Strictly Legal: Things You Absolutely Need to Know about Canadian Law.

Robin Chamberlain is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University.

Strictly Legal is a book every Canadian should have on his or her bookshelf. Based on the popular television show of the same name, Strictly Legal makes the law comprehensible to Canadians who find themselves confronted with legal problems ranging from divorce to debt collection. The book is built on the same premise as the television program: that the law is important in the lives of average Canadians, and that it needs to be made accessible and comprehensible to the average person who is looking for practical information, rather than legal jargon.

Strictly Legal is divided into 10 chapters, each beginning “Ten Things You Absolutely Need to Know About.” The chapters focus on: the Canadian legal system; family law; wills, powers of attorney and estates; criminal law; business law; contracts; real estate law; employment law; intellectual property law; and “ten really interesting things you absolutely need to know.” The final section deals briefly with DNA and Canadian law, damages, suing politicians to keep their promises, legal problems involving animals, parental responsibility for their children’s actions, sports injuries, golf course liability, lotteries and litigation, class action lawsuits, and, finally, sexual abuse claims.

While no section is exhaustive, each provides the fundamentals one needs to understand at least the basics of the most common legal situations with which most Canadians are likely to be faced. Cochrane is well qualified to write this book, as he has been practising law in Ontario for over 27 years and has spoken on legal issues across Canada. He makes clear that the book is not intended as legal advice, but as a demystifying and practical layperson’s guide to Canadian law. Although I recommend reading the entire book, the reader seeking quick answers to specific questions will find the layout conducive to that, as is the index. Another helpful and fascinating feature of this book is the glossary of legal terminology.