Cambridge 2011 Freshers Chat Thread

Original post by FaithChild

Hey has anyone received preliminary reading list for law?
I got one about two months ago and it says it's better not to buy the books until we meet our supervisors.
I just started looking for the books because of the exams but I can't find them in the library. What to do? Should I just buy some of them anyway?

Hi.

I'm a lawyer and have just finished my first year at Pembroke, so hopefully I can help!

I think the sender is right; your supervisors are likely to recommend different books and will expect you to buy those on your proper reading lists, so it'd be better to wait. There are about four different textbooks for Criminal alone, each costing an average of £25, so you don't want to get the wrong one! :p:

Out of interest, what's on your reading list? I might be able to recommend some introductory stuff (and give you reviews of the books I've used on that list), but beyond that, I'd enjoy the summer while you're waiting for results. It gets hectic in the last fortnight of August!

EDIT: Oh, and the student discount is 10%. You'll most likely be sent to Heffers, and I think they had a particular offer on for law students to incentivise you to go there (it might've been 10% off for one day, but if you speak to the manager they might give you the discount on the day you go - that's what happened to me). Do check Amazon and speak to the second years though, since they'll probably have spares to sell you at about half price. Just make sure you get the right editions! :smile:

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 2003

SoapyDish

14

Original post by FaithChild

Thank you

How much is the student discount?

I can't remember! :redface:

Think it's probably about 10-15% at Waterstones and Heffer's...

Another advantage of waiting til you're here is that you can find out whether your college offer book grants or anything (for example, if you submit the receipts you can claim back half the cost at John's).

Reply 2004

FaithChild

Original post by Tortious

Hi.

I'm a lawyer and have just finished my first year at Pembroke, so hopefully I can help!

I think the sender is right; your supervisors are likely to recommend different books and will expect you to buy those on your proper reading lists, so it'd be better to wait. There are about four different textbooks for Criminal alone, each costing an average of £25, so you don't want to get the wrong one! :p:

Out of interest, what's on your reading list? I might be able to recommend some introductory stuff (and give you reviews of the books I've used on that list), but beyond that, I'd enjoy the summer while you're waiting for results. It gets hectic in the last fortnight of August!

EDIT: Oh, and the student discount is 10%. You'll most likely be sent to Heffers, and I think they had a particular offer on for law students to incentivise you to go there (it might've been 10% off for one day, but if you speak to the manager they might give you the discount on the day you go - that's what happened to me). Do check Amazon and speak to the second years though, since they'll probably have spares to sell you at about half price. Just make sure you get the right editions! :smile:

Thanks I think I'll wait until i meet my supervisors then.
The reading list is divided into five subjects with one or two books for each subject and recommended chapters for the books.

1. General Introduction
Glanville Williams: Learning the Law (13th ed. 2006)

2. Roman Law
Nicholas: An Introduction to roman Law
Borkowski: Textbook on Roman Law

3. Constitutional Law
P Leyland, The Constitution of the United Kingdom: A Contextual Analysis

4. Criminal law
Ashworth: Principles of Criminal law
Simester, Spencer, Sullivan and Virgo: Simester and Sullivan's Criminal law

5. Law of Tort
weir: An Introduction to tort Law

Reply 2005

Original post by FaithChild

Thanks I think I'll wait until i meet my supervisors then.
The reading list is divided into five subjects with one or two books for each subject and recommended chapters for the books.

1. General Introduction
Glanville Williams: Learning the Law (13th ed. 2006)

2. Roman Law
Nicholas: An Introduction to roman Law
Borkowski: Textbook on Roman Law

3. Constitutional Law
P Leyland, The Constitution of the United Kingdom: A Contextual Analysis

4. Criminal law
Ashworth: Principles of Criminal law
Simester, Spencer, Sullivan and Virgo: Simester and Sullivan's Criminal law

5. Law of Tort
weir: An Introduction to tort Law

Right, taking each in turn:

"Learning the Law"
I read this before interview, but I read the 11th Edition. From what I recall, when my dad ordered it he said that he went for the 11th since the reviews suggest that the editing of the newer editions isn't great (the editor changed for the 12th)...although I haven't compared the two versions to know whether there's any truth to this.

Nicholas on Roman
I've got this book but didn't really read it ( :o:

) - from what I recall of the "Introduction" books from the Clarendon Law Series, they're generally pretty interesting. This might be worth getting since it could be on your reading list anyway, and I found Roman the hardest to get my head around. :yep:

Borkowski on Roman
I'd definitely get this book since it's almost certainly going to be on your reading list. It's the most concise book on Roman law I've come across and is fairly readable, but tends to bombard you with detail on the different legal rules, so it can be quite frustrating to wade through and work out what you need to note down. Having said that, I don't think you'll find a better textbook as a starting point and the author's tried to set out the sides of some of the bigger disputes (particularly the Proculian/Sabinian schools of thought), so I'd get it. You can probably get away with any edition. I got the 4th (the newest) but a couple of my friends bought the 3rd Edition second-hand and, aside from the page numbers being different in places, found that much of the content was the same.

