We particularly like the reviews of the readability of each book – knowing whether a book is tough going or not certainly influences our choice!

View the list here.

We’ve put together a list of 5 fantastic guides for any student thinking about studying law, or coming into the subject for the first time. Any of them are worthwhile reading but they all have an angle on their introduction to a law degree. Take a look at our reviews below to see which ones will be useful to you.

Letters To A Law Student: A Guide To Studying Law At University

letters to a law student

About The Book

Author: Nick McBride
Paperback: 296 pages
Publisher: Longman (10 Aug 2006)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0582894255
ISBN-13: 978-0582894259

Studying law can often seem a bit daunting, but this book aims to expel any worries you might have and turn a law degree into an enjoyable, stimulating experience. It covers topics such as deciding where to study law, how to write brilliant essays, how to revise for your exams and how to decide what to do once you graduate. All the advice is completely practical which makes it a good reference guide to keep throughout your first year and beyond.

Nick McBride has an entertaining, honest style and this book will really help you to make up your mind about a law degree. If you’re thinking about going to university or you’re not quite sure about taking law yet, this is definitely the book for you.

Legal Skills

Legal Skills

About The Book

Author: Dr Emily Finch, Stefan Fafinski
Hardcover: 424 pages
Publisher: OUP Oxford (26 April 2007)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0199203903
ISBN-13: 978-0199203901

A law degree teaches you so many different skills it’s handy to have some advice on the best way to begin. Legal Skills sets out practical and easy to understand explanations of all the things you need to know – from how best to use cases to mooting. This book is ideal for students about to start their law degree and is a fantastic reference throughout the first year and beyond. It contains a handy glossary so you can refer back to any legal terms you don’t understand (or forget!).

The book also comes with access to an online resource centre with videos and extra content to bring the subject alive. We’d recommend this book to any first year students and anyone looking for a truly practical reference guide.

Using a Law Library: A Student’s Guide to Legal Research Skills.

Using a Law Library: A Student’s Guide to Legal Research Skills.

About This Book

Author: Peter Clinch
Paperback: 360 pages
Publisher: Blackstone Press; 2 edition (1 Jan 2001)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1841740292
ISBN-13: 978-1841740294

Law libraries can be daunting – when you’re undertaking research how do you know where to start? Legal texts seem to be the biggest books ever made and a common stumbling block for law students is finding their way round the library! Like most things it’s easy once you know how, and this book by Peter Clinch is a truly practical guide to getting the most out of law libraries. It contains a comprehensive description of the legal literature of England, Wales and the EC and explains how you should use law catalogues and indexes to find what you need.

During your law degree you’ll spend a lot of time researching so this book is incredibly useful for any student. It also explains how to record your research – for example in your essays or dissertation so you’re sure of getting it right first time. Peter Clinch’s guide is unique and a welcome addition to any law student’s bookshelf.

Learning The Law

Glanville Williams Learning the Law

About This Book

Author: Glanville Williams
Paperback: 293 pages
Publisher: Sweet & Maxwell; 13Rev Ed edition (25 Aug 2006)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0421925507
ISBN-13: 978-0421925502

We couldn’t leave out Glanville Williams’ Learning The Law – for over 50 years it’s been a popular introduction for students embarking on a law degree. It covers the same general topics as the two preceding books to equip you with everything you need to know to succeed in your study. How to interpret statutes, what to do with cases, taking part in mock trials and preparing for your exams are all covered, along with the all-important research skills you’ll need for your course. At under 300 pages it’s a very manageable overview and a great introduction to degree-level study.

Legal Method

Ian McLeod, Legal Method

About This Book

Author: Ian Mcleod
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; 6Rev Ed edition (16 Mar 2007)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0230013341
ISBN-13: 978-0230013346

Most students study law because they’d like to become lawyers, and if you’d like to know what working in the legal profession is like then this book offers some useful insight. It explains the English legal system and how lawyers navigate it – if you’re familiar with the legal skills discussed in the previous books you’ll see how lawyers apply them to real life situations. This isn’t a complete beginner’s guide but it certainly shows what to expect if you go on to a career as a lawyer. Useful if you’re still trying to make up your mind!

