Praise for the 1st edition
“ The Legal English Manual is a fantastic reference guide for those seeking to elevate their use of English in a professional law-related context. The book is concise and extremely user-friendly, while providing a wealth of guidance for numerous practice scenarios. And it can add value to everyone from the law student to the seasoned lawyer. ”
Toni Jaeger-Fine | Assistant Dean | Fordham Law School (New York City)
“ In today’s international legal practice, working in English is inescapable but can be challenging for those who are not native speakers of English. This is where the Legal English Manual becomes a valuable resource. It provides users with a well-structured reference to commonly used terms in various areas of practice, as well as guides for written and oral communication. I fully recommend this for any lawyer who works in English! ”
Joel Lee | Associate Professor | Faculty of Law National University of Singapore
“ This book provides the essence of the professional legal English language: professional language, legal terminology, and examples on how to use them in practical situations. It is hence more than a reference book for international law students and lawyers. Sample documents, checklists, and guidance for practical situations make this handbook a compass for international legal practice. ”
Larry Teply | Professor in Law, Creighton University, Nebraska (USA) Chairman of the International Negotiation Competition for Law Students Author of “Legal Negotiation in a Nutshell”
“ The Legal English Manual, with its fresh approach and engaging content, is a very valuable resource in maintaining and strengthening clear, accurate, and relevant communication in law. ”
Frank Astill | President, International Negotiation Competition for Law Students Former Director of The University of Sydney Law Extension Committee (Australia)
“ This is a valuable manual for non-native speakers to improve their legal writing and speaking skills! It contains lots of useful terminology, phrases, and tips in a well-organized style which makes it easy for users to find the information they need easily. ”
Tetsuo Morishita | Professor | Sophia University Law School, Tokyo (Japan)
“ The Legal English Manual is so much more than the title suggests; it contextualizes the use of legal English so that students and practitioners can use the lessons for everything from getting a job to retaining and communicating with clients to advocating and negotiating on behalf of those clients. This book packs a huge educational punch into a highly efficient and user-friendly small package! ”
Nancy Schultz | Professor of Law | Fowler School of Law
Chapman University, California (USA)
“ With its clear explanation of legal vocabulary and useful form documents for both the U.S. and the U.K., this book is both an essential resource for civil-law lawyers, and an excellent guide for U.S. or U.K. lawyers who want to master the subtle differences in legal vocabulary and written forms between the two countries and their legal systems. ”
John B. Thornton | Clinical Associate Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Chicago (USA) | Chair of the Section on Graduate Programs for Non-U.S. Lawyers of the American Association of Law Schools | Author of U.S. Legal Reasoning, Writing, and Practice for International Lawyers, Carolina Academic Press, 2014
“ An excellent handbook providing students with an accurate, clear, and practice-oriented insight into all relevant Legal Skills issues. ”
Stefano Troiano | Full Professor of Private Law | University of Verona (Italy)
“ The Legal English Manual provides an exceptional overview of the various modes and styles of legal English communication. It provides key vocabulary terms for multiple practice areas, guidelines for different styles of legal writing, and advice for effective oral communication. Significantly, it places legal terminology into context, rather than simply providing isolated definitions. At the same time, it provides an appropriate depth of information without overwhelming the reader. Overall, it is a solid primer that will provide legal professionals anywhere in the world with the foundation they need to begin effectively communicating with other English-speaking professionals. ”
Aaron Richard Harmon | B.A., M.A., J.D., LEED® AP
Clinical Assistant Professor | College of Law, Qatar University (Doha-Qatar)
Weston Walsh
Cornelius
Bollag
Kuhn-Schulthess
Wiebalck
Norman
von Zedtwitz
The Legal English Manual
2nd Edition
The Legal English Manual
2nd Edition
Handbook for Professional Legal Language
and Practical Skills
Kathrin Weston Walsh (Editor)
J.D., M.A. (Duke University School of Law)
Attorney (District of Columbia and Colorado)
Julian Cornelius
LL.B (Griffith College Dublin), LL.M. (University College Dublin)
Attorney (New York), Solicitor (Ireland, England, and Wales), Mediator
Jenna Bollag
BA LL.B (Monash University, Melbourne)
Lawyer (Supreme Court of Victoria, Australia)
Sandra Kuhn-Schulthess
Master’s of Law (University of St. Gallen)
MAS in Customer Relationship Management (ZHAW Winterthur)
Alison Wiebalck
Dr. iur., BA LL.B (Macquarie University, Sydney)
Lawyer-Linguist in Zurich
Richard Norman
LL.M. (London)
Solicitor of the Supreme Court (England and Wales)
Clemens von Zedtwitz
Dr. iur., LL.M. (University of California, Los Angeles)
Rechtsanwalt in Zurich
Published by
Lawbility Ltd., Sumatrastrasse 25, 8006 Zurich
Switzerland
www.legalenglishexperts.com
Co-published by
Verlag C.H.Beck oHG, Wilhelmstrasse 9, 80801 Munich
Germany
www.beck.de
Helbing Lichtenhahn Verlag, Elisabethenstrasse 8, 4051 Basel
Switzerland
www.helbing.ch
BarWrite® Press, PO Box 1308, Gracie Station, New York
United States
www.barwrite.com
Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means, or transmitted, or translated into machine language without the written permission of the publisher. Requests for permission, licensing agreements, or distribution agreements to be sent to the publisher.
