Legal English 500©

“Legal English 500©” presents key Legal English terminology in short online reading and listening passages. The exercises which follow each reading or listening passage include multiple choice, fill-in-the-blanks, true-false and matching exercises that are designed to help you learn the vocabulary through context, testing and reinforcement. All of your results are stored in a database which you can access at any time to monitor your progress.

The basic version of the course provides 20-25 hours of online self-study. Professional membership includes a further 2 hours of private instruction each month by a TransLegal lawyer-linguist instructor who is assigned as your personal tutor.

Sources of Law
describing the sources of the various types of legislative, administrative, and judicial law (examples: statutory, codification, ruling)

Rights & Obligations
how to talk about what types of rights and obligations may arise by law or contract (examples: accrue, vest, encumbrance)

Legal Standards
describing legal standards imposed by the law (examples: best efforts, guilt, liability)

Interpreting the Law
vocabulary associated with discussing the nuances of the law (examples: construe, implied, infer, ambiguity)

Explaining the Law (Applicability)
describing how and whether the law applies (examples: scope, force, moot)

Explaining the Law (Permitted & Prohibited)
terminology associated with explaining what the law does and does not allow (examples: bar, enjoin, sanction)

Explaining the Law (Limits)
describing the upper and lower limits of what is permitted under the law (examples: lenient, curb, curtail)

Acts & Omissions
vocabulary necessary to describe the behavior of various parties (examples: misrepresent, deeds, render)

Parties
describing the people and roles involved in the law (examples: trustee, bailiff, proxy)

Evidence
the language of presenting and describing evidence (examples: corroboration, preponderance, presumption)

Advising the Client
vocabulary for advising a client on options, best course of action, etc. (examples: leeway, ill-advised, prudent)

The Deal
how lawyers talk about transactions (examples: matter, scheme, allot)

The Claim
Legal English vocabulary needed to describe and present claims and losses (examples: allege, incur, inflict)

Legal Procedure
describing the bodies, people, and procedures in various instances, e.g. courts, administrative bodies (examples: tribunal, panel, venue)

Pleading the Case
vocabulary associated with instituting proceedings, arguing a case and asking for remedies (examples: file, move, refute, plead)

Decisions
describing outcomes and results (examples: deem, remand, quash)

Enforcing the Law
explaining whether behavior complies with or contravenes the law (examples: compel, enforce, injunction, compliance, breach)

Time and the Law
language of deadlines, terms, and delays (examples: toll, time-barred, lapse, pending)

Money and the Law
describing costs and payments in the legal context (examples: retainer, disbursement, contingency fee)

Final Examination
a comprehensive test of many of the vocabulary terms taught in the course.