Book Description
Arguably the most valuable reference tool available to the legal community, Black's Pocket Dictionary provides more than 10,000 clear, concise, and precise definitions. The essential companion dictionary to the Standard edition and as a stand-alone tool, Black's Pocket Dictionary also includes a dictionary guide and the complete U.S. Constitution. Black's is cited more than any other legal dictionary, comes recommended by law faculty, and is available in the pocket format and a variety of other useful editions.
Customer Reviews:
Words of Law.......2007-05-18
As a working librarian, I had this valuable dictionary near my desk through several incarnations. Patrons searching to understand their insurance policies, a court order, a contract and other legal documents expected the librarian to know all the words. With "Black's Law Dictionary" we were able to decipher most of the jargon to the patron's satisfaction.
I have added it to my personal writing reference shelf to make sure a character is using the proper term and it is spelled correctly in our stories.
Nash Black, author of "Qualifying Laps" and "Taxes, Stumbling Blocks for Authors 2007."
LEGAL DEFINITIONS.......2007-01-14
FOR THE YEAR THIS BOOK WAS PRINTED THE LEXICOGRAPHICAL ENTRIES WERE VERY ACCURATE. ADDING THE U.S. CONSTITUTION TO THE APPENDIX WAS A NICE BONUS.
Smaller but still takes up space..........2006-11-10
Although much smaller than the full text version, this one still gets annoying in the backpack all day. However, I must say I use it often and more frequently than I use online dictionaries...
the law student's bible.......2006-11-05
You can probably get all the defs of the words you need off of Westlaw, but it's much more convenient to have this book next to you for you to thumb through real quick. I'm half-way through my first semester and my book is already roughed up and tattered from use.
Black's Law Dictionary .......2006-08-18
Good value. As described. Came promptly. Great Service.
Book Description
This deluxe edition has more than 43,000 definitions, plus almost 3,000 quotations. Alternative spellings or equivalent terms and expressions are provided for more than 5,300 terms and senses, serving a thesaurus-like function. The extensive appendix on legal abbreviations is a major addition. It's the first time such a comprehensive guide has been included in a modern law dictionary, and is an invaluable aid to the legal researcher.
Customer Reviews:
Black's Law Dictionary.......2006-07-10
As a corporate lawyer Living in Mexico City Amazon is a fantastic tool which gives me access to many books I would otherwise find impossible to get. The speed is quite amazing too!
Nice Look; Very Useful.......2006-06-24
I bought this dictionary along with the pocket version for school. Although I do agree with the prior rating that the cover could be slightly nicer, I am happy with my purchase. My cover has not scratched nor bent. I find the tabs very helpful.
The book looks very nice on my bookshelf, and the other hardbacks that I have viewed are not much cheaper. If you are looking to save money, buy the pocket edition. But, if you are going to spend the money for a hardback, I would suggest something that is not only useful but looks nice as well.
Not all that deluxe.......2004-12-18
I have to preface my review with a caveat: Black's is indispensible and if you're reading this, you need it. Also, I haven't looked through it extensively and so don't purport to rate this edition over the last one, just this deluxe version.
Having said that, I can't recommend this particular version with cheap-ish vinyl/leatherette cover and thumb indexing.
I just bought this deluxe version a few days ago for my sister who is going to enter law school in the fall. I decided that though the regular 7th version has served me well, she deserves the best. While this is surely the best, it is certainly not worth $40+ more than the regular version.
I feel like this $100 book will look like a pretty weak stand-alone present for her now that I've taken a close look at it; it's just a little underwhelming.
The cover, whatever it is, looks a little cheap and scratches and indents very easily. It already looks used and did not come sealed.
The binding and overall workmanship seems to be on par with the regular edition I looked at (and the one I own), which is to say mediocre.
The thumb indexing is a plus, and I guess that some people could desire that option enough to warrant the higher price.
Also, the paper is of noticeably higher quality, more like a nice library quality Webster's than a regular book. But I never noticed that the paper in my previous edition was lacking until Barrister Books told me.
