Osborn's Concise Law Dictionary

Editor: Mick Woodley

Price: £11.95

Edition: 11th Edition (February 2009)

ISBN: 978-1-84703-308-6

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It is important that any law dictionary has three features: firstly, that it is easy to read; secondly, that it is authoritative; and thirdly, that it defines all of the commonly used legal phrases and words.  Osborn's Concise Law Dictionary has all three features meaning it is an indispensable dictionary for anyone studying or practising law.

Edited by an experienced legal academic together with a team of specialist authors, Osborn's Concise Law Dictionary is separated into three parts.  Firstly, like many of its competitors it includes an A to Z list of various legal words and phrases.  Secondly, and somewhat uniquely, it includes an excellent summary of the main short citations for journals and articles (which is extremely useful).  Finally, it includes a list of monarchs since William the Conquer together with details of their reign.

By dealing with the material in this way, Osborn's Concise Law Dictionary has an edge over similar texts in this competitive market.  The definitions, which obviously form the majority of the text, are generally excellent meaning the reader can understand and rely upon them.  Further, they are also clearly cross-referenced meaning if part of the explanation is further defined, the reader is quickly aware.  My favourite feature is, however, the summary of citations meaning time trying to find the full journal name is fortunately avoided.

Anyone tackling law for the first time or needing a handy sized dictionary of legal phrases and words together with a summary of legal citations should look no further than Osborn's Concise Law Dictionary.  Each definition is well-explained and cross-referenced meaning confusion when reading law reports including numerous technical or Latin phrases should be avoided.  Its price also means it provides excellent value for money.

Reviewed on 22 March 2009

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