Leyland on Constitutional
I haven't read this so I can't really comment, but I've got the Barendt on Constitutional Law (also part of the Clarendon Law Series) and found that pretty interesting. It's no textbook, but sometimes it's nice to read something a little lighter!

Ashworth on Criminal
Again, I never used this book but Ashworth is fairly well-known as a criminal lawyer, so it might be worth a look. If it's a textbook, it's probably not worth getting now, though. Instead, you might like to look at Great Debates: Criminal Law by Jonathan Herring. It was on my reading list and gets you thinking about the theory behind criminal law (like "what's wrong with rape?" - not as controversial as it sounds!).

Simester and Sullivan on Criminal
This wasn't on my reading list but there was a copy in our law library, so I've dipped into it on occasion. I think it's alright, but not as good as Herring's textbook on Criminal Law since he seems to explain things more straightforwardly. Having said that, Simester and Sullivan is edited by a number of Cambridge lawyers (Virgo, Spencer and O'Sullivan, I think), so it may be tailored more to suit their views on the criminal law...which is important if they're the ones marking your exam! :p:

Weir on Tort
Yeah, I've got this and found it interesting. In terms of textbooks, you'll probably be told to use Winfield and Jolowicz - I didn't enjoy reading it since it's so thick and isn't concise at all! If you can get hold of a copy, I'd recommend using McBride and Bagshaw on Tort too (McBride is my Director of Studies). Currently only the 3rd Edition is out but I think there may be a 4th on the way (so bear in mind that this book will be OK for the core elements, but not recent developments). I've found that McBride doesn't always follow the conventional interpretation of decisions, but where he dissents, his explanation is more convincing and he explains the problems with the reasoning of the majority. It's written quite simply and is very readable. :biggrin:

I think there are a couple of chapters on the Law Faculty's website if you'd like to see them.

Out of interest, which college are you going to? :smile:

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 2006

FaithChild

Original post by Tortious

Right, taking each in turn:

"Learning the Law"
I read this before interview, but I read the 11th Edition. From what I recall, when my dad ordered it he said that he went for the 11th since the reviews suggest that the editing of the newer editions isn't great (the editor changed for the 12th)...although I haven't compared the two versions to know whether there's any truth to this.

Nicholas on Roman
I've got this book but didn't really read it ( :o:

) - from what I recall of the "Introduction" books from the Clarendon Law Series, they're generally pretty interesting. This might be worth getting since it could be on your reading list anyway, and I found Roman the hardest to get my head around. :yep:

Borkowski on Roman
I'd definitely get this book since it's almost certainly going to be on your reading list. It's the most concise book on Roman law I've come across and is fairly readable, but tends to bombard you with detail on the different legal rules, so it can be quite frustrating to wade through and work out what you need to note down. Having said that, I don't think you'll find a better textbook as a starting point and the author's tried to set out the sides of some of the bigger disputes (particularly the Proculian/Sabinian schools of thought), so I'd get it. You can probably get away with any edition. I got the 4th (the newest) but a couple of my friends bought thr 3rd Edition second-hand and, aside from the page numbers being different in places, found that much of the content was the same.

Leyland on Constitutional
I haven't read this so I can't really comment, but I've got the Barendt on Constitutional Law (also part of the Clarendon Law Series) and found that pretty interesting. It's no textbook, but sometimes it's nice to read something a little lighter!

Ashworth on Criminal
Again, I never used this book but Ashworth is fairly well-known as a criminal lawyer, so it might be worth a look. If it's a textbook, it's probably not worth getting now, though. Instead, you might like to look at Great Debates: Criminal Law by Jonathan Herring. It was on my reading list and gets you thinking about the theory behind criminal law (like "what's wrong with rape?" - not as controversial as it sounds!).