The only other noteworthy thing about this particular version is the double take the cashier did when the price came up.
Really, I don't think you can justify that jump in price, if they could do something special for an additional $40-50 (i.e. leather, better binding, jewel encrusted carrying case) it would be worth looking into. There is a deluxe edition in a slipcase for $30 more, but there is no picture of it online and my school's bookstore didn't stock it and I'm sure it is the same book otherwise.
Al in all, a great reference with a marginal upgrade.
Book Description
Completely revised in 1999, the Seventh Edition of Black's Law Dictionary is the premier legal reference resource. This edition contains over 24,000 definitions, 4,500 of which are completely new to the Seventh Edition. Helpful extras include a list of legal maxims, the U.S. Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a time chart of the United States Supreme Court, a Federal Circuit Map, and British Regnal Years.
Customer Reviews:
Better than using the online version.......2007-04-15
In my opinion blacks online (through west) is too cumbersome to use. too many redirects and long paragraphs. But this book is not essential either. You'll know the phrases you need after your first month or so, and all the legal libraries have a bunch of these all over the place. Bringing it to class is almost impossible because it's so big. But it is nice to have also. I would recommend this over the 8th edition because it's so much cheaper. I don't see much difference between the two. This will sit in my office throughout my career. However it's use will continue to be limited more and more.
Priceless!!!.......2007-02-20
Black's Law Dictionary is worth it's weight in gold. I used it in my research in learning about investment opportunities and basic common law terms. It is very easy to used and the price is right. I am glad that it is part of my personal library.I purchased this book in 2005 and I have been very pleased with it.
Indespensible Dictionary!.......2007-01-10
This dictionary will be well worn! It is indespensible and sits at my desk. Clear, concise easy reading print. It is one that you can't do without. With a tremendous amount of reading to be done as a student, this dictionary was printed with that in mind making a lot less a chore to use.
It Helps.......2006-12-28
I bought this book for a class I took while I was an undergrad, and I used this book almost as much as I used the text for the class. I was able to find almost everything I needed, and in the end, it was worth having. I would recommend this for anyone taking law classes, however, I would buy a used copy because new copies can be a little pricy.
Great for first year law students.......2006-06-27
Bought it for a friend who was a first year and it has helped him immensely in school.
Book Description
McGraw-Hill's Spanish and English Legal Dictionary defines hundreds of words in business law, civil and criminal law, contracts and torts, constitutional law, family law, labor law, liability, probate, property law, and international trade agreements. It includes more than 13,000 entries in Spanish and in English.
One feature that distinguishes this fully bilingual dictionary from the competition is its extensive collection of encyclopedic entries, including citations of judgments, torts and contracts, as well as civil, penal and commercial codes from the United States, Spain, and Spanish-speaking nations worldwide. It also features dozens of side-by-side sample claims, invoices, and other legal documents.
Customer Reviews:
Comprehensive and Complete.......2006-11-05
This dictionary is well written and comprehensive. An excellent resource for judicial spanish/english translators.
Interesting but out of date and missing many key terms.......2006-05-27
Of the numerous Spanish
<>English legal dictionaries I use regularly, this is consistently the one least likely to include the terms I need. I suspect it's partly because this is an abridged edition, and partly because the sources that the author(s) cite include very few publications that are even remotely recent. Another problem: the entries generally provide narrative explanations rather than functionally equivalent terms. The explanations are cogent, clear, interesting, and often establish differences in meaning between different countries. However, this approach is not helpful if you're a translator trying to figure out the best English-language equivalent for a Spanish legal term or vice versa.
Diccionario Juridico not what I hoped for.......2006-05-10
As a US immigration lawyer, I was pretty disappointed with this dictionary. It had few of the terms I looked for.
Great tool for translators.......2006-04-05
I am a translator and also and interpreter, and I have found that this is a great dictionary for my translations, althought I must say, that sometimes the explanations can be somewhat confusing, but I still think that is a very good dictionary in general. Just one thing.. I think the authors did miss a few words.
