BOOK REVIEW
FISHER and LIGHTWOOD'S
LAW OF MORTGAGE
Thirteenth Edition
By
Falcon Chambers and Sir
Paul Morgan
Butterworth's
Lexis Nexis
ISBN: 978-1-4057-4807-0
www.lexisnexis.co.uk
A CLASSIC
YET CONTEMPORARY AND AUTHORITATIVE
WORK ON MODERN MORTGAGE LAW
An appreciation by
Phillip Taylor MBE and
Elizabeth Taylor of
Richmond Green Chambers
This -- the
13th edition of
Fisher and
Lightwood's Law of
Mortgage, is the inspired and erudite result of the combined efforts of eight learned contributors from Falcon Chambers, under co-coordinating editor,
Wayne Clark.
The first edition of Fisher and Lightwood's published 1856 was, we can only assume, a masterpiece of research and systemization. The original author,
William Fisher, from all accounts had the gift of imposing order on chaos, compiling and organizing what was then an amorphous mass of information and he structuring it logically into what was acknowledged then and now as an authoritative and easy to use work of reference for all practitioners involved in any aspect of mortgages. And that is what we have here!
Like many other classic legal works of similar vintage, Fisher and Lightwood's has been updated over the years, remaining perennially fresh and topical. This, the latest edition from Butterworth's Lexis Nexis, reveals a number of new developments. The chapter on Charging
Orders has been expanded; the chapter on
Consumer Credit has been completely revised following the
Consumer Credit Act 2006 -- and the chapters on mortgagee's remedies have been largely restructured. The many new cases that have transpired since the last edition have all been included as the subject matter remains high on both the legal and political agendas.
Though thoroughly contemporary, the work remains true to the ethos of the original by the extraordinary
William Richard Fisher whose short biography by
Edward Peters prefaces the main text. The reviewers of the original edition were almost unanimously enthusiastic; one --
The Law Times -- observed that Fisher had 'reduced the various elements from the chaos into which they have hitherto been plunged, to order and consistency. 'All who are concerned in mortgage transactions
...will nowhere find so much, so careful, and such recent information as Mr Fisher has collected.' Another review predicted that the work would come to be recognized as a standard authority. And so it has come to pass.
If you're a practitioner involved in any aspect of mortgage law, here, in one volume (without loose-leaves), is the research and insight that will add authority and value to your advocacy.
By the way, if you're additionally involved in any issues concerning the conversation of land and property -- forests, to take an example, you'd be interested to know that Fisher was a key figure in preserving 6,
000 acres of
Epping Forest for the nation.
Fisher was involved in a series of suits and arbitrations in the
1860s and
1870s carried out by a united front of villagers, commoners, preservationists and the
City of London fighting off certain landowners who 'wished to enclose and develop'.
Too bad he's not around today, is what we say!
As you would expect, the usual research and reference tools are in place in this carefully annotated volume of at least 1,
200 pages in 56 chapters, including extensive tables of statutes, cases and statutory instruments. The
Table of Contents is minutely detailed for ease of use and there is an excellent index. The law is stated as at 1 July
2010, and, yes, it remains a classic for its authority and contemporaneity.
- published: 26 Feb 2011
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