ISBN 978-3-9524737-0-2 (Lawbility)
ISBN 978-3-406-70828-2 (C.H.BECK)
ISBN 978-3-7190-3944-8 (Helbing Lichtenhahn)
ISBN-10: 0-9706088-8-8 (BarWrite®)
ISBN-13: 978-0-9706088-8-8 (BarWrite®)
eISBN: 978-3-9524737-4-0
Graphic Design: Joel Dimitri Franz
Illustration: Anita Kurz
© 2017 Lawbility, Switzerland
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Preface
Proficiency in Legal English is a highly desirable skill. The Legal English Manual is the first of its kind to use a practice-oriented approach specifically geared to legal professionals who use Legal English in their practice. It is not a course book, but a handbook designed to provide practitioners with key legal terminology, along with explanations and examples of usage.
English has become the most global of languages, the lingua franca of international commerce, science, computing, and law. Even non-Anglo-American companies often choose English for international negotiations and agreements. For better or for worse, the use of English in international commerce and international law is inescapable. The ability to use Legal English competently and confidently has, thus, become a requirement for lawyers working in an international environment.
The Legal English Manual’s authors are either practicing lawyers trained and licensed in the US, the UK, and civil law jurisdictions, or linguists with extensive experience teaching and coaching Legal English. The book also draws on the combined expertise of a wide network of coaches, legal practitioners, and linguists who work with Lawbility, a professional legal language and practical legal skills training institute based in Zurich, Switzerland.
Specifically designed for legal practitioners, the Legal English Manual is a practical reference book for legal professionals who want to “demonstrate their lawbility.” We hope that it will provide you with the Legal English tools you need to take your legal practice to the next level.
Please send any comments you may have to legalenglish@lawbility.ch.
January 2017
Kathrin Weston Walsh |
Jean-Luc Delli |
Editor |
Managing Director Lawbility Ltd. |
Content
Preface
How to use this book
I. Legal Terminology Manuals for Practice Areas
1. Contract Law
2. Tort Law
3. Company/Corporate Law
4. Employment Law
5. Family Law
6. Trusts and Estates/Inheritance Law
7. Insurance Law
8. Intellectual Property Law
9. Antitrust/Competition Law
10. Civil Procedure
11. Arbitration
12. Bankruptcy Law
13. Tax Law
14. Criminal Law
II. Legal Practice Manuals for Legal Writing
1. Professional Legal Writing – Language and Style
2. Formal v. Informal Correspondence
3. Professional Correspondence
4. Substantive Correspondence to Opposing Counsel
5. Substantive Correspondence to a Client
6. Response to a Request for Documents or Information
7. Research Memorandum Template
8. Contract Drafting
III. Legal Practice Manuals for Oral Communication
1. Oral Advocacy Phrases and Expressions
2. Negotiation Phrases and Expressions
3. Negotiation Checklist
4. Client Interview Phrases and Expressions
5. Client Interview Checklist
6. Proposals – Responding to an RFP
7. Checklist for Proposals
8. Job Interview Phrases and Expressions
Authors’ Profiles
How to use this book
Introduction
This Manual is intended to help you expand your vocabulary and to improve your legal writing and speaking skills. It is not a legal textbook. Nor should you rely on the Manual as a source of legal advice. The Manual presents terminology and examples of usage in the context of Anglo-American law, as the language itself is conceptually bound to Anglo-American legal systems. Although the authors have made every effort to alert the reader to differences between the common law and the civil law context, you, as the reader, will have to exercise care when using legal terminology in different jurisdictions.
