School pupils who are considering studying law at University but want to know more about the subject first can now benefit from the expertise and advice of some of Cambridge University’s top lawyers.

A new book, What About Law?, written by academics in the University’s law faculty and produced with 17 and 18-year-old students in mind, is being released this week.

Using real-life examples and cases, the book aims to explain the study of law at university and the English legal system for students who have not yet had the chance to experience the subject at school.

Readers are encouraged to think as lawyers, considering the implications and ramifications of the law in specific case studies.

The book explores what the law is, how it has developed, and how judges interpret it. It does so by examining seven cases, each one representing a particular area of law (criminal, contract, tort, land, equity, constitutional and EU law). Each chapter is written by a Cambridge University academic with full experience of teaching and research in that area.

These seven core subjects are the minimum that students must study, and pass, in order to be able to undertake their professional training, leaving them equipped with the knowledge necessary to understand, read and apply the law in real cases.

“Applying to read law at university can be a daunting prospect and we wanted to give students a book that helps them understand what studying law is all about,” said Dr Catherine Barnard, one of the book’s editors and authors.

“There is no better way to achieve that than by giving them real-life examples and providing the students with stimuli to make them think as lawyers. In time, we hope that What About Law? will become the definitive guide for all students who want to study law at university.”

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