About the Book
The most practical foundation for law students, combining content on the English legal system, academic and professional skills, and commercial awareness and employability.Legal Systems & Skills is the essential contemporary toolkit for law students, equipping them with the tools they need to thrive in their academic studies and onto employment.· Accessible and engaging, with a wide range of
pedagogical features to help students to apply their knowledge and think critically about the law· Learning supported by annotated documents, real-life examples, flowcharts, and diagrams, providing visual representations
of concepts and processes· Comprehensive content on employability, including CV preparation and transferable skills, alongside features like 'Practice tip', 'What the professionals say' and 'Selling your skills'· Expanded coverage on sentencing, the judiciary, new routes into the legal professions, and legal technology· New content on retained EU law, following post-Brexit changes· New chapter on revision and assessment including
topics on SBAQs, online assessment, and physical and mental wellbeingDigital formats and resourcesThe fifth edition is available for students and institutions to purchase in a variety of
formats, and is supported by online resources. · The e-book offers a mobile experience and convenient access along with functionality tools, navigation features and links that offer extra learning support: www.oxfordtextbooks.co.uk/ebooks · The online resources include self-test questions and links to useful websites for each chapter, interactive diagrams, guidance on the
practical exercises, and sample interview questions.
Table of Contents:
Part I Legal Systems
1: Introduction to law
2: Legal systems and sources of law
3: The court system of England & Wales
4: Legislation
5: Case law
6: Legal services and ethics
Part II Legal Skills
7: Reading cases and legislation
8: Research
9: Problem solving and case/matter analysis
10: Persuasive oral communication and presentations
11: Client interviews and meetings
12: Negotiation and mediation
13: Advocacy and mooting
14: Writing and drafting
15: Revision and assessment
Part III Employability and Commercial Awareness
16: Making yourself more employable
17: CVs, applications, and interviews
18: Understanding clients: individuals and businesses
19: Businesses and the business environment
20: Essential economics and finance
21: Law firms as businesses
About the Author :
Scott Slorach (consultant editor) is a Professor and Director of Teaching & Learning at York Law School, University of York. He is also a Visiting Professor at the University of Strathclyde, and has previously held visiting roles in Australia and Singapore. A qualified solicitor with City experience, he is currently co-author of Business Law (OUP). Scott specializes in the design, delivery, assessment, and review of legal education at all levels;
he has held various roles with the SRA, and worked on projects with a range of HE institutions, regulators, and law firms. Judith Embley recently retired as an Associate Professor at the University of Law. She qualified
as a solicitor in 1980, practising in a Lincoln>'s Inn firm, and began teaching law in 1999 as a Visiting Lecturer at Bellerby>'s College and then Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge. She joined the University of Law in 2001, where she has taught contract, commercial, and business financial law. She now contributes to the design of graduate and postgraduate course materials and assessments as a visiting lecturer. She is joint author of Commercial and Intellectual Property
Law and Practice and Legal Foundations, two of the University of Law>'s Legal Practice Guides. Peter Goodchild is an Associate Professor and National Programme Director for Law Conversion Courses at the University of Law. He
read Politics, Philosophy and Economics at St. Anne's College, Oxford, then attended the University of Law and qualified as a solicitor in 1997, into commercial practice. He joined the University of Law in 2000, where he has taught the English legal system, contract, tort, ethics, commercial, IP, and business structures law. Peter is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. In addition to over twenty years of teaching experience, he has wide experience of designing programmes and has been an
author of texts on tort, commercial law, IP law, and the English legal system. Catherine Shephard is a Reader in Practice-Informed Legal Education at Manchester Law School. She read law at Emmanuel
College, Cambridge, and practised as a solicitor in corporate finance. Catherine>'s work responds to the increasing emphasis on skills and the growing alignment between academic and professional legal education. Drawing on her experience in professional legal practice and leadership in professional and academic legal education, Catherine communicates her ideas through books, journal articles, professional practice publications, conference papers, presentations, and in the classroom.
Catherine enjoys working collaboratively with leading law firms, in-house legal departments, legal education providers, widening participation charities, PSRBs, and her colleagues and students.
Review :
An excellent resource: this well-written book provides a good introduction and overview to a broad range of topics and skills for undergraduate students.
A comprehensive book covering the key aspects of the legal system, legal skills and employability skills--the employability section is particularly important and useful.
The quality of the book's content is generally very high. The sections on practical skills and commercial awareness are particularly relevant and have a good level of detail and information.
This textbook is great value for money and has great coverage. Fundamentally, the book puts the law into context, with an excellent number of examples to illustrate key legal skills concepts, and helps students draw introductory links between the different year one modules. I particularly like that the book does not become redundant after first year and is relevant to students throughout their LLB Law journey.
Well-written and structured: Slorach's strength remains the ability to present concisely a variety of topics on content and skills.
