About the Dictionary

You don't need a law dictionary for American or British lawyers.

U.S. and British law dictionaries are written for U.S. and British lawyers. Lawyers trained and working in the common law system. Lawyers whose native language is English. They don't use an English law dictionary in the same way as a non-native speaker trained and working in a non-common law system.

A British or U.S. lawyer looking up the word "decree" might want to know the difference between a "decree in equity" and a "judgment at common law" (something relevant only to the common law system). Lawyers who are non-native speakers of English will most often want to learn other things like how to use the word in a sentence, how to pronounce the word, or what common mistakes to avoid. They need a learner's dictionary of law.

That's why TransLegal has put its more than 20 years of experience in producing Legal English tests, course books and online training into the world's first learner's dictionary of law.

Thousands of hours of ongoing research

The TransLegal Learner's Dictionary of Law is the product of thousands of hours of ongoing research carried out by an expert team of lawyer-linguists.

Every term included in the TransLegal Learner's Dictionary of Law has been thoroughly researched to ensure the definitions reflect current usage. This research was carried out with the aid of numerous corpora (collections of texts) and legal documents from a wide range of sources. Each definition has been graded so that it can be understood by learners with a Council of Europe CEFR B1-B2 level of English. Where more complex language has been unavoidable in the definitions, this language has been defined in parentheses.

Corpora were also used in the research carried out for the phrase bank entries in the full version of the dictionary to provide a selection of examples of contemporary usage together with common collocations (words that typically appear next to or near other words e.g. to breach a contract, a proprietary interest etc). Corpora, legal texts and authoritative guides to contemporary usage were referred to when developing the additional notes and common errors sections, together with examples and illustrations collected during TransLegal's over 20 years of experience in training thousands of lawyers.

The dictionary is being constantly updated with more words being added every day. We are currently working on a further 2,500 words to add to our initial 2,500, and plan to release the next full update in 2010.

Our research methods ensure that not only is this the world's first learner's Legal English dictionary, but it is also the only dictionary of law that is based entirely on corpora to define and illustrate contemporary International Legal English in use.

For only €19.95, you get a single-user license to the TransLegal Learner's Dictionary of Law for one year. The dictionary is accessed with a user name and password through the Internet using any browser and, therefore, no special software or downloads are required.

Payment is made using a major credit card or PayPal.

Group discounts are available. Please contact TransLegal at dictionary@translegal.com for details.

Publisher

Michael G. Lindner, B.A., J.D.
Founder and CEO, TransLegal Group
Born: New York, USA. Admitted to the Connecticut Bar and the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. Practiced law in a private law firm in the area of civil litigation. Founded TransLegal, 1989. Translator authorised by the Swedish Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency.

Editor-in-chief

Matt Firth, L.L.B., M.A.
Born: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. LLB (English and French Law) 1995, University of Canterbury, Kent, England. ILEC Regional Manager for Austria and Germany, PLEAD Project Manager. RSA CTEFLA, Diploma and MA in TEFL (dissertation: Materials Design in English for Legal Purposes). Matt has taught English and English for Specific Purposes since 1996 and is currently senior lecturer in English for Legal Purposes (ELP) at the University of St Gallen, Switzerland. He regularly gives training sessions and presentations in ELP, Business English and Internet in language education throughout Europe and is secretary of the European Legal English Teachers Association. His research interests include materials development for ELP and blended learning.

Senior Consultant

John Birchall, PhD
John was originally trained in Classics. His PhD at UCL involved computer analysis of the lexicon of a Greek author. After the PhD, in 1996, he joined the Oxford English Dictionary for three years, where he became Senior Assistant Editor (Etymology). At the OED he benefited from in-house training, and absorbed the unique traditions of that dictionary. He then studied for the Bar part- time, while continuing to work, and was called to the Bar in 2006. Since leaving his full-time post at the OED, he has taught law and legal English, concurrently with undertaking research, writing, and editing projects in various fields, mainly law and lexicography. His research work
includes eight years of ongoing regular research, on a freelance basis, for the Oxford English Dictionary.

Authors

Robin A. Bernstein, B.A., J.D.
Born: New York, USA. Admitted to the New York and Maryland Bars and
the United States Federal Courts for the districts of New York,
Maryland, and Washington, D.C. Admitted to the Bar of the Supreme
Court of the United States. Practiced in a general civil litigation
firm in Washington, D.C. Assistant District Attorney, N.Y.C., N.Y.,
1982-1989.

Jonathan Bryce, LL.B
Born: London, England. Bachelors degree in Law with French, Sussex University, England, 1996; Diplôme D'Études Européennes, Toulouse, France, 1995. Trainee Solicitor and Solicitor at the London and Brussels offices of Allen & Overy, an international commercial law firm, 1999-2005, including secondments at the Stockholm offices of Swedish commercial law firms Gernandt & Danielsson and Vinge.

Peter R. Dahlen, B.A., J.D., LL.M.
Born: Delaware, USA. Received his legal education in the United States at The Catholic University of America and a Masters in European Intellectual Property Law from Stockholm University. Admitted to the District of Columbia and Maryland Bars. Former United States Senate, Committee on the Judiciary, Counsel to Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Portfolio included intellectual property, criminal law, privacy, election and campaign finance law, Internet crime and security, and critical infrastructure protection. Associate at plaintiff's firm in Washington, D.C.

Robert N. Houser, B.A., J.D., LL.M.
Born: Philadelphia, USA. Admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Practiced 5 years in the areas of commercial and tort law litigation. Practice included numerous trials and appeals before the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. Received his Masters degree in European Law from Stockholm University. Lecturer in EC Procedural Law and coach of the Stockholm University European Moot Court 1997-1998, 1999-2002. Co-author (TransLegal) of the "International Legal English" book published by Cambridge University Press and chief advisor at TransLegal for the Cambridge University ESOL International Legal
English Certificate (ILEC) examination.

Gregory M. Poehler, B.A., J.D.
Born: Boston, MA (USA). Admitted to the New York and Massachusetts Bars and the United States Federal Courts for the Southern District of New York and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Practiced in two large law firms in New York City with a specialization in intellectual property law, including trademark, copyright and patent litigation and domain name dispute resolution. Participant in the Masters Programme for European Intellectual Property Law at Stockholm University in 2006.

Randy G. Sklaver, B.A., J.D.
Born: New York, USA. Admitted to the California Bar and the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Received her J.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles (1987). Practice included insurance coverage litigation and appeals as well as tort law litigation and appeals.

Angelique Vega-Olsson, J.D.
Born: New York, USA. Bachelors Degree in History and French Literature, Fordham University Graduate School of Education, Fordham University, New York Law School, Juris Doctor. Practiced Medical Malpractice defense in New York City. Worked in Stockholm at Tisell Advokatfirman, Mergers and Acquisitions.