Lawyers' Latin: A Vade-Mecum

Description

Updated and expanded, this invaluable reference book was originally written as an aid for those disadvantaged by the deteriorating standing of Latin in our education system and by its use as legal terminology. Professional and comprehensive, yet lighthearted, it is immensely readable and has assumed a readership far beyond the lawyers for whom it was primarily designed to assist. All those interested in or curious about Latin may like to dip in to discover such particularly succinct phrases as uberrimae fidei (of the utmost [good] faith), in tenebris (in the dark), doli capax (capable, legally, of wrong or fraud) or mala fide (in bad faith). Few learn Latin in school and young lawyers with minimal knowledge of the language will experience considerable difficulty as they continue to meet it, particularly in old reported cases, academic articles, statutes and in decisions of EC institutions and even falling from the lips of renegade judges. When Latin brings progress and comprehension to a halt, what then? Reach for "Lawyers' Latin".

John Gray was born in 1938. Educated at Tonbridge School, he read law at Brasenose College, Oxford. Called to the Bar in 1962, he was an Inner Temple major scholar from 1962-5 and practised at the Common Law Bar for over thirty years, sitting as a recorder from 1984 to 1994 when he left the Bar to change direction; to write, attend his garden and indulge a life-long interest in wood. He is married with three grown-up children and lives near Ashford in Kent.

'A highly entertaining guide to Latin words and expressions that have passed the lips and pens of lawyers for centuries.' Commonwealth Lawyer 'Aimed specifically at legal practitioners, this is a vade-mecum with far wider application. It actually explains many legal concepts in terms which the rest of us can readily understand. It can be consulted, or even read, with profit by many and with enjoyment by many more.' Reference Reviews