Legal English 500©

500 terms and phrases you need to know

This is an introductory course designed to provide the learner with key Legal English vocabulary common to all areas of legal practice. The course teaches 500 terms essential for using English in the practice of law. Following this course, the learner can go on to learn the essential vocabulary in particular fields of law, such as company law, contract law, and other commercial law areas.

Course description

“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.

Course duration

The basic version of the course provides 20-25 hours of online self-study. The professional version includes a further 9.5 hours of private instruction by a TransLegal lawyer-linguist instructor who is assigned as your personal tutor.

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Course contents

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.