The book consists of three main sections:
I. key legal terms relating to 14 areas of legal practice
II. practice manuals with templates for legal writing
III. practice manuals with templates for oral communication
Part I: Key legal terms relating to 14 areas of legal practice
Given space restrictions, the manual cannot cover every area of legal practice. Instead, it focuses on different aspects of commercial law.
Nevertheless, we have included criminal law and family law as well, in recognition of these fields’ increasing importance in an international lawyer’s practice.
Each separate manual in Part I follows the same pattern: first, principal content divided into sub-sections for easy reference; second, sample sentences; third, selected definitions; and fourth, the collocations corner.
The left-hand column of each sub-section sets out the principal legal terms you are likely to encounter in the context of each area of law. The accompanying text in the right-hand column then incorporates these terms in a typical legal context to help clarify each term’s meaning.
A notation that a term is typical for the US or for the UK signifies that terms are used differently across jurisdictions, as follows:
•plaintiff •claimant •defendant |
The plaintiff (UK: claimant) initiates legal proceedings; the defendant is the party against whom the plaintiff brings suit. |
Following every sub-section, a sample sentence indicates how to use a selected term in practice, as follows:
Once a complaint has been filed, the court will issue a summons which is normally served on the defendant. |
Each individual manual closes with the collocations corner. Collocations, or word partners, refer to words in English which naturally belong together. Collocations may be made up of
•a verb + a noun: to incur costs
•a verb + adverb: to recommend strongly
•or an adjective + noun: a dramatic increase
Legal English is rich in such word partnerships. Using them correctly helps to ensure that your Legal English is sophisticated and appropriately formal. In each collocations corner, we have tried to identify the word partners you are most likely to encounter in practice, as follows:
•to instruct a lawyer
•to initiate legal proceedings
•to file a claim
•to lodge an appeal
•to bear the costs
Part II: Practice manuals with templates for legal writing
These chapters set out authentic examples of the sort of correspondence and documents you may draft or receive in the course of your professional duties. The templates illustrate the layout and language of professional legal documents. As with any legal drafting, the law may differ by jurisdiction, and there may be many different ways of expressing the same thing; hence, be aware that these templates are models only, and that you will have to customize all contracts and your correspondence for each transaction.
The authors have also devoted particular attention to the differences between British English and American English. These differences occur not only in with regard to spelling – for example, defense counsel (US) and defence counsel (UK) – but also in date formats – 3/4/2016 (US) and 4.3.2016 (UK), or March 4, 2001 (US) and 3 April 2016 (UK); in the use of punctuation – Mr. Jones (US) and Mr Jones (UK); and even the choice of words or expressions when addressing the recipient of a letter or email – Dear Ms. Jones (US) or Dear Ms Jones (UK). You are, of course, free to adopt either American English or British English, but we recommend that correspondence and other documents be internally consistent.
Part III: Practice manuals with templates for oral communication
According to particular areas of practice or situations, the tables in Part III list useful terms and expressions you can memorize and use on the appropriate occasions. They will also help you to recognize – and appreciate – the language your colleagues, opposing counsel, and clients use. Again, be aware of what is appropriate in the context and culture in which you are operating.
In addition, this section includes helpful checklists to assist you in preparing for and conducting successful negotiations and client interviews.
Language notes
The abbreviations “US” and “UK” do not refer specifically to these countries themselves, but are intended to distinguish between the variations in legal terminology, spelling, or date formats in their respective regional variations of English.
Special feature
And, finally, the Legal English Manual leaves adequate space for you, the reader, to add your own comments and notes, as this is no coffee table book but a working manual!
I
Legal Terminology
Manuals for Practice Areas
1 Contract Law
2 Tort Law
3 Company/Corporate Law
4 Employment Law
5 Family Law
6 Trusts and Estates/Inheritance Law
7 Insurance Law
8 Intellectual Property Law
9 Antitrust/Competition Law
10 Civil Procedure
11 Arbitration
12 Bankruptcy Law
13 Tax Law
14 Criminal Law