Nolo's Plain-english Law Dictionary
Nolo's Plain-English Law Dictionary by the Editors of Nolo and Gerald N. Hill and Kathleen Thompson Hill is promoted as, This is 'not' your grandfather's law dictionary. This law dictionary is written in clear English and contains compete definitions of legal terms you need today.
As an attorney, this book will not replace my Black's Law Dictionary which is the standard for legal dictionaries, but this lighter and plain-English text is very convenient to have ON hand. For most people and this text is all they would need when wondering about a legal term.
To illustrate the differences in dictionaries and let's look at the word partner. Most of us know what it means and it is a common word that we use in business all the time. The definition in Nolo's is:
One of the co-owners and investors in a partnership. Each partner claims a share of the (sic) business's income or losses ON the partner's individual tax return. General partners are responsible for the debts, contracts and actions of all the partners in the business. Limited partners do not share responsibility for partnership debts and cannot share in management decisions. (Note that I found a typo in the definition noted with the (sic)).
Black's provides much more under the listing of partner.
A member of partnership or firm; one who has united with others to form a partnership in business. The there are definitions for each of the following: Dormant partners, FULL or general partner, junior partner, limited partner, liquidating partner, nominal partner, ostensible partner, quasi partner, secret partner, silent partner, special partner and surviving partner.
Black's contains much more than Nolo's, but that is what you expect and for most people who are not attorneys, Black's has much more than is needed and is not as easy to understand as Nolo's. The size and cost of the books is very different too. Black's is a very large and heavy book and much more expensive. Nolo's Plain-English Law Dictionary is smaller, paperback, easier to grab OFF the shelf or take with you and costs less.
If you would like an easy to understand law dictionary, FULL of the most common terms non-lawyers will most likely need and this book will be a very good addition to your reference library.
Alain Burrese, J.D is a performance and personal development expert who teaches how to live, take action and get things done through the Warrior's Edge. Alain combines his military, martial art, and Asian experiences with his business, law and conflict resolution education into a powerful way of living with balance, honor and integrity. He teaches how to use the Warrior's Edge to Take Action and Achieve Remarkable Results. Alain is the author of Hard-Won Wisdom From The School Of Hard Knocks, the DVDs Hapkido Hoshinsul, Streetfighting Essentials, Hapkido Cane, the LOCK ON Joint Locking series and numerous articles and reviews. You can read more articles, over 100 reviews and see clips of his DVDs as well as much more at http://www.burrese.com