Rough & Ready Translation.......2005-10-24
I am a prosecutor, and I needed a dictionary to help translate the basic legal terms that are necessary to explain a guilty plea to criminal defendants. For my purposes the dictionary has been helpful. The dictionary enables me to find some word that will be close enough to my intended meaning to enable the defendant to follow. It is a handsome hard cover volume.
However, it doesn't have the kind of detail that you might want to explain to clients of different cultural backgrounds the more subtle differences between legal expressions. As one somewhat trivial example that comes to mind, we use the word audiencia for hearing. This dictionary also has the word vista for hearing, but it gives no insight into the difference between the two words -- when you would want to use one rather than the other. So, I just use audiencia because that's what our local translators use, and I trust them.
For simple translations, this dictionary is a great value, and I am very happy to have it. I am not skilled enough in spanish to be able to explain subtle differences in meaning -- or for that matter to write a review in spanish, so I don't find the lack of detail to be a problem. If you want detail, you won't find it here.
Book Description
This comprehensive workbook is designed to familiarize the user with legal terminology as it applies to substantive areas of law. Containing more than 750 key legal terms and definitions, it is designed to facilitate learning and aid memorization in a fun and easy manner. The numerous exercises provided throughout the material utilize such proven educational devices as term search puzzles, multiple choice, true/false, matching, sentence completion, synonym selection and case application activities. It includes flash cards, as well as a Windows-based flash card computer disk, as additional memorization tools. ALSO AVAILABLE - INSTRUCTOR SUPPLEMENT: Instructor's Guide (ISBN# 0-7668-2762-3). Call Customer Support to Order.
Customer Reviews:
Great for Law Students young and old!.......2000-03-06
This book is a great thing to have for a student just starting out in Law School or for the person that has completed his/her studies and is now a Lawyer. It is like a refresher for those who may or may not need it! A wonderful book to carry with you to court cases or class!
Book Description
Here is a fast-reference guide to legal terminology compiled especially for consumers and business people who are not lawyers. More than 2,000 clear and concise definitions are arranged alphabetically. They cover everything from abandonment to zoning. Examples are offered to illustrate and clarify many definitions.
Customer Reviews:
Good enough for me.......2006-01-22
Barron's "Dictionary of Legal Terms" is a solid text. When I asked a law friend of mine which law dictionary I should purchase he told me that "Black's" was the best law dictionary out there. However, it is rather expensive at eighty or so dollars. Even the pocket version of the text is at least twenty dollars. So I sprang for this law dictionary at about eight dollars.
I was quite impressed and quite educated by the Barron's work. It was informative and complete, yet simple enough for a non-law student to understand. At my local bookstore I compared the Barron's dictionary with some others and found this one more to my liking because it provides examples for certain definitions; something the other texts did not.
The only reason that I did not give this 5 stars is that it is not as complete as some of the other books that I looked at. This version has "more than 2500 legal terms" and the other books were all about 3000. However, I have not yet come across a word or jargon that I was unable to find in this book so I am not sure what the other 500+ words or phrases are.
Solid book. Highly recommended.
Perfect for everyone.......2005-09-12
Legal terms presented in a way that can be understood by all. Very helpful information in section-"KEY TO EFFECTIVE USE OF THIS DICTIONARY"
I love this dictionary!.......2004-07-21
I bought this dictionary 4 years ago and since then it has been invaluable to me in getting through law school and the bar exam. My copy is so tattered and worn out, I'm thinking of buying a new one to replace it. I highly recommend it over Black's and others that have traditionally been regarded essential for law students and lawyers. Too often with the other legal dictionaries, you look up a word, and then to understand the given definition you end up having to look up additional words. Not so with this book--it lays out legal definitions in the most simple and straightforward manner possible. For many terms, it even gives short hypotheticals to illustrate the term in its proper context.
Even though it's titled "For Non-Lawyers" I highly recommend this book to law students, lawyers, paralegals, and anyone else who might appreciate legal jargon explained in an easily understandable way.
