Book reviews

Conveyancing Checklists,Frances Silverman and Russell Hewitson, The Law Society, £34.95, ISBN 9781853289835

This is the first edition of a book and accompanying CD- ROM which the authors intend to keep up to date so as to present the conveyancer with a current desktop reference tool. They will certainly need to.

Conveyancing is a fast moving area of practice with 2007 looking likely to be another challenging year for conveyancers with the pace of change continuing unabated.

The law stated is current as at October 2006. The content on Home Information Packs is based on last year's regulations which are soon to be updated with significant amendments due in March 2007.

The book is split into two parts. Part A includes checklists, Part B precedents for a wide range of standard letters. Appendices reproduce the Law Society's Protocol, the Code for completion by post, the formulae for exchanging contracts and various warning cards, the Lenders' Handbook part one and Land Registry Fees and Land Charges. The entire content of the appendices is readily available elsewhere so attention must focus on the utility of the checklists and precedent letters.

The provenance of the checklists could hardly be better, based as they are on the Conveyancing Handbook. The authors' preface states that the checklists are for routine transactions but notwithstanding this they include charity dealings, buying from administrative receivers, agricultural land, premises requiring a licence and a very good section on VAT and costs in particular. Close adherence to the checklists on searches and leaseholds would go a long way towards effective management of these higher risk areas.

The precedent letters in Part B are not extensive but do cover an array of client care letters for use in different contexts which practitioners will find useful. The majority of letters are rather basic and most conveyancing practices will have these in place already.

The book is best suited in the main to the less experienced conveyancer but even seasoned conveyancers will benefit from some of the checklists. In this risk-aware climate the use of checklists in a busy practice is always a worthwhile exercise.

• Janet Baker is a solicitor and lecturer with Central Law Training

Service Charges for Leasehold, Freehold & Commonhold, Gerald Sherriff, Tottel Publishing, £98, ISBN 9781845921200

Service Charges '“ Law and Practice (Fourth Edition), Philip Freedman, Eric Shapiro and Brian Slater, Jordans, £45, ISBN 9781846610417

The first of these books is an entirely new publication, and is an exceptionally comprehensive book, covering every aspect of service charges: their origins, drafting and negotiation issues, collection procedures, specific service charge items, the main statutory provisions affecting service charges, Codes of Practice (including the most recent commercial Code of Practice, that came into force on 1 April 2007) and even some fifteen precedents for use by the practitioner. Relevant statutory provisions and Codes of Practice, however, are not set out in an appendix to the book, which some readers might have found useful. The book is up to date as at 1 July 2006.

This is more an encyclopaedia, for reference purposes, than a concise guide for reading on the train; indeed a hardback book such as this one, containing some 654 pages, is never going to be particularly convenient for travelling. Indeed, the author himself states that it was his intention to make this book the most comprehensive there is on the topic, and I feel confident that he has succeeded in this ambition.

However, although comprehensive, the book is set out clearly, in a logical order, and is written in an approachable style, so that even the most inexperienced of practitioners should be able to find the answer to his or her dilemma within its pages.

The second of these books is the latest edition of a well-known publication, which does not seek to be a comprehensive guide to every aspect of service charges. The commentary is concise, and relevant statutory provisions and Codes of Practice are set out in an appendix to the book, together with a few specimen clauses. The book is up to date as at 1 December 2006.

Unlike the first book, this is less an encyclopaedia, for reference purposes, than a concise, paperback guide for reading on the train or taking to meetings. The book has 435 pages, of which 235 contain the main text.

The authors have, however, managed to pack a huge amount of information into those 235 pages, and in some cases, have provided considerably more information than the author of the first book, for example in relation to Value Added Tax (the second book contains a whole chapter on VAT, while the first book contains a single reference to VAT only).

On the other hand, the first book deals in some considerable detail with both the residential and the commercial codes of practice, even comparing the two, while the second book deals only with the commercial code of practice, and does that in no more than two pages (although the book sets out the full text of the code itself).

It is impossible for me to recommend one book over the other, as they are so very different. It is simply a question of horses for courses: the first book may be more comprehensive, and contains fuller precedent clauses, but the second book contains the text of statutory provisions and codes of practice.

The second book is also lighter to carry, and costs less than half the price of the first book. Which to choose must be a matter of personal preference; both are excellent books, written by authoritative practitioners.

• Peta Dollar is a freelance lecturer, trainer and writer

Landlord and Tenant Law '“ Past, Present and Future, Edited by Susan Bright, Hart Publishing, 2006, ISBN 9781841135939/1841135933

This book comprises 13 chapters or 'essays', each approximately 20 pages long and written by an academic or professional lawyer, which together provide a jurisprudential overview of the continuing development of landlord and tenant law. The last two chapters provide an comparative law analysis of Australian and US residential tenancy law.

The overall standard of authorship and scholarship is high. All the main types of tenancy are covered '“ commercial, short and long term residential, agricultural and social housing. This is not a practitioners' 'how to do' book and it is not intended to be. Nor is it a legal textbook, although statutory material is well indexed and each page contains comprehensive footnotes including full case references for those wanting to delve deeper.

However, it would be incorrect to categorise this work as simply an academic work of research. It places landlord and tenant law in its living context, as a complex mix of both real property and contract law developing both at common law and by statute in response to social-economic policy making by government, often ideologically driven.

The book successfully charts the shifting balance of power between landlords and tenants through the vicissitudes of legislative interference in the tenancy relationship. It sets out the 'why?' of the law, providing interesting insights into the underlying policy reasons for legislative changes. The role of the judiciary in applying the law to reflect policy and social change is analysed. For the jurist, there is an excellent analysis of Street v Mountford and its aftermath in the chapter contributed by Professor Susan Bright, who is also the general editor. Future directions in the law are given good coverage and are an integral part of the book, which makes this book recommended reading for policy makers and would-be legislators in this area.

• Stanley Jacobs is a freelance solicitor

PIBA Personal Injury Handbook (Third Edition), Edited by Frank Burton, Charles Cory-Wright, Simon Levene, and Philip Mead, Jordan Publishing, 2007, £90, ISBN 1846610540/ 9781846610547

The third edition of the PIBA Personal Injury Handbook is an accessible and authoritative analysis of the present substantive and procedural system for personal injury claims. This edition is a welcome update of developments in the personal injury field and provides useful guidance.

The general editors are Frank Burton QC, Charles Cory-Wright QC, Simon Levene, and Philip Mead however, the list of contributors is extensive. They have collected 36 substantive chapters beginning with the establishment of liability. They then proceed to constructing a claim for damages before analysing procedure, the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB), fatal accidents, periodical payments, costs and the Human Rights Act. No topic if left out.

A particularly attractive feature of the book is that it does not just explain what to do in given situations, but explains why. So many books set out the substantive and procedural aspects of personal injury cases without consideration of tactics, application and consequences.

This book makes an obvious contribution to the literature by including thoughtful analysis on why and when steps should be taken. For instance, in the chapter on surveillance evidence, the writers examine the advantages and disadvantages to the claimant and defendant before considering tactics for meeting video evidence by the claimant and defendant.

Another strength of this book is the way in which it highlights the complexity of certain subject areas but then deals with them in a useful and impressive way. For instance, periodical payments and the MIB sections are written with clarity.

The PIBA Personal Injury Handbook was published in June 2007 and costs £90 which compared to may texts in this field is reasonable and affordable.

It is a practical reference work for all personal injury practitioners (although it has been written by barristers) and for that reason I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for an up-to-date, affordable 'one-stop-shop' handbook.

• Dr Victoria Handley is a partner at Handley Brown LLP solicitors