Glanville Williams: Learning the Law

Author: A.T.H. Smith

Price: £13.50

Edition: 14th Edition (July 2010)

ISBN: 978-0-414-04173-8

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Any student, new or old, will agree that the first few weeks of a law degree are one of the most daunting times in a young lawyer's career (perhaps second only to their first appearance before a judge in Court!).  The law library has endless rows of textbooks, looseleafs, journals and statute books which seem to make little, if any, sense.  The lectures also seem difficult and complex.  What a student really needs at this time (and sometimes throughout their professional career!) is a helping hand: this new edition of Glanville Williams: Learning the Law, now in its fourteenth edition, provides exactly this.

Glanville Williams: Learning the Law is an inconspicuous looking text: being small enough to fit neatly into a coat, suit jacket pocket or handbag.  It is neatly split into fourteen chapters: the divisions of law; the European dimension, the mechanisms of scholarship; methods of study; technical terms; case law technique; the interpretation of statutes; working out problems; answering essay questions; in the examination room; moots and mock trials; legal research; from learning to earning; and general reading.  This is an impressively comprehensive coverage and covers all the key skills that any aspiring lawyer must have and the topics they must master.

Each chapter of Glanville Williams: Learning the Law is well-written and easy to understand.  Its compact size does, however, mean the font is a little small: students with less than 20:20 vision may need to keep a magnifying glass close to hand!  Putting this point aside, the quality of the text is impressive.  For example, chapter twelve provides an excellent introduction and 'crash-course' on legal research: a vital skill for a lawyer at any stage of their career.  Similarly, chapter four gives superb hints and tips on methods of study: from taking notes to reading texts and casebooks.  These are invaluable hints and tips that the reader can take throughout their professional life.

At less than £14, I have no hesitation in recommending Glanville Williams: Learning the Law to anyone studying, or about to study, law.  It provides a fantastic insight into what is actually needed to be a successful lawyer.  Indeed, the lessons that the reader learns from this text will often guide and shape their own career.  My recommendation for anyone interested in law is to read Glanville Williams: Learning the Law at least once and, perhaps, even twice or three times.  If, at this stage, the reader is still keen on studying law then they will have no better grounding and avoid unnecessary worry.  Surely buying this text and passing on a few pints in the student bar is a worthwhile investment?

Reviewed on 2 January 2011

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