Way too general.......2003-05-15
This dictionary may be good for the layman, but it is far too general for a law student or lawyer. Only the most common legal words are included, so most of the words are familiar to lawyers. Those words that are obscure enough to require a dictionary are not included. I would recommend this dictionary to a layman who wants to understand simple legal terms, but not to a lawyer or law student.
Legal Terms Defined in Everyday Language.......2001-09-03
This book defines legal terms in easily understood English. In some cases, it gives an example of a situation to which the legal term might apply in order to help illustrate the meaning. It would be a very useful addition to anyone's reference library.
Book Description
Edited by Bryan A. Garner, the world's leading legal lexicographer, Black's Law Dictionary, 8th Edition is now better than ever! The new 8th Edition has more than 43,000 definitions, plus almost 3,000 quotations. Alternative spellings or equivalent terms and expressions are provided for more than 5,300 terms and senses, serving a thesaurus-like function. The extensive appendix on legal abbreviations is a major addition. It's the first time such a comprehensive guide has been included in a modern law dictionary, and is an invaluable aid to the legal researcher.
-17,000 more definitions than the 7th Edition
-Newly enhanced with West Key Numbers for research reference
-Includes changes made since the creation of the department of Homeland Security
-Almost 3,000 quotations from authorities drawn from sources over at least five centuries
-More than 1,000 law-related abbreviations and acronyms are defined
-Extensive appendix on legal abbreviations
-Faculty recommended
Customer Reviews:
exellent for legal research .......2007-09-28
this book has proven to be very useful at college, i use it mostly to do my legal research.
Penn State Dickinson 1L.......2007-09-17
This dictionary/edition is very helpful for giving accurate and concise definitions. I don't take it to class, but I have it next to meet at all times when doing homework and usually write the definitions next to words that I didn't know. Every law student should have a dictionary, pocket size or otherwise, and this one was recommended to me so I recommend it to you.
Great Gift!.......2007-05-20
My daughter just graduated from college with a paralegal degree and wanted the Black's Law Dictionary. I got it as a gift for her and she was thrilled with the quality of this book. I was also impressed with what I got for the price!
Comprehensive and heavy!.......2007-02-22
If you're in a law class or pre-law, this is a great book. However, if your aspirations aren't in law, just go and reference it at your local library. VERY heavy book
It's great but save your money........2007-01-14
This is the most prominent legal dictionary. However, I must recommend against buying. This is especially for first year law students who hear it quoted a lot their first few weeks and think it is a necessity for law school. It's not. You don't need it. You can access it for free on LexisNexis save your money for study guides which you DO need.
Book Description
Garner's Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage gives authoritative guidance on all the vexing questions that legal writers face, from correcting grammatical errors to framing legal issues to distinguishing between similar but distinct legal terms. With great detail and care, Garner explains what legalese is, how it can be simplified, and how far legal writers can go in simplifying it. The topics are alphabetically arranged for ease of reference: simply look up any phrase or grammatical category you're interested in, and you're likely to find the final word on the subject. Shortly after the completion of this massively expanded second edition, the late Charles Alan Wright said: "The first edition of this book has been praised around the world as both the most reliable guide to legal usage and the most fascinating to read. The second edition outdoes even its predecessor."
Customer Reviews:
A must-have reference for the serious legal writer.......2007-01-11
Brian Garner is the man. He had me hooked from Legal Writing in Plain English. Modern legal Usage gives the modern legal writer confidence to dispense with legalese and write with precision. I will use this book as a reference throughout my career.
Extremely Useful.......2005-09-01
I'm starting my second year of law school. I got this book near the end of my first year, and it proved to be an invaluable tool for editing journals and working for law firms over the summer. I wish I had this earlier.
As a side note, I would strongly recommend this book over Garner's American Usage if you are in a legal field. Even non-legal terms are covered in a way more useful to legal writing.
