andrew Hamilton’s bold defense in one of the colonies’ most celebrated cases for protecting free speech.

“Lawyering can be restricting at times. We are taught in law school to think a certain way in order to be successful,” Brown said. “But in my 35 years as a lawyer in private practice, government and healthcare, I have found it especially important to resist that restriction.”

Massachusetts lawyer James Otis, despite losing a case that propelled him to notoriety, inspired a young John Adams, who went on to pen the state’s Constitution that served as a model for many others. Within it, Adams wrote about the necessity of virtue for preserving rights and liberties, which Brown said served as an inspiration to hold sacred the concept of a person’s fundamental right to a defense.

“As lawyers, it is easy to keep our heads down—to stay focused on the particulars of our work,” Brown said. “My books help me see the bigger picture and remind me that, in addition to providing great client service, I have a broader responsibility to society at large.”

Read the full article .