Bourne on Company Law

Product Details

Author: Nicholas Bourne
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Routledge-Cavendish; 1 edition (31 Oct 2007)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1845680316
ISBN-13: 978-1845680312
Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.4 x 2.4 cm

Product Description

An ideal introduction for a student facing the challenges of company law for the first time, this excellent textbook lucidly examines the fundamental areas of company law that are covered in most undergraduate law courses. The fourth edition of “Bourne on Company Law” has been extensively revised and updated in the light of the Companies Act 2006. It retains all of the most popular features from previous editions, including the understandable style, pedagogical support, and easy to use structure which enables readers to grasp the complexities of this fast moving subject.

“Bourne on Company Law” is one of the only textbooks on the market to include analysis and impact of the Companies Act 2006 pitched at an appropriate introductory level for undergraduate law students and non-law students taking modules in company law.The text is broken down into short, clear sections separated by subheadings for ease of navigation includes advice on further reading to point students towards sources for further study supported by a companion website offering twice annual updates to the law, helping to keep content current between editions. Bourne examines the impact of the changes in the Enterprise Act 2002, the Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) Act 2004, the Directors’ Remuneration Report Regulations 2002, and the Combined Code on Corporate Governance. Providing a comprehensive and precise account of this dynamic area of law, this book will be invaluable to both undergraduate law and non-law students taking courses in company law.

General Principles of Property Law

Product Details

Author: Sukhninder Panesar
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Longman (21 Mar 2001)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0582423325
ISBN-13: 978-0582423329
Product Dimensions: 23.5 x 15.6 x 1.4 cm

Product Description

This book provides an original introduction to the general principles of property law in England. Moving away from a compartmentalised approach to the study of law, the book allows the student to examine and understand the basic premise and idea of property, the law and its associated concepts. This book adds weight to the trend towards the teaching of general principles before the specific aspects of property law.

Property Law: Cases and Materials

Product Details

Author: Roger Smith
Paperback: 779 pages
Publisher: Longman; 3 edition (20 Jul 2006)
Language English
ISBN-10: 140580744X
ISBN-13: 978-1405807449
Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 17 x 4.4 cm

Product Description

Property Law: Cases and Materials is a comprehensive sourcebook suitable for students on property or land law courses. The material has been carefully selected to provide access to all cases and materials a property law student is likely to encounter during their studies. Whilst particularly suitable for use on property and land law courses on the LL.B; it also covers the requirements of the CPE, ILEX and combined law courses.

Employment Law: An Introduction

Product Details

Author: Stephen Taylor, Astra Emir
Paperback: 632 pages
Publisher: OUP Oxford (18 May 2006)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0199286760
ISBN-13: 978-0199286768
Product Dimensions: 24.2 x 18.8 x 3.8 cm

Product Description

This is a textbook on UK employment law which is both introductory and comprehensive. It is aimed primarily at people who have not studied law previously, but who are studying for qualifications at either undergraduate or postgraduate level that include employment law modules. The book is written in an accessible style, offering explanations of all key concepts, together with examples from the case law to help readers understand all major developments in the field. It differs from other texts on employment law in its extensive coverage of debates about the law, there is thus a considerable amount of evaluative material included alongside chapters which describe and explain the law.

Comparative examples are also included wherever possible. Practical aspects of bringing and defending claims in employment tribunals are also covered. There is also a supporting website which will contain regular updates on employment law as it develops, together with additional learning materials. Online Resource Centre Contains updates, additional chapters on employment law, outline answers to student exercises in the text, and web links.

About Stephen Taylor

Stephen Taylor is a senior lecturer in HRM at the Manchester Metropolitan University Business School, having been previously at UMIST. He is the CIPD’s national examiner for its ‘Managing in a Strategic Business Context’ paper. He has authored or co-authored several books including People Resourcing, Human Resource Management with Derek Torrington and Laura Hall, and the Employee Retention Handbook. In addition he has written many short articles, book chapters and research papers on resourcing and regulatory issues in HRM. He has worked as an academic now for eleven years. Prior to this he was a practising personnel manager in the NHS and in the hotel industry. He regularly represents people in employment tribunals.

Textbook on Contract Law

Product Details

Author: Jill Poole
Paperback: 667 pages
Publisher: OUP Oxford; 9 edition (22 May 2008)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0199233519
ISBN-13: 978-0199233519
Product Dimensions: 24.6 x 18.6 x 3.4 cm

Product Description

This ninth edition of the established Textbook on Contract Law by Jill Poole provides a wide-ranging and straightforward exposition of contract law. The text opens with an overview of the main issues surrounding contract law which places the subject in its wider context, then goes on to give a clear explanation of all the major areas of contract law encountered on undergraduate courses. Features of the book includes chapter summaries to draw key themes and issues together; examples and questions to encourage a deeper understanding of the often complex points of law; and extensive further reading lists of both texts and articles to guide students towards the most relevant and up-to-date resources available.

