Legal English is a professional language. This means that
a good command of ordinary English does not make a
student automatically proficient in legal English. Many
foreign law students on English language programmes
experience problems when suddenly all their lectures,
textbooks, discussions and written work have to be in
English. A lack of familiarity with legal English can
seriously impede their progress. And a command of legal
English is not just a desirable academic skill. It has become
an absolute ‘must’ for today’s legal professionals working
in internationally orientated law firms.
This book is designed for law students who have followed
their law studies in a language other than English.
Textbooks on English law are too detailed for those who
want to understand English legal terminology rather than
English law itself. Legal dictionaries are useful but, as the
words are ordered alphabetically, terms are treated in
isolation.
This book offers:
• vocabularies providing sets of legal terminology
associated with the legal system, civil procedure,
EU law, tort, contract law and company law;
• text putting the terms in the vocabulary into their
legal context;
• case discussion questions in order to practice using
the terminology;
• knowledge questions to ensure that the reader has
understood the legal concepts.
As well as being useful to law students, the book is also a
practical introduction to basic legal concepts and reasoning
for non-lawyers.