Simester and Sullivan on Criminal
This wasn't on my reading list but there was a copy in our law library, so I've dipped into it on occasion. I think it's alright, but not as good as Herring's textbook on Criminal Law since he seems to explain things more straightforwardly. Having said that, Simester and Sullivan is edited by a number of Cambridge lawyers (Virgo, Spencer and O'Sullivan, I think), so it may be tailored more to suit their views on the criminal law...which is important if they're the ones marking your exam! :p:

Weir on Tort
Yeah, I've got this and found it interesting. In terms of textbooks, you'll probably be told to use Winfield and Jolowicz - I didn't enjoy reading it since it's so thick and isn't concise at all! If you can get hold of a copy, I'd recommend using McBride and Bagshaw on Tort too (McBride is my Director of Studies). Currently only the 3rd Edition is out but I think there may be a 4th on the way (so bear in mind that this book will be OK for the core elements, but not recent developments). I've found that McBride doesn't always follow the conventional interpretation of decisions, but where he dissents, his explanation is more convincing and he explains the problems with the reasoning of the majority. It's written quite simply and is very readable. :biggrin:

I think there are a couple of chapters on the Law Faculty's website if you'd like to see them.

Out of interest, which college are you going to? :smile:

This is really helpful, thanks! Gets me all excited about reading Law next year :biggrin:

I will hopefully be going to Robinson in October.
Are you studying at Pembroke college?
I read 'letters to a law student' by McBride before my interview. I think it was quite good because I've not done law at A level so it kind of gave me a sense of what law would be like at uni.

Reply 2007

Original post by FaithChild

This is really helpful, thanks! Gets me all excited about reading Law next year :biggrin:

I will hopefully be going to Robinson in October.
Are you studying at Pembroke college?
I read 'letters to a law student' by McBride before my interview. I think it was quite good because I've not done law at A level so it kind of gave me a sense of what law would be like at uni.

Cool! I don't know any Robinson lawyers since it seems that most people tend to sit in their colleges in lectures, but hopefully our paths will cross (TSR Freshers' Meet, anyone? :ninja:

).

Yep, I'm going into second year, so McBride will still be my DoS, but I don't know whether he'll be supervising me at all (last year I had him for Criminal and Tort, so half of my papers!). He got in touch with us all before we came down and said he wanted us to read "Letters". :giggle:

Aside from that, we didn't get any introductory reading, although he did set us an essay. Have you read "What About Law?". It has a slightly different emphasis to McBride's book.

Reply 2008

gethsemane342

11

Original post by FaithChild

Thanks I think I'll wait until i meet my supervisors then.
The reading list is divided into five subjects with one or two books for each subject and recommended chapters for the books.

1. General Introduction
Glanville Williams: Learning the Law (13th ed. 2006)

2. Roman Law
Nicholas: An Introduction to roman Law
Borkowski: Textbook on Roman Law

3. Constitutional Law
P Leyland, The Constitution of the United Kingdom: A Contextual Analysis

4. Criminal law
Ashworth: Principles of Criminal law
Simester, Spencer, Sullivan and Virgo: Simester and Sullivan's Criminal law

5. Law of Tort
weir: An Introduction to tort Law

Yeah, definitely don't buy before you get there :smile:

There'll be a faculty booksale and you can pick up a lot second-hand when you know what you want (or you can do what I do which is spam the library copies A LOT. It worked this year and I'm determined to have even less next year :biggrin:

)

Don't feel obliged to do the reading list btw. I did try doing some of the reading beforehand and it wasn't amazingly helpful (well, I now have the case of Thabo Meli ingrained on my mind and know how the Dutch constitution works but not much else).

Learning the Law is alright but VERY dry. It's a good intro book though. Unlike Tortious, I've never read Letters. I gave "What About Law?" a read but I've only gotten halfway through :tongue:

(I have owned a copy for nearly 4 years now. I'm somewhat ashamed that I never got through it)

For Roman, I wouldn't be so quick to discount Nicholas. He's far more authoritative than Borkowski is and still quite easy to read. Both books may be on your reading list (I always had both as well as other sources but my supervisor doesn't supervise at Cambridge any more). It is a useful introduction :smile:

Out of date editions don't matter. The romans have been dead for too long for their law to change.

Ashworth is probably the most authoritative and brilliant criminal law textbook - I would recommend buying it regardless of what your supervisor says (unless it's out of date? Did criminal in 2010 and he had a 2009 edition so it was fine then). I didn't buy it and really regretted not having it in exam term because it was so darn clear! (Well, I used a library copy but it would have been so helpful earlier in the course). Simester and Sullivan is probably alright: I had the old edition and that was useable.

I'm told the tort book is really, really clear so if you do want to do intro reading, could well be worth a read (a friend of mine used it for the entire tort course!)

Reply 2009

Original post by gethsemane342

Unlike Tortious, I've never read Letters. I gave "What About Law?" a read but I've only gotten halfway through :tongue:

(I have owned a copy for nearly 4 years now. I'm somewhat ashamed that I never got through it)

And why do you think I read "Letters"? :wink:

I read "What About Law?" a long while ago before the Law Conference when I was in Year 12. I think they've since brought out a second edition, but I'm planning to get mine signed. :awesome:

Virgo signed it when I bought it - Janet O'Sullivan strikes me as friendly enough but do you think that making such a request of her would evoke an "erm... :lolwut:

"?

