Nutshells: Company Law

Author: Francis Rose

Price: £10.95

Edition: 6th Edition (March 2009)

ISBN: 978-1-847-03766-4

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Those tackling company law for the first time will quickly become aware that the Companies Act 2006 spans more than 1,000 sections.  This is, however, just the tip of the iceberg as there are numerous other statutory provisions, including both Acts of Parliament and statutory instruments, which make a company law statute book extremely bulky.  It is often therefore very difficult for students, or even lawyers, to become familiar with the material.  Nutshells: Company Law tries to overcome this problem.

Written by Francis Rose, one of the most striking features of Nutshells: Company Law is its size.  At only 129 pages, it is certainly one of the shorter texts from the Nutshells stable.  It also aims to cover a wide range of topics including: promotion; attracting investments; raising and maintaining capital; shares; borrowing; liability for officers and agents; rights of members; management, receivership and administration; duties of directors; company and shareholder proceedings; liquidations and unfair prejudice.  It is an ambitious task to try and cover these diverse topics in such a short text.  Unfortunately, it does not quite meet this bold aim.

The written style of Nutshells: Company Law is certainly engaging.  It makes what is often a dry subject easy to follow.  The trade-off is, however, that it gives a rather superficial explanation of the law and overlooks some of the more subtle issues which must be discussed by students to reach high marks.  If, however, you are struggling understanding company law at a rather high level, Nutshells: Company Law comes into its own and provides a clear explanation of the law.  A particularly pleasing aspect of the text is that the author, instead of simply providing an overview, does refer (where relevant) to appropriate case-law.  This, at the very least, provides a platform for further research and study.

For readers wanting a high level (if a little superficial) overview of company law, they should look no further than Nutshells: Company Law.  It is not, however, and should not be used for more than a steer in the right direction or as a flash-light for readers struggling to see the wood for the trees.  It has some rather neat features, including the numerous references to relevant case-law, which provide an excellent starting point for further study.  If it is combined with a more substantial textbook on company law, Nutshells: Company Law will be a very useful addition to any library.

Reviewed on 20 February 2011

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