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West Releases Ninth Edition of Black’s Law Dictionary

This week, West releases the new and improved ninth edition of Black’s Law Dictionary. The green cover in the new ninth edition replaces the black cover used in the eighth edition. According to publisher West, the ninth edition includes 2,000 more terms than the eighth edition and 19,000 more terms than the seventh edition.
Editor in Chief Bryan A. Garner, who also authored A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage and The Elements of Legal Style, has been praised by the ABA Appellate Practice Journal as “the preeminent expert in America on good legal writing” and received the prestigious 1994 Henry C. Lind Award by the Association of Reporters of Judicial Decisions. Garner heads Law Prose Inc., a continuing legal education group that trains judges and attorneys in legal writing and drafting.

Henry Campbell Black, an English legal scholar who authored treatises on topics from contracts to liquor laws, compiled the first edition of Black’s Law Dictionary in 1891.
Courts frequently look to Black’s Law Dictionary as an authoritative and persuasive source to interpret the meaning of words found in statutes and cases. The U.S. Supreme Court cited to Black’s Law Dictionary in 15 of the 80 cases decided during the October 2008 Term. Justices from the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts also cite older editions of Black’s so legal professionals, including lawyers, paralegals, and law librarians, should keep older versions of Black’s Law Dictionary. Legal professionals who want the ostentatious look can purchase the deluxe edition with a bonded leather cover and thumb cuts for access to book sections. To purchase the ninth edition of Black’s Law Dictionary, visit west.thomson.com.

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