Wetherly and Otter: The Business Environment 
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Additional casesWetherly and Otter: The Business Environment
Chapter 13
As has already been pointed out, the law is forever changing
and therefore care should be taken when reading any book on
the law, as its contents may be out of date. It is also the case
that law books can prove to be something of a struggle even
for lawyers as they are necessarily very technical.
With this in mind, the books recommended below are geared
towards those who are not experts in the law and give you an
overview of the relevant areas.
Oxford Dictionary of the Law (2003) 5th edition (Oxford: Oxford
University Press). Law, like many other subjects, has its own language. You may well find in your reading that you come across
a term you are unfamiliar with. If so, this is the book for you.
James Holland and Julian Webb (2006) Learning Legal Rules,
6th edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press). This book
provides a good starting point for studying and applying the
law. If nothing else you should read chapter 1 which gives a
good overview of the basic structure and sources of the law.
Karen Davies (2006) Understanding European Union Law
(London: Routledge). European law can be very difficult to
grasp. This book provides a simple and helpful overview of
the main issues.
Andrew McGee, Christina Williams and Gary Scanlan (2005)
The Law of Business Organisations (Exeter: Law Matters).
This book largely focuses on companies, but is well
structured, and therefore you can use it to give you more
detail on some of the legal points discussed in the Business
Organizations section of this chapter. This book will have to
be revised before the end of 2007 to take account of the new
Companies Act.
Denis Keenan (2006) Smith and Keenan's Law for Business,
13th edition (Harlow: Pearson Education). This is a more
all-embracing text than The Law of Business Organisations.
It does cover the central elements of company law but also
looks at broader legal issues affecting businesses such as
employment and contract law. Again this will have to be
revised shortly.
J. A. G. Griffith (1997) The Politics of the Judiciary,
5th edition (London: Fontana). A seminal text on the
role of the judiciary. Whilst not specifically related to
business it does give an insight into a central element
of the legal system.
Joel Bakan (2005) The Corporation (London: Constable).
(See also the film of the same name.) A critique of the
company as an institution, written by a Canadian law
professor. As we have discussed above, Bakan argues that
the legal structure of a company makes it act in a way that
puts profit before social considerations.
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