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GP. How did you
find out about the University of London External Programme in laws?
CA: When I was
offered the position of Editorial Assistant at Cavendish Publishing, my
then Managing Editor (and mentor!) Jo Reddy recommended that I take the
course on the basis that it would help me to be a better editor and that
it would assist me in dealing with our authors.
GP. In addition
to receiving the subject guides from the University of London, did you
seek out any tutorial assistance when you were a student?
CA: Jo Reddy gave
me assistance with the Contract part of the syllabus (she has taught it
for the University of London External Programme in Hong Kong for many
years, and is now head of commercial law). Apart from that, I attended a
couple of the Revision Weekends in London. These were great because you
got to meet others on the course – people from all walks of life!
GP. How did your
law studies at the University of London help prepare you for the
Managing Editor position at Cavendish Publishing?
CA: A lot of this
role involves dealing with authors, who may be barristers, solicitors,
QCs, judges, professors and learned legal scholars. It helps immensely
to have a sound grasp of the law and to be able to keep up with legal
debates. As I am involved in editing and commissioning textbooks, a
sound understanding of the core undergraduate subjects is indispensable.
It enables you to check the accuracy of the books’ content, and to
anticipate the need for certain books and gaps in the market. Knowledge
of particular branches of law, like contract law and employment law, is
also of course an asset here as it would be in almost any business.
GP: What is it
about the study law that you like most?
CA: I think
because law is so intrinsically connected to power, and freedom, that is
what really interests me – the relationship between the rule of law
and democracy in particular. Legal publishing is important because it
disseminates learning about law and is the vehicle for communicating
about the way the law works, and how it should be reformed. The study of
law is vital then, especially given that research carried out by
scholars is becoming increasingly influential on the various
consultative committees that make recommendations regarding law reform.
Having previously
graduated with a combined sociology and English degree, I find it
interesting to see how social concerns influence what is on the legal
agenda, and the way the original aims of legislative change sometimes
get bowdlerised in the process of becoming law (through drafting for
example). Judicial interpretation is fascinating coming from an English
literature and sociology background – you can see that there are
linguistic and policy issues in play.
The other thing
that makes law really interesting is its currency –it is always
changing, so it can’t be boring!
GP: Cavendish
Publishing has been a major force in publishing law books for students,
especially distance learning law students - did your experience as a
distance learning graduate attract Cavendish Publishing to your skills?
CA: Well, I
started the course on the recommendation of my boss here at Cavendish
and at the same time as I became Editorial Assistant. I suppose it would
be fair to say that my enthusiasm about doing the External Programme in
Laws probably helped win me the job – there was serious competition!
It also meant that I was using all the books and able to test their
effectiveness, which was undoubtedly useful to the team.
GP: What advice
would you give to students contemplating a law degree at the University
of London’s External Programme?
CA: Go for it! It
is a lot of hard work, but if you are genuinely interested in the law,
and prepared to study hard, you’ll get a lot out of it. For one thing,
it is the only way many people would be able to do this degree (for
myself I could not afford any further time off for study, or any greater
fees). Secondly, you get to make contacts with a diverse range of
interesting and motivated people. And finally the University of London
External Programme in Laws is hugely respected, in the UK and around the
world, as being a prestigious and valuable qualification. That
invariably impresses even the top lawyers and academics that I get to
meet through working at Cavendish! |
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GP: Are there any
books you would recommend to new law students preparing for their LLB
programme?
CA: Inevitably, a
certain amount comes down to what level you are at and the type of books
you prefer. For me, I got through the programme by using the study
guides supplied on the course and then reading good textbooks like those
published by Cavendish. For English Legal System, I used Gary Slapper
and David Kelly’s English Legal System, which is a very clear
book, including helpful discussion of the debates going on and
anticipating reforms. I also referred to Sharon Hanson’s Legal
Method, which I found really helpful for getting to grips with all
the difficult terminology you are faced with as a new student.
For Criminal Law
I used the Bloy and Parry Principles of Criminal Law book (this
is now by Mike Molan, Denis Lanser and Duncan Bloy) – straightforward
and accessible!
I used Hilaire
Barnett’s excellent book for Constitutional and Administrative Law –
Constitutional and Administrative Law is pretty much a one-stop
shop for the subject, although I found some excellent further reading in
Helen Fenwick and Gavin Phillipson’s Sourcebook on Public Law
– really stimulating! Vivienne Harpwood’s Principles of Tort Law was
indispensable as she has a very clear style and highlights the policy
considerations that have been massively influential in Torts,
particularly in relation to negligence.
For Land Law, I
found no more student-friendly an approach than Martin Dixon’s Principles
of Land Law. Alastair Hudson has a very thought-provoking approach
to Trusts in Equity and Trusts – the strength of his approach
lies in his total enthusiasm for the subject and his engagement with
various debates.
My optional
subjects were Evidence and European Union Law – for the former I used
Christopher Allen’s Practical Guide to Evidence, which is
really clear and logical, and not too long! For the latter, I used John
Tillotson’s European Union Law: Text and Materials – that
brings together everything you need in one book and is superb in terms
of putting it in the political and socio-economic context that is so
important in relation to the Community. We’ve recently published a new
book – EU Internal Market Law, by Gareth Davies – a very
useful and up to date book, and it has been well received by students.
Walter Cairns’s Introduction to EU Law was also a really
helpful introduction.
All the Briefcases
and Sourcebooks published by Cavendish were really valuable. The Q&As
for all the subjects gave good guidance and really got me through
the exams. I tended to read around by dipping into books in the Feminist
Perspectives series. For revision I used the LawCards and
some of the Essential series.
GP: Where
do most of your customers come from? Do you see any increase in
customers outside the UK for UK law books?
CA: The majority
of sales are to UK bookshops, but there certainly has been an increase
in overseas sales. We have identified better agents in recent times,
which has enabled us to generate greater overseas sales, but that action
was motivated by our awareness that there is increasing overseas
interest in our books, and of course students all over the world are
studying the London University External for which they need Cavendish
books. There has always been interest in the English legal system in
Commonwealth jurisdictions, naturally, as ours is the basis for much of
their system: we publish books on Australian law (we have an Australian
imprint) and we also publish a series on Commonwealth Caribbean Law that
has been very successful. In the EU there is interest in the English
legal system, and in the US there is increasing interest in the EU, as
well as issues like women and the law, and other gender-related issues,
so our Feminist Perspectives series and various titles on gender have
been well received there. We also publish various books on comparative
approaches to law, which are of interest internationally. We’ve seen
an increase in sales to Japan, and even more so China since its
accession to the WTO. Finally, we are currently co-publishing a book –
The UK’s Legal Responses to Terrorism (due December 2002) –
with an American publisher, Transnational, which shows how recent
terrorist attacks (eg, the World Trade Center and Bali) have created an
international interest in the law’s ability to deal with such threats
and the methods deployed in jurisdictions with past experience of
terrorism.
Ms.
Annett graduated from the University of Reading with a first class
degree and studied for the University of London's External LLB (using
only Cavendish books of course!), achieving a second class degree in
2000
Ms. Annett
is Managing Editor with Cavendish Publishers in London, England. Among
many duties, Ms. Annett is also responsible for liaising with authors
throughout the editorial processes and organises the printing of the
books.
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