Business Basics for Law Students, Fourth Edition

by Robert W. Hamilton, Richard A. Booth

The book demystifies business principles through:
- the combined skills of distinguished authors who draw on their teaching and writing experience to build student confidence
- straightforward explanations of daunting topics (accounting, financial statements, taxes, mortgages, etc.) tailored to students without a business background
- generous use of examples to convey ideas and applications
- a helpful list of terms in the appendix, conveniently keyed to the pages where they are used and explained
- frequent use of visual aids, such as tax forms, newspaper financial quotes, tables, and graphs
- an accessible design featuring lists of topics keyed to headings at the beginning of each chapter, key terms and concepts bolded for easy identification, and frequent use of lists to clearly enumerate points and examples
Thoroughly updated to respond to recent developments, the Fourth Edition features:
- new material on recent scandals and reforms in the chapters on accounting, forms of organization, trading, and mutual funds
- the latest information on executive compensation
- extensive revisions to the chapters on tax and retirement planning, in light of recent and proposed reforms, especially in connection with Social Security
- an expanded chapter on insurance that now includes health insurance, auto insurance, and more
- new material on spinoffs and other divisive reorganization in the chapter on mergers, as well as discussion of taxable and tax-free transactions
- new coverage of securities regulation, antitrust, intellectual property law, and international business transactions integrated throughout the text

Genres: Law

580 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Brendan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does just what it promises: it explains business concepts to law students and lawyers who do not have a business background. The topics are pretty comprehensive, ranging from interest/discount rates to accounting basics, corporate structures, financial instruments and the operation of financial markets. There's a lot to cover here, but the length of the book is pretty good: much shorter and it wouldn't be detailed enough to be helpful; much longer and I would not have had sufficient interest to get through it. I definitely recommend the book, but make sure you get the most updated edition, as some material had become pretty outdated since the book was written.

[UALR Bowen School of Law]

Recommended by Professor Frances Fendler.

This is an excellent resource that supplies the background law students need to succeed in all business-related courses, including Business Associations and Securities Regulation. It is written especially for students who did not take business courses as undergraduates.

[sologdin · Rating 1 out of 5]

kind of a distillation of business school propaganda down to the essentials, which fit well enough in a single volume. (why do kids bother with business school, if it's all in one book?)