Striking the right balance

Introduction to Business Law strikes the balance between explaining the law clearly, whilst at the same time giving students sufficient depth of study of case law to understand some of the more complex areas of the law.

Here the author takes us on a tour through the plethora of learning features used in the book to help students engage with the subject.

Before writing Introduction to Business Law I carried out research on the non-law students' perceptions and experience of studying law at degree level. The research has informed the style of the book to ensure it meets the requirements of today's student. Many students perceive law as a series of restrictive rules that businesses have to abide by, but the richness and often colourfulness of law is something that can really inspire students to study and enjoy the subject.

This book recognises that business students see law as one part of their overall study of the business environment and so it is important to understand the law in context.

For this reason, the book has a number of unique Business Insight boxes so that students can see the relevant and topical nature of the law and how common law, sometimes established in the last century, is used in the current business world.

Viewpoint boxes written by a variety of persons employed in industry, give students a snapshot of how important aspects of law are to a variety of current jobs within business. These features help the student to appreciate the value legal knowledge through the eyes of persons working within the business field.
Students should find the wealth of simply stated cases, the clear diagrams and flowcharts in addition to the key concept boxes valuable learning tools. The case boxes deal with the major cases in an easy to read manner. The diagrams and flowcharts enable students to work through aspects of the law using a different leaning style.

The key concept boxes highlight fundamental points of law within each chapter ensuring that students are aware of key elements in each topic area.
At the end of each chapter, there is a summary of the main points and a set of problem and essay type questions for students to tackle, encouraging them to test their understanding of the key concepts studied during the chapter. There is also suggested further reading which is particularly useful for those students wishing to delve further into the subject area.

Introduction to Business Law is supported by this Online Resource Centre offering student and lecturer resources that are closely linked to the book.

About the author:
Lucy Jones is a Deputy Head of Brighton Business School, University of Brighton and a qualified solicitor. In addition to delivering law modules to undergraduate and postgraduate law students, Lucy has extensive experience in teaching and supervising business law to business, finance and accountancy students.