Course · Interpersonal Skills
Legal English for Foreign Lawyers
Read, write and speak legal English with confidence: the layers of the language, the core vocabulary, false friends, dense sentences, clear writing, contracts and the spoken English of meetings and negotiation.
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You may know the law of your own country very well and still feel uncertain in English. This is a full programme for lawyers and law students whose first language is not English, in fourteen modules and a capstone. It does not teach English from the beginning. It teaches the English that legal work needs: how the language is layered, which words and verbs to use, which words will mislead you, how to take a long sentence apart, how to write a clear email and a plain-English piece of advice, how to read a contract, how to speak in a meeting or a negotiation, how to describe your own legal system, how to read the language of disputes, company and finance and the main practice areas, how to research and verify sources, how to draft and translate, and how to apply for jobs and work across cultures. Every module has practice, and the capstone asks you to explain a point of your own law to an English-speaking client, in writing and aloud.
The Curriculum
What makes legal English different: layers, register and clear writing→
The three layers of legal English, where its words come from, register, the main varieties and the case for plain writing. Practice: Which Layer? and Plain or Pompous?
The words you need: people, process, contracts and common collocations→
Core vocabulary by family, words with several meanings and the verbs that go with legal nouns. Practice: Right Verb, Right Noun and Same Word, Different Meaning.
False friends and missing concepts: when your word and the English word do not match→
False friends, uncountable nouns, and common-law concepts that do not translate. Practice: Spot the False Friend and Explain It, Don’t Translate It.
Reading legal English: long sentences, defined terms, modal verbs and conditions→
Unpacking long sentences, defined terms, shall, must, may, conditions and exceptions, and ambiguity. Practice: What Does the Verb Say? and Unpack the Sentence.
Writing clearly in English: emails, letters and the mistakes learners make→
Structure of an email, tone, advice in plain words and the most common learner mistakes. Practice: Fix the Email and Build a Client Email.
Contracts and clauses: the anatomy of an English-language contract→
The parts of a contract and the plain meaning of the key clauses. Practice: What Does the Clause Do? and Spot the Weak Clause.
Speaking and meetings: calls, negotiations, hearings and difficult words→
Calls and meetings, polite clarifying and disagreeing, negotiating, addressing a court and difficult words. Practice: Say the Right Thing, Say It Right and a client meeting with an interpreter.
Describing legal systems: sources of law, courts and professions in English→
Common law and civil law, sources of law, courts and professions, and describing a procedure in English. Practice: Which Source of Law? and Describe the Court System.
Litigation, arbitration and judgments: the language of disputes→
Stages of a civil case, criminal procedure words, arbitration and mediation, and how to read a judgment. Practice: Stage by Stage and Read the Judgment.
Company and finance English: shares, directors, deals, loans and insolvency→
Companies, shares and meetings, acquisitions, loans and security, and insolvency vocabulary. Practice: Company Words and The Deal Timeline.
Practice-area vocabulary: property, employment, family, intellectual property and crime→
Core vocabulary for property, employment, family, intellectual property and crime, with the main UK and US differences. Practice: Which Area? and Fix the Term.
Legal research in English: sources, statutes, cases and citations→
Primary and secondary sources, reading statutes and citations, summarising a case and verifying authorities. Practice: Read the Citation and Summarise the Case.
Drafting and translating: writing clauses, bilingual contracts and checking machine output→
Drafting principles, from instructions to clause, bilingual contracts and translation, and checking machine and AI output. Practice: Draft the Clause and Translation Traps.
Working and growing in English: interviews, networking, cultures and continuing to learn→
CVs and interviews, networking, cross-cultural communication, working in teams and a plan for continuing to improve. Practice: Say It Your Way and Build Your Introduction, plus an interview room.
Capstone: Capstone: explain a point of your own law in English, in writing and aloud→
Explain a point of your own law to an English-speaking client in writing, then aloud, and plan your next three months. A checklist and a practice room.
What It Covers
“You will not be taught to sound old-fashioned. You will be taught to be clear, correct and confident in the English that lawyers actually use.”
- Fourteen modules and a capstone that follow the work: the language, vocabulary and traps, reading and writing, contracts, speaking, then legal systems, disputes, company and finance, practice areas, research, drafting and translation, and working life.
- Written in plain English for non-native readers, with tables, short examples and respellings of hard words, and a full range of practice areas.
- Built for lawyers who work across systems: false friends, concepts with no equivalent, and a method for explaining your own law in English.
- Practice labs and rooms: register sorting, collocations, a false-friend spotter, sentence unpacking, an email fixer, clause matching, pronunciation, court-system descriptions, a deal timeline, case summaries, translation traps and three interview rooms.
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Or give this as a giftOther Scrolls in This Chamber
Across the Table$15 →Interests, walk-away numbers, offers, trades, pressure tactics and professional limits, with practice rooms and calculators.
Cooling the Room$15 →How conflict escalates, mapping a dispute, de-escalation, hard conversations, choosing a process, mediation, power, culture and ethics, with practice mediations.
The Client Conversation$15 →Trust, the first meeting, fees and scope, updates in plain words, advice and decisions, bad news, boundaries and ethics, with practice meetings.Module 1 is free to try. Sign in, pass each module quiz and the course average, and your Certificate of Completion is emailed to you automatically. This course teaches method and technique with invented people and figures; it is general education, not legal advice, and professional rules differ from country to country.
Common questions
- What level of English do I need?
- A good intermediate level or above. The course is written in plain English and explains each legal term, but it does not teach general English grammar from the beginning.
- Is it for a particular country’s English?
- No. It uses examples from England and Wales and the United States, notes the main differences, and teaches you to choose one variety and stay consistent.
- Does it prepare me for an English-language exam?
- It is not designed for a particular exam. It teaches the skills that such exams test, but you should check the syllabus of any exam that you plan to take.
- How does it relate to the Legal English apps?
- The apps (Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and Arabic) give you glossaries and clause cards that put your language and English side by side. The course teaches how to use that vocabulary in reading, writing and speaking. They are separate purchases.
- Do I need to be a lawyer?
- No. It is written for lawyers and law students, but paralegals, translators and business people who work with legal documents in English will also benefit.
- How do I get the Certificate of Completion?
- Sign in, pass each module quiz and keep a course average of at least 75. The certificate is then issued and emailed to you automatically.
- Is any of it legal advice?
- No. The people and situations are invented for teaching, and this is general education about language, not legal advice. Law and legal practice differ from country to country.
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