Is sleep walking 'insanity'?...Legally; yes! (Oxford Dictionary of Law - Elizabeth A. Martin)

Member Name: TheViolinist

Product:	Oxford Dictionary of Law - Elizabeth A. Martin
Date:	16/01/08 (96 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Authoritative and reliable information, provides 'legal' definitions, relatively cheap.

Disadvantages: Some definitions are quite technical themselves, doesn't contain everything.

Overview

From 'Abandonment' to 'Zero Rated Supply' this book aims to define many of the sometimes unnecessarily complex legal terms. It is important to note that some words such as 'insane' have a very different and highly specific meaning in law than they do by the common understandings, therefore simply referring to an ordinary dictionary for these words can result in erroneous preconceptions.
It is a good idea to look up words in the legal context even if you believe that you understand the meaning of a word already by its everyday sense.


Cover

The cover, in my personal opinion, is attractive and easy on the eyes, it has a very modern look which will suit most, but it wouldn't be suited amongst any antiquity collections such as Halsbury's Laws of England.

Unlike a lot of law related books, the cover is inviting and appears to be aimed towards students and the general public.


Content

I would recommend this book to 3 main groups; lawyers, clients, and students. I'll go on to explain why this book is relevant to these groups.

Students (Law Students mainly) - So, you are new to law and it seems that what are essentially simple concepts are made extremely confusing because of the wording used, this is especially true for statute law in which the use of specific words is highly important. This book, in my opinion, is essentially for students and is available relatively inexpensively. Not only will it provide an understanding for legal terms and phrases, but it is also a very authoritative source to reference in assignments and essays. This book functions as an excellent starting point for research.

Clients - So you are about to get involved in a legal process of some kind. I'll use an example of conveyancing of property; lets presume that you were buying a house with friends, your solicitor asks you "would you wish to have a 'Joint Tenancy', or a 'Tenancy in Common'?" Do you even know what they are? Both are significantly different, and will yield very different results if a dispute were to arise. Many problems have arisen because of solicitors 'presuming' the intention of parties (for example, that a man and a woman buying a house must be a couple so would want to have equal shares, even if one of them didn't actually pay any money towards the property) so instead of leaving it to a solicitor, take a little initiative and arm yourself with the knowledge that this book can provide. It is also very helpful for interpreting statute law.

Lawyers - One word can make the world of difference, something that is especially true in the realms of contract law. No matter how well you think you know something, particularly in regards to legal terms, it is always reassuring to double check. It can also prove helpful for the curious client and common 'what is...' questions.


Ease of Use

A very useful feature is that the edge of the pages are letter marked, so you can tell where each letter begins and ends without even opening the book.

The definitions themselves can be quite technical at times, sometimes requiring definitions of their own, this can be particularly true for students or public laypersons. Generally however, the definitions are concise and sufficiently explanatory.


Price

The book is available from some specialized book shops or from most online book retailers. The ISBN code is 0-19-280698-X.

The price is 11.99 which, as many students and lawyers will be aware, is relatively cheap for a law book.

This is an invaluable resource for students and clients and I would highly recommend it to anyone dealing with aspects of the law.

Summary: Make sense of the complex world of law.