Online resource centre Lecturer resources – Testbank of 150 multiple-choice questions Student resources – Guidance on answering questions in contract law – Questions and answers – Student questions – Updates – Web links

About Jill Poole

Jill Poole is Professor of Commercial Law at the University of the West of England, a barrister of Lincoln’s Inn, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

The Law Machine

Product Details

Author: Marcel Berlins, Clare Dyer
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Penguin; 5Rev Ed edition (31 Aug 2000)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0140287566
ISBN-13: 978-0140287561
Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 1.8 cm

Product Description

The authors explain and discuss how the justice system evolved, the way it operates – including vivid descriptions of the trial process – and how lawyers work. Revised and updated throughout for this fifth edition, THE LAW MACHINE surveys recent developments in the workings of justice and the outlook for the future. ‘Refreshingly free of the patronizing attitude and the humbug with which other books about the legal system are riddled’ – THES

About Marcel Berlins and Clare Dyer

Marcel Berlins, a former practising lawyer, has written several books and presented a number of television series, including The Law Machine. He presents ‘Law in Action’ on BBC Radio 4 and writes a weekly legal column in the Guardian. Clare Dyer, asolicitor, is legal correspondent of the Guardian and the British Medical Journal.

Using a Law Library: A Student’s Guide to Legal Research Skills.

Product Details

Author: Peter Clinch
Paperback: 360 pages
Publisher: Blackstone Press; 2 edition (1 Jan 2001)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1841740292
ISBN-13: 978-1841740294
Product Dimensions: 22 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm

Product Description

The ability to undertake effective legal research is one of the basic skills required of a lawyer. Yet all too often students only acquire this skill by trial and error, failing to grasp the essentials of legal research at an early stage in their studies. This second edition not only describes the literature of law for England, Wales and the European Community, but now includes information and techniques on researching the law of Scotland and European human rights law. It also features information on the sources of law being created by the newly devolved legislatures in Scotland and Wales. This book provides advice on using a law library and how to make effective use of catalogues and indexes.

Its practical approach will help students undertake particular research problems, and it shows how to record and present the results of research in projects, dissertations and theses. The information is presented under standard headings, with diagrams and charts provided where possible to aid in the practical use of complex publications. The whole range of modern electronic sources is also explained.

About Peter Clinch

Peter Clinch is Information Specialist – Law at Cardiff University. He is experienced in teaching legal research skills and is the adviser on library provision and legal research skills training to the General Council of the Bar for England and Wales. He is the author of Teaching Legal Research. David R. Hart is Law Librarian at the University of Dundee. He is a former Chair of the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians and is presently Chairman of the Scottish Working Group on Official Publications.

Letters to a Law Student: A Guide to Studying Law at University

Product Details

Author: Nick McBride
Paperback: 296 pages
Publisher: Longman (10 Aug 2006)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0582894255
ISBN-13: 978-0582894259
Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 13.6 x 1.8 cm

Product Description

Letters to a Law Student is the definitive guide to studying law at university. It aims to turn the often daunting task of studying law into an enjoyable and stimulating experience. At the same time, reading Letters to a Law Student will help anyone who is thinking about studying law at university decide whether doing a law degree is the right option for them. Written in a lively, friendly and entertaining style, the book offers clear and helpful advice on all aspects of the study of law, including:

Whether you should study law at university O How to write first-class legal essays and problem answers O How to choose where to study law O What’s the best way to revise for O How to do well on the LNAT your law exams O What’s the best way to study law O How to do well in your exams O How to get the most out of your O What you will do after you leave.

Letters to a Law Student is essential reading for anyone who is doing, or thinking about doing, a law degree at university.

Product Reviews

‘The style was refreshingly honest and provided the reader with some excellent pointers and practical advice.’ Jason Grimster LLB (Hons) Cert Ed Head of Law, Brockenhurst College, Hampshire.

‘Plenty of insightful information and practical advice – a good choice for the prospective law student.’ Rob Cheeseman First year law undergraduate, University of Derby.

About Nicholas McBride

Nicholas J McBride is a Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge; he was formerly a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford.He is (with Roderick Bagshaw) the author of the bestselling textbook Tort Law, now in its second edition.