Reprinted with kind permission by The Malet Street Gazette.

George Pappas:  How did you find out about the University of London External Programme in laws?

Cara Annett: 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.

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!

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!

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.

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.