Essential Latin for Lawyers (English and Latin Edition)

By Russ VerSteeg

Book Overview

In this handbook, VerSteeg--a former Latin teacher and now a law professor--provides translations, discussions, and explanations of Latin legal terminology that law students and lawyers are most likely to use. He then explains the use of the Latin terminology with respect to its broader legal context. Unlike other reference books, this book is arranged by subject areas in law, such as constitutional law, contracts, property, torts, general terms, etc. The book also contains a glossary of approximately 290 Latin terms that occur frequently in legal writing, an appendix, and a guide to classical Latin pronunciation.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0890893780
• ISBN13: 9780890893784
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: Carolina Academic Press
• Length: 166 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.5" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Great help for first semester

This book is a great buy; it has been really helpful thus far. Black's dictionary lacks a lot of very important Latin terms that I need to understand to get the full benefit of the casebooks. "Essential Latin" has a basic dictionary-style format at the back of the book, and short summaries of the most important terms divided by subject, (crim law, torts), in the front. It could be more comprehensive, but contains about 85% of the information I've needed.

Useful for Latin Students and those interested in Law

VerSteeg's Essential Latin for Lawyers is different from other legal dictionaries of Latin expressions. He presents the phrases in groups according to the area of law that you might encounter them (Contracts, Torts, Property) and then provides enough 'case' history or scenarios so that the phrase is illustrated by anecdote and is easy to remember. Teachers can use these with their students because the phrases and their examples are short. In addition to the narrative style of presentation, there is also a more 'standard' index of terms and their translations. The tone is conversational and at times witty. There is a down-to-earth style that is refreshing. The bi-monthly review of law books said it was 'delightful' and 'should be required reading for all first year law students."