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# 1.1 The law in books and the law in action: everyday meanings of law

Most people’s experience of law is with what might be called ‘the law in action’: you observe or encounter the application of law in practice through contact with, for example, solicitors, the courts or the police, and tend to associate their work with the law. However, social workers are also legal actors – professionals with legal power and authority. They are therefore very much part of the law in action, even if they do not fit your immediate associations with this role.

Figure 3 Everyday meanings of law

You may also be aware of the existence of ‘the law in books’ – the written rules and principles which are the sources on which these legal actors depend – but this idea of law tends to be regarded as the province of experts within the legal profession, beyond public concern. It is only when the law is put into action, or changes are proposed in the political sphere, that law in books can become the subject of intense public debate.

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OpenLearn - Social work law and UK regulation
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