Precedent Library for the General Practitioner

Publisher: Law Society Publishing

Editor: Martin Smith

Price: £99.95 (Book & CD-ROM)

Edition: 2nd Edition (November 2009)

ISBN: 978-1-85328-828-9

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During times of recession, many firms are looking at ways of cutting costs.  It is often the case that expensive textbooks, including precedents, are some of the first to go.  Precedents are, however, vital for many law firms, particular smaller and high street firms.  Martin Smith's Precedent Library for the General Practitioner aims to provide a cost-effective bank of precedents for such practitioners: this aim is largely achieved.

Written by an experienced practitioner, Martin Smith, who, as a partner in a two-partner firm, is ideally placed to write such a text, Precedent Library for the General Practitioner is separated into ten chapters.  These are: companies and partnership; conveyancing; employment; personal injury; general civil litigation; landlord and tenant; matrimonial and family; wills and probate; miscellaneous; and regulation and client care.  These topics perfectly cover the areas most relevant to a general practitioner.  Each chapter adopts a similar approach by having an introductory section explaining common issues, some commentary on the precedents and, finally, the precedents. 

The precedents range, on the whole, from good to excellent and provide a very good starting point for a general practitioner.  Lawyers in larger firms may, however, find some precedents of little use or out-dated in style.  For example, the general civil litigation chapter includes two precedents, a notice of acting in person and a notice of change of solicitor, which are both dealt with by a standard form issued with the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (Form N434).  Similarly, the author's written style is fairly old fashioned with phrases like "action" rather than "claim" and "we would be grateful if you could" instead of "please" often appearing.  Keen advocates of Plain English may, therefore, need to update the style.

For many lawyers, particularly those in smaller firms of less than 10 partners, Precedent Library for the General Practitioner is an extremely welcome text.  It covers many of the main precedents and, given its price and the free CD-ROM (which is a fantastic addition), should be part of a practitioner's library.  It is not, however, a perfect solution and the author may consider, in future editions, improving the text by updating the style and (possibly) joining forces with another author with a more narrow practice to ensure the selected precedents are the best they can be and more understandable to lay clients.

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