Lawless

The Miseducation of America’s Elites

By: Ilya Shapiro

Narrated by: Fred Stella

In the past, Columbia Law School produced leaders like Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Now, it produces window-smashing activists.

What happens when America’s top law schools stop believing in legal education? When protestors at Columbia broke into a building and created illegal encampments, the student-led Columbia Law Review demanded that finals be canceled because of “distress.” At Stanford, chanting activists, egged on by an associate dean, drove away a federal judge. Yale’s hostility to free speech led more than a dozen federal judges to boycott the school for clerkship hiring.

Law schools used to teach students how to think critically, advance logical arguments, and respect opponents. Now, those students cannot tolerate disagreement and reject the validity of the law itself. And yet, rioting Ivy Leaguers are the same people who will hold important government positions, fight constitutional lawsuits, and advise Fortune 500 companies.

In Lawless, Ilya Shapiro explains how we got here and what we can do about it. The problem is bigger than radical students and biased faculty—it’s institutional weakness. Shapiro met the mob firsthand when he posted a controversial tweet that led to calls for his firing from Georgetown Law. A four-month investigation eventually cleared him on a technicality. but declared that if he offended anyone in future, he’d create a “hostile educational environment” and be subject to the inquisition again. Not being able to do the job he was hired for, he resigned.

This cannot continue. In Lawless, Shapiro reveals how the warping of higher ed—and especially the illiberal takeover of legal education—is transforming our country. We’re handing the reins of power to lawless radicals who will be America’s future judges, prosecutors, politicians, and presidents. Unless we stop it now, the consequences will be with us for decades.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

Excellent book diagnosing the legal academy

law schools are not serving their students well. presenting an ossified and unified perspective that rejects diverse viewpoints, law schools are setting students up for failure. this book identified many of the pathologies in the system.

Exceptional!

Exceptional - to the point analysis and overview of Mr. Shapiro’s unfortunate experience with Georgetown Law’s leadership and DEI foundations. Thank you for sharing.

How to save universities

Shapiro's book captures a concerning moment in which one of America's greatest assets, its universities, are under attack. He documents his own experience and the pathway forward to bring sanity back to the academy. The book's rich content is paired with his excellent delivery. A truly great audiobook.

Truth and honesty about real life

Shapiro tells his story with clarity and keen analytical understanding. He makes his case by citing the events as they occurred and reciting quote from those involved. His broader applications to law school culture and pedagogy expose a crisis that today comes to fruition in front of our eyes. Legal education needs serious change - needs to get back to education not indoctrination.

Preachy dramatic voice

The author makes some very valid points but he could have done so in perhaps 1/3 of the length of the work. Additionally, too much of the book focuses upon his personal experience which in the end comes off as a rather sanctimonious rant. This is a shame because his fundamental message is an important one.