Black's Law Dictionary, Eighth Edition

Rating:
Summary: The Bible of Legal Dictionaries
Review: Black's Law Dictionary continues as the preeminent legal dictionary in its eighth and latest edition and is a must have for even the smallest law library. The black hardcover replaces the not so aesthetically pleasing red cover in the seventh edition.

The U.S. Supreme Court cited to Black's Law Dictionary in 10 of the 82 opinions it issued during the 2003-2004 session and the Minnesota Supreme Court has cited to Black's Law Dictionary in 31 opinions since 2000.

Some of the new terms in the updated eighth edition include "cyberpiracy," "cyberterrorism," "chad," "ethnic cleansing," and "grandparent rights." Earlier editions had omitted some commonplace terms such as "sidebar comment" and "senatorial courtesy."

Editor in Chief Bryan A. Garner, who also authored A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage and The Elements of Legal Style, has been praised by the ABA Appellate Practice Journal as "the preeminent expert in America on good legal writing" and received the prestigious 1994 Henry C. Lind Award by the Association of Reporters of Judicial Decisions. Garner also received an honorary Doctor of Laws from Thomas M. Cooley School of Law in Michigan and heads Law Prose Inc., a continuing legal education group that trains judges and attorneys in legal writing and drafting. Black's Law Dictionary is not only an excellent reference book, but it is also an effective and persuasive authority to cite in briefs.

The latest edition continues the high standard set by Henry Campbell Black, an English legal scholar who authored treatises on topics from contracts to liquor laws, who compiled the first edition of Black's Law Dictionary in 1891.


Rating:
Summary: A Better Doorstopper or Child's Booster Seat Cannot be Found
Review: Every first year law student spends the evening before his or her first day of law school examining this weighty tome, leafing through its dense double-columned pages of arcane and obsolete legalese, rolling the syllables of Latin phrases like "consentientes et agentes pari poena plectentur" or "in dubio, pro legi fori" around on the back of the tongue, experimenting with various pronunciations of harsh old Anglo-Saxon terms like "lyef-geld" or "gisle" or "feoffee", and pondering the shaded meanings of such linguistic curiousities as "nudum pactum", "girth and sanctuary" or "estate tail". All of this and more is taken in by the eager law student, who reads on into the night before parking the tome on the shelf and dropping off to sleep. Nine times out of ten, the book thereafter remains unopened, gathering dust, dutifully moving from apartment to apartment, then from office to office in the course of one's legal career (should the law student be so fortunate as to have one). Very occasionally, the student or lawyer may encounter an unfamiliar word or phrase, and Black's Law Dictionary will come down off the shelf for a brief interlude. Those few lawyers who have the time or inclination will marvel at the wealth of legal arcanography contained between the boards of a single volume. One or two might even take it home for bedtime reading. For most, however, it is merely a part of the furniture, little used, underappreciated and generally ignored. Even so, I heartily recommend it, not only as an indispensible part of every lawyer's library furniture, but also as a veritable treasure trove of tidbits such as "lex fingit ubi subsistit aequitas", "tenants by the verge" and "smoke farthings". For sheer power to amaze and entertain, how could this not be one of the ten great books of the English language?


Rating:
Summary: A law students must have book...
Review: Every law student needs this book. It is a classic.

Best of Luck,


<a href="http://www.gregoryscolieri.com">Gregory Scolieri, Esq.</a>


 

Rating:
Summary: The Complete Law Dictionary
Review: One of the most valuable reference tools you will find. The pocket version of Black's Law Dictionary is better for travel to and from class. This however is an excellent addition to your permanent study area while attending law school.

Rating:
Summary: Black's Law Dictionary-8th Edition
Review: This edition has over 40T entries for legal research scholars.
The volume is written in simple English. It is well organized.
A number of fairly complex definitions are listed. Sample entries are:
o obiter- by the way
o particularity- detailed statement of particulars
o manifestly against the weight of evidence

The book is an excellent value for the price charged. It will
assist lawyers, legal students, scholars and the judiciary.


Rating:
Summary: The Universal Authority for Legal Definitions
Review: When the stakes are high, when failure is not an option, when there wont be a second chance, when reputations are on the table, there is only one book that you should have on your desk for legal definitions, and that book is Black's Law Dictionary. For years, Black's Law Dictionary has been a staple at firms large and small alike, serving as an invaluable reference when one needs a universally accepted and respected definition of a term.

Cases are often made (or not made) based not on a cold, dry reading of the law itself but rather the efficiency with which the practitioner conveys his point and makes it stand on its own. A compelling brief is often short but makes extensive use of powerful language to grab the reader's attention and hold it. A well written pleading will have it's reader thinking about the points made therein long after the proceeding has concluded.

This is a reference volume you will refer to time and time again, it is well worth the expense and no other product can compare. A mechanic is only as good as his tools, and a legal practitioner is only as good as the research materials he has access to.

Black's Law Dictionary is the most concise, most complete collection of legal definitions ever assembled.