A Handbook of Basic Law Terms
(West Group, 1999)
Purchase from AmazonPurchase from Barnes & Noble
There are many things that educated people are expected to know something about. And when it comes to relative importance, few of those things can rival the law, which affects almost every aspect of modern life. The problem for those wishing to learn about law is that as society grows more complex by the year, so does our law. For some people, it’s tempting to give up trying to understand anything as complex as American law.
If you resist this temptation—and I hope you do—you’ll need some guidance. That’s where this book comes in. It might be called a dictionary of legal literacy: it contains the most important and most common words and phrases used in law. These terms denote fundamental legal concepts. And learning the vocabulary is an excellent start in learning about any discipline.
Whether you use this Handbook as a vocabulary-builder or as a quick reference, you’ll find it helpful.
“An invaluable work. This handy book puts at everyone’s fingertips the most important words of the law in a way that is both comprehensive and helpful. Anyone going through one of life’s many adventures with the law—buying a home, making a will, getting married, getting divorced, even just reading a good crime novel—will get invaluable assistance from the pages of this Handbook of Basic Law Terms.”
Professor Arthur Miller Harvard Law School
