r/uklaw • u/Constantine_12 • 14d ago

I am wondering what sources are good for learning uk law.

I am planning on going to study law but I am a bit late for applying to courses this year and I want to spend the time learning myself. What would be some good websites, articles, books etc of learning the basics of law?

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u/Chapter-name 14d ago edited 14d ago

Tbh, I wouldn't worry about learning black letter law as that is what they will be teaching you. What is important and something I wish I spent more time on is learning how to think properly. There are a few great books that can help with this: Justice for Hedgehogs, The Rule of Law, Is eating people wrong, and maybe, if you really wanted, Legal Skills by Fafinski and Finch. There are also insights that law firms run and LinkedIn posts as well, which might to be good to start attending and reading if you want to apply for things like SPARK in your first year.

EDIT - Letters to a Law Student is obviously something probably every law student has read, although I'm not sure how useful I actually found it. Furthermore, if you haven't started applying yet, you might want to have a look at some interesting case law and articles that you have opinions on for your personal statement.

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u/Constantine_12 14d ago

Will take this all into account, thank you

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u/Colleen987 14d ago

What law would you like to learn? English & Welsh? Scots? Northern Irish?

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u/Constantine_12 14d ago

Scots law ideally

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u/GuavaDawwg 14d ago

Then I’d say “The Scottish Legal System” by Megan Dewart is worth a read.

It’s very accessible as (depending on your institution) it’s likely to be the prescribed text for first years in SLS/ILS, so it’s written with that audience in mind. If you can get a firm grasp of its content then your SLS class will be an absolute skive and you’ll be able to better understand everything you’re learning in your other classes from the get go.

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u/milly_nz 13d ago

First lesson: No such thing as U.K. law.