The Best.......2005-06-16
This is, by far, the single best resource on legal usage one can buy. I never cease to be amazed at how often I pull this book off of my shelf to find it giving me a clear and accurate answer to a usage question. I purchased this book several years ago after attending one of Garner's legal writing seminars. That seminar and this book have dramatically improved my legal writing skills. Those two tools positively influence my writing every single day. If you follow Garner's advice and guidance, you will eliminate deadening and condescending legalese from your legal writing and replace it with clear and concise prose. My clients appreciate receiving contracts that are actually readable and my contracts are less frequently subject to alternative interpretations because ambiguities are largely eliminated. As a lawyer or paralegal, do yourself a favor and buy this book. Better yet, buy this book and take Garner's Advanced Legal Drafting seminar. You won't regret it.
Superb Work.......2004-07-29
This is a must-have and a must-read by all who use the English language professionally, including attorneys, journalists, teachers, etc.
Can't Live Without It.......2003-09-07
As an editor of legal newsletters, I do not know what I would do without this absolutely necessary tool of the trade. Not only do I, a non-attorney, find it indispensible, but my colleagues who are members of the Bar are constantly borrowing my copy "just to check." And whatever they, or I, am checking--it's in there.
Garner has a way of condensing solid and often very intricate information into a few paragraphs so succinct, and so informative, that anyone can understand. When one is rushing against a deadline, editing for and about attorneys and the law, reaching for Garner often makes the difference.
I would give up my dictionary before I would part with this book, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Garner has earned his place in the annals of legal writing and editing, and I hold him--and this book--in the highest esteem.
Product Description
Blacks Law Dictionary Digital provides law students and other users with access from their computers to the 43,000 legal definitions found in the Standard 8th Edition of Black s Law Dictionary. Students can instantly find definitions for legal terms from search toolbars that integrate with Microsoft Word, Internet Explorer, and Mozilla Firefox. Black s Law Dictionary Digital also incorporates the correct spellings for all defined terms into the spell check function of Word, ensuring accurate spelling for all legal documents created. Students can even listen to audio pronunciations for thousands of words and phrases, ensuring they never mispronounce another legal term. Best of all, with Black s Law Dictionary Digital students have access to the same wonderful content found in the print edition of Black s Law Dictionary, including citations to the legal encyclopedia Corpus Juris Secundum and to the West Key Number System®, which make Black s Law Dictionary a powerful research tool; alternative spellings or equivalent terms and expressions for more than 5,300 terms and senses, which serve a thesaurus-like function; an extensive appendix on legal abbreviations; and nearly 3,000 quotations.
Customer Reviews:
Don't buy it!.......2007-08-27
I would not mind the lack of CD if you actually downloaded the program.
It will not work stand alone, your computer must be connected to a network for any functionality at all.
Sucks!
Desktop Reference it is not........2007-08-04
Bought this product only to find out that I can't skip the fine print even when I am book shopping. I wanted to replace my old Black's with another desktop reference (computer desktop) that would go with me everywhere I go.
The description does not disclose that you cannot do that! You buy nothing but a key to access their server to pull the content. I already have Westlaw for that!
It's a waste of my time and money. I'll need to get myself an old-fashioned paper copy of the dictionary.
the only thing missing from this robbery is the gun!.......2007-07-31
I wish I had read the reviews before I purchased this thing. It's a mess. And it does not work with Word 2007. Big waste of money. Don't bother.
Buy this empty box.......2007-01-29
This is certainly useful, but it is mostly overkill. The spelling dictionary is useful and can be imported into any program with a customizable dictionary.
The box is empty, it contains only a brochure with a license key in it.
If you are annoyed that your word processor is constantly reporting id. as misspelled this is for you. Otherwise just keep clicking "add to dictionary" and you will have your own free version soon enough.
Still Black's Law..........2007-01-15
There is no actual CD-Rom. You access a web page and then enter your product key number in order to install the program to your computer (which operates as a web browser -like Internet Explorer or Mozilla-) You can only use the product when you are online.
