Rating: 
Summary: La créme de la créme...
Review: This is THE dictionary. If you are studying law or you are a translator (which is my case) in search of the best dictionary , cease looking, this is the book for you. I'm 100% sure it will never let you down. One last piece of advise: don't be cheap and buy the deluxe edition, it's black hardcover looks great in your bookshelf....
Rating:
Summary: Top of the class
Review: This recommendation is based on the assumption that the reader has already decided to purchase a legal dictionary.
I have found Black's pocket version the best of the portable legal dictionaries. There are more numerous entries and the definitions are clear and complete. I also like the grouping of specific definitions under a more general entry. For example, under "negligence" there are sub-entries for "active", "advertent", "comparative", "concurrent", "contributory", "criminal", "culpable", "gross", "imputed", "inadvertent", "joint", "negligence per se", "ordinary", "passive", "slight", and "subsequent." There are four pages of entries of types of contracts (from adhesion to void contracts) under the main definition of "contract."
This dictionary may be more expensive than the others, but in this case you'll get what you pay for. I have used Gilbert's, for instance, and found it to be inadequate and not as comprehensive as Black's.
One final note: The 2nd Pocket Edition is based on the larger Black's 7th Edition. An 8th Edition was released in 2004, so we might anticipate a 3rd Pocket Edition being released soon.
Rating: 
Summary: Okay for the bag.
Review: This reference is great for travels, but nothing to rely on. I only find half of the words I look up.
Rating:
Summary: Don't believe the hype
Review: While I consulted my pocket edition a decent amount in my first year, it was in no way something I couldn't live without (e.g., the Emanuel series, coffee). This is not a cheap volume for what you get -- specifically, *short* and spare definitions, the vast bulk of which you will never encounter.If you do the bulk of your studying in the library, you likely will find several big ol' Blacks stationed throughout, not to mention Am Jur and CJS and whatnot. In addition, Westlaw offers Black's definitions online, and Lexis has something similar. It's easy to find alternatives and go without. The definitions are so short that a term of any complexity might just as well be more confusing after consulting it. From what I can gather, the emphasis was on boiling definitions down, not on developing terse, informative definitions. (And I found at least one blatant editorial goof -- the omission of "barrister," despite its cross-reference at "solicitor"; omission of "renvoi") I mean, you don't even feel like you're reading a real dictionary; rather it's like some kind of perverse travel phrasebook. The bigger one is a better reference, but for the amount you'll actually need that kind of tool, you're better off spending the money on a good hornbook for a big class. My two cents: Garner ought to design a volume targeted at 1Ls, with 2/3 fewer terms (is "kleptomania" really necessary?) and two to three times the explanation. It should focus on stuff 1Ls are likely to encounter and not know, stuff for which a good, thorough, contextual explanation would really help students see how the piece fits into the puzzle. I truly can't think of one time I've used this book since my first year.
Rating:
Summary: Tool of the trade but needs to be on a CD
Review: Without question, Black's is the quintessential dictionary for lawyers, paralegals and others involved with the legal trade. Foolishly, it is not available in electronic format (a' la CD). There is a critical need for that. Forget the overpriced 7th edition released in Fall 1999. It is not worth $20 more.
Rating:
Summary: It is a real treasury!
Review: `If legal language is a fog, this is a valuable flashlight` TES. This is real treasury, I love this book, go and get it!
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