Law Books Query

pokermonkey

Right, a bit of a random one for you.... (or maybe not!)

My better half is forever rabbitting on about law books she needs/wants.
She's currently in Kings Inns training to become a Barrister and has mentioned on numerous occasions that she would love some hard back editions of various books for exams, and for her practice when she qualifies.

So, with Christmas coming up i was thinking of getting her some (one or two depending on price).

My questions to you (hoping some of you are practicing Barristers) are:
a) are there any books (hardback and expensive) that you can't do without.
b) do these books basically become obsolete as soon as there printed given new law?
c) is there such thing as a antique law book? - and would it still be useful/relevant?
d) any recommendations?
e) is this even a good idea for a present!?!?

i think she just bought an evidence book, and i think she said she needed/wanted a constitutional book. Sorry i can't be more specific. I think its most likely she'll be getting into criminal or commercial once qualified.

Please excuse my ignorance on the matter as herself is clearly the intelligent one in this partnership!

Thanks in advance!

Wolfe Tone

Prepare to pay serious money. Well over a hundred quid a book I would imagine, going by the price I have had to pay, and I a only doing a degree atm.

pokermonkey

yeah, i know, i was doing a bit of googling on it and some of the books I think are what she wants are between €150 - €200. not pocket change!

Wolfe Tone

Your bet bet would be to ask her I think.

Although, would you like to be given a school book as a present? Though she may like that sort of thing you know her best!

FreudianSlippers

pokermonkey wrote: »

yeah, i know, i was doing a bit of googling on it and some of the books I think are what she wants are between €150 - €200. not pocket change!

My girlfriend is in the Inns... if I bought her a law book, it'd better be criminal in nature cuz she'd be up for my murder by week's end

paky

pokermonkey wrote: »

Right, a bit of a random one for you.... (or maybe not!)

My better half is forever rabbitting on about law books she needs/wants.
She's currently in Kings Inns training to become a Barrister and has mentioned on numerous occasions that she would love some hard back editions of various books for exams, and for her practice when she qualifies.

So, with Christmas coming up i was thinking of getting her some (one or two depending on price).

My questions to you (hoping some of you are practicing Barristers) are:
a) are there any books (hardback and expensive) that you can't do without.
b) do these books basically become obsolete as soon as there printed given new law?
c) is there such thing as a antique law book? - and would it still be useful/relevant?
d) any recommendations?
e) is this even a good idea for a present!?!?

i think she just bought an evidence book, and i think she said she needed/wanted a constitutional book. Sorry i can't be more specific. I think its most likely she'll be getting into criminal or commercial once qualified.

Please excuse my ignorance on the matter as herself is clearly the intelligent one in this partnership!

Thanks in advance!

your friend should try any of the uni campuses shes nearest too. surely there will be notices on billboards for law books.

are the books for kings inn any different from degree course books?

brehayes

For any one subject there is no one particularly favoured textbook. Different writers have different styles and all students don't necessarily like all writers.

Give her a voucher and let her choose!

Reloc8

Don't be buying them for future practice - they're all available for borrowing from the law library when she gets down there, and anyway will or may not be current once she starts practice. You want to be earning a substantial income as a barrister before you start buying text books as opposed to be using library books. They cost a lot of money particularly the 'recognised' texts.

As regards having your own copy for study that makes sense if you can afford it but its really a bit of a luxury when you consider the options of borrowing from Kings Inn library and photocopying relevant extracts. I make no comment on joint purchases by broke students who then take a liberal view of fair useage when it comes to photocopying. We've all been there. Anything actually worth owning as a student (i.e. a comprehensive text - as opposed to something which is more focused/specialist) in the commercial or criminal area will in fact probably run you about 300 quid or more. There might be some cheaper options in law of evidence but for that subject you're going to end up working off 3 or 4 texts so owning 1 is not a priority.

Anyway as regards selecting one if you are going to do buy her something either get vouchers or check the reading lists for what the lecturers are working off as there is plenty of material to be reading up on for exams without straying off those.

I do think that it is quite a luxury to buy the text books as a student, and a lot of people who start in the inns seem to convince themselves that they have to go and do this either because they are genuinely of the belief that this is so (which is wrong) or because they want some physical re-assurance that they are actually studying law.

brehayes

brehayes wrote: »

For any one subject there is no one particularly favoured textbook. Different writers have different styles and all students don't necessarily like all writers.

Give her a voucher and let her choose!

Let's see can we quantify how bad an idea this is:

1. Girlfriend is going through a pretty tough (albeit thoroughly enjoyable) post-graduate vocational course roughly equivalent to a Masters degree.

2. Christmas will be a welcome break.

3. Boyfriend decides to get her the legal equivalent of buying a housewife a new hoover for Christmas.

4. Boyfriend changes his mind and, to make it extra personal and special this Christmas, gets her a book voucher instead, just to show he really cares.

5. Girlfriend then ends both her relationship and her legal career as she takes her copy of the Rules of the Superior Courts (hefty text) and beats her boyfriend to death with it.

johnnyskeleton

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rumpole-Bailey-1-7-Complete-DVD/dp/B001G55AJE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1290605873&sr=8-1

All she'll ever need to know about criminal law and practice.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Garrows-Law-DVD-Andrew-Buchan/dp/B002UD54QA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1290605939&sr=1-1

Also good.

Reloc8

Get her some €6.00 lingerie hang on wrong thread.

Tom Young

If that was me. I'd get her Murdochs Legal Dictionary, Edit by Brian Hunt. Its less of a drain on the pocket and recently re-pubished. Otherwise Delany and McGrath on Practice and Procedure in The Superior Courts, or Benedict O'Floinn ... similar title.

pokermonkey

ha, thanks for the replies - very entertaining!

Yeah i know its an odd gift, but i'm pretty sure she'd love it. Not looking for textbooks, more reference books - but i do take your point on not bothering to buy them for the next few years as they'll change, and they're more of a luxury.

I like the idea of the legal box set. I think she's nerdy enough to love it.

Thanks for all your help. Think I might go down the "Spa-Day" route instead!

Cheers