I know this is inconvenient but I can understand why Thomson West released this product in this format because this seems the best, may be the only way to protect its intellectual property rights where infringement would not be ever possible in my opinion. Think that you have a product that you can install just 2 times which is usable only through the Internet. Theoretically Thomson West, thorough the IP numbers, can determine how many people use the dictionary having the same product key number at the same time. There is no actual CD-Rom. No installation of the whole content of the dictionary to your hard disk (which does not fill much space of your hard disk accordingly.) The dictionary works through the Internet. If you've ever used the Black's Law through the students' westlaw website, you gotta understand what I mean. Just think that you can use it without logging on westlaw's website. Also unlike the website, you can not click on the cases and see the text of the cases.
You can start the operation of the dictionary from the Black's Law dictionary bar that appears in your web browser's tool bar or the bar that appears in Microsoft Word's tool bar. But it is up to your preference whether to use the dictionary thorough the bar that appears in your tool bar of your browser, because you may omit such tool bar (from either your web browser or Microsoft Word, or from both) and create a shortcut of the dictionary through the actual icon located in Program Files/ Thomson West/ Blacks Law/ Blacks Law(.exe I suppose), since nothing related with Black's Law Dictionary exists in Start/ Programs menu. BTW, please note that the Black's Law bar does not appear in the new versions of Mozilla. I contacted Thomson West but they were not able to solve the problem.
In respect of your right to install the product just for 2 times, it should be noted that attempt to install more than the allowed would not be possible because when you access the web page and enter the product key number (I mentioned in the first paragraph,) the system of Thomson West will not allow you to install it again. That's what Thomson West customer service told me. However, they also told that right for 2 licenses is not that rigid. They would allow more installations on case-by-case basis for reasonable purposes. For instance it is possible that in 3 years you may change 3 laptops. I guess they would allow as many installations as you may require if you sincerely show, as the owner of this product, that you require new installation for your personal use because of the fact that you have bought a new computer or you have had to format your computer or etc.
I don't know what will happen if Thomson West releases the 9th edition of the dictionary. For instance when you search a new word which will be in the 9th edition but not in the current (8th edition), will this program yield the result of this new word? This is an issue which you may have to consult Thomson West.
The worst part of the dictionary is its pronunciations. As far as I used, I can easily say that pronunciations are not available for most of the words although Thomson West claims "[i]ncludes audio pronunciations for thousands of words and phrases. You may say "how can you expect from a law dictionary to have the pronunciation of basic English words or phrases such as 'minority shareholders?' Just go and check the pronunciations of these words from a regular dictionary." You would be right. Yet I consider a law dictionary claiming to include audio pronunciations for thousands of words and phrases has to include the pronunciations of at least Latin words and phrases, at least most common ones such as "inter alia."
I rate this product with 4 starts. I deduct 0,5 star because of the fact that you can only use it through the Internet, though I think that Thomson West did the right thing to prevent possible infringements. I deduct the other 0,5 star because of insufficient pronunciations.
To sum, it worths its price (which is the same price with the print edition.) I don't know what you do but I no more use print edition dictionaries which also have digital editions. Likewise other digital dictionaries, you don't lose time finding the page. Very convenient. Besides, it has some pronunciations nonetheless. In any case, it is Black's Law Dictionary...
Book Description
PRIVATE SECURITY AND THE LAW is a textbook analysis of significant practices in the security industry that relate to law, regulation, licensure and constitutional dilemmas according to case and statutory authority. It is a treatise on the state of the law that governs the security industry and its operatives. The text delivers up to date information on the legal requirements witnessed by most security firms. In addition, it dwells heavily on the liability problems common to security operations, including negligence and tortious liability, civil actions commonly litigated, and strategies to avoid troublesome causes of action that effect business efficiency. From another angle, the work intensely examines the constitutional and due process dimensions of private security work and affords the reader a look at how case law applies certain remedies to wronged parties. Recent cases, and the trends sure to follow, are highlighted throughout the project. Finally, the text is filled with checklists, data and other useful information that aids the security practitioner in applying theory to practice.
* Up to date case law analysis provides cutting edge legal treatment of evolving standards
* Complicated material is presented in a down-to-earth, readable style, perfect for the student of security or security professional
* Over 200 tables and illustrations allow the reader speedy access to precise data
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