BOOK REVIEW UNLOCKING THE ENGLISH LEGAL SYSTEM Companion Website – Unlocking The Law 4th edition By Rebecca Huxley-Binns and Jacqueline Martin ISBN: 978 1 44417 423 6 ROUTLEDGE TAYLOR & FRANCIS GROUP www.routledge.com www.unlockingthelaw.co.uk AN ENTIRELY NEW AND GROUNDBREAKING STYLE OF UNDERGRADUATE LAW TEXT BOOK FOR THE ENGLISH LEGAL SYSTEM USING INTERACTIVE MATERIALS An appreciation by Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers As Rebecca Huxley-Binns and Jacqueline Martin say in the fourth edition of this excellent ‘Unlocking The Law’ series from Routledge, “English legal method and the English legal system are important as they underpin understanding of the development and practice of all substantive areas of law”. How right they are! What they set out in this excellent text book is a formidable explanation of how our legal system works in easily understandable terms for what can be a difficult area of law for many to study (and teach) although it may look superficially easy! As with all the Routledge text books, this particular title is probably the best on the market as an introduction to the way in which our legal system operates in England and Wales and the ‘self-testing’ throughout with the various activities will assist the student with a measure of progress as the course develops. We also consider that this book has a much wider potential readership for anyone interested in the development of this topical law area. One of the main reasons why we feel that the Routledge series of legal textbooks to be of outstanding value both in terms of cost and in content is the way in which their authors (all legal experts) explain substantive legal issues in such a readable fashion. For both tutors and students, a decision on which textbook or revision book to use is always difficult but it is clear to us from the feedback we have received from students that the Routledge texts lead the legal field. Many of their titles also have excellent links to websites sometimes marked as ‘companion websites’ which also add much assistance to the hard-pressed learner and is a great additional tool for all. We would also say that the formats used by Routledge for their books are very much of a mainstream formula for legal texts which eases the student into methods of legal reasoning for those just beginning their legal studies and for all undergraduates: they certainly helped us with our preparation so do ensure you look very carefully at all the titles they have on offer! For the ‘Unlocking’ series, Routledge use a number of special features: aims and objectives at the start of each chapter; key facts charts to consolidate knowledge; diagrams to aid learning; summaries to help check an understanding of each chapter; problem questions with guidance on answering; self-testing and a glossary of legal terminology. For us reviewing the book, the companion website is an innovation! Therefore, do look at the features at the beginning of the book which will assist with your learning and engagement with the subject matter. There is much food for thought throughout this splendid undergraduate primer on where we are and where we are going with the issue how our legal system in the 21st century will develop. What we found particularly helpful are extracts from academic comment from journal articles and leading texts which have been included to give some insight into the academic debate on the more complex or controversial areas of our legal system and common law reasoning. This book covers all the main topic areas on undergraduate and professional law syllabuses and it provides a full understanding of each with supporting resources from the ‘unlockingthelaw.co.uk’ website which will give the student an indispensable foundation of understanding of the subject.

• published: 09 Oct 2014
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