Ashworth is probably the most authoritative and brilliant criminal law textbook - I would recommend buying it regardless of what your supervisor says (unless it's out of date? Did criminal in 2010 and he had a 2009 edition so it was fine then). I didn't buy it and really regretted not having it in exam term because it was so darn clear! (Well, I used a library copy but it would have been so helpful earlier in the course). Simester and Sullivan is probably alright: I had the old edition and that was useable.

Really? Better than Herring? We didn't have one in our law library (as far as I recall) so I never thought to look for Ashworth's textbook. For some reason I thought he was an academic respected for his journal articles but who doesn't turn his hand to writing books...

Reply 2010

gethsemane342

11

Original post by Tortious

And why do you think I read "Letters"? :wink:

I read "What About Law?" a long while ago before the Law Conference when I was in Year 12. I think they've since brought out a second edition, but I'm planning to get mine signed. :awesome:

Virgo signed it when I bought it - Janet O'Sullivan strikes me as friendly enough but do you think that making such a request of her would evoke an "erm... :lolwut:

"?

Really? Better than Herring? We didn't have one in our law library (as far as I recall) so I never thought to look for Ashworth's textbook. For some reason I thought he was an academic respected for his journal articles but who doesn't turn his hand to writing books...

Ooh, I got mine signed - I was one of the first people to buy it :tongue:

By all 3 of them actually (it struck me as absolutely bizarre actually because I picked it up again last year and it has "Good luck, Geth!" (OK, not Geth but my actual name) and the signatures and I realised I was being supervised by O'Sullivan. She obviously wouldn't remember even speaking to me when I was in Year 12 and I'd completely forgotten they signed it till then) But she's so lovely, she'd probably do it without looking freaked out. This is the woman who showed my essay to her little daughter because I drew a cute sad face on it :tongue:

I don't think she'd mind :smile:

Never read Herring so not sure BUT Ashworth is extremely clear and probably the most authoritative of any criminal lawyer so I think it would be better in that respect. (That being said, I'm usually not a fan of authoritative. In Land, you get given the choice of Megarry and Wade which is authoritative and unreadable, or Gray and Gray which is less authoritative and only a bit more readable. For the love of all things beautiful, use Dixon instead. Less authoritative BUT HE'S ACTUALLY READABLE!)

Reply 2011

jsdupont

Am I the only one who is still waiting for his CAS from the PBI office?

They acknowledged receipt of my passport information on May 20th and it's supposed to take a week... 6 weeks later I still haven't received it and starting to get a little worried :confused:

Reply 2012

Hermione17

Original post by jsdupont

Am I the only one who is still waiting for his CAS from the PBI office?

They acknowledged receipt of my passport information on May 20th and it's supposed to take a week... 6 weeks later I still haven't received it and starting to get a little worried :confused:

Has Cambridge confirmed your place yet? You can only receive CAS when your offer is unconditional.

I myself have to wait till August (and of course, I have to get the required grades). If only A-level results were released earlier

Reply 2013

jsadapa1

Original post by Hermione17

If only A-level results were released earlier

If only

Reply 2014

kpatb

Original post by jsdupont

Am I the only one who is still waiting for his CAS from the PBI office?

They acknowledged receipt of my passport information on May 20th and it's supposed to take a week... 6 weeks later I still haven't received it and starting to get a little worried :confused:

Have you got your results? Is your offer unconditional?
They only send out CAS after your offer becomes unconditional :smile:

I havent got mine from the PBI office because my results only come out on the 18th of August soo yes. If I'm missing anything, let me know, I'll try to help you if I can :smile:

Reply 2015

myNameHere

I'm missing something, what's the CAS? :smile:

Reply 2016

kpatb

Original post by myNameHere

I'm missing something, what's the CAS? :smile:

Its an electronic reference number that international students recieve when their offer becomes unconditional so they can apply for a student visa (without which, we can't study in the UK) :smile:

Reply 2017

myNameHere

Original post by kpatb

Its an electronic reference number that international students recieve when their offer becomes unconditional so they can apply for a student visa (without which, we can't study in the UK) :smile:

Ahh phew, I was getting all worried it was something I'd managed to overlook that I needed to do! :rolleyes:

Reply 2018

jsdupont

Original post by Hermione17

Has Cambridge confirmed your place yet? You can only receive CAS when your offer is unconditional.

I myself have to wait till August (and of course, I have to get the required grades). If only A-level results were released earlier

Yes my offer is confirmed since mid-May.

Reply 2019

kpatb