Jul 19

Learning Legal English in Paris

English Language Training, Legal English Training Courses 2 Comments »

Business has increasingly become international and English is fast becoming one of the most common languages used. This is particularly true in the legal sector where company lawyers and legal secretaries often have to work in English. While English is increasingly used as a lingua franca, it has also been proven to be particularly helpful for law firms who support international assignees. Before any relocation, international assignees often have to receive detailed explanations and advice about legal matters in English as they have not mastered the local language. As a result, more law firms are now offering legal English courses to their employees.

It is no longer necessary to travel to an English-speaking country to find the specialised English course you require. Global training organisations such as Communicaid have offices in large European cities (London, Paris, Brussels and Frankfurt) so it is therefore possible to combine work and training. A delegate from Paris, for example, does not have to put his or her professional life on hold in order to attend a Legal English Course.

Paris Matthew Dixon i1 Learning Legal English in Paris

© istockphoto.com/ Matthew Dixon

The recent crisis as well as the increased competitiveness has reduced the mobility of many employees around the globe, reducing the number of delegates able to travel to learn legal English. Family life also hinders the mobility of potential delegates as regularly travelling abroad and leaving home is not always easy, especially for people with young children. Undertaking a Legal English training course in the city you live in or even having your course delivered in your office is an excellent alternative.

While many people could benefit from Legal English training, they are not necessarily interested in having to struggle with the English language on a daily basis. If you need to learn English for legal purposes only then staying in France can be an attractive option. Doing a Legal English training course where you are based can reduce the cultural uncertainties you would face on a course in London or elsewhere.

The vibrant city of Paris is located at the heart of Europe and is within reach of urban European centres thanks to its excellent transport network. With the TGV, a French delegate can even consider travelling to Paris daily in order to follow his Legal English training course. For all of these reasons, learning Legal English in Paris is an attractive option.

© Communicaid Group Ldt. 2010

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Jul 05

Legal Drafting Skills

English Language Training, Legal English Training Courses No Comments »

There are some very important skills that need to be mastered by anybody wanting to draft legal documents clearly and correctly. Some of the most important legal drafting skills are the following: laying out the document logically, keeping the writing clear and concise, avoiding grammatical and lexical errors with respect to the style of a legal text, and, finally, editing and correcting the document in a systematic and thorough way.

The layout of a legal document such as a contract must be as clear as possible. The drafter’s skill is to organise the text so that it is reader-friendly. Ideas need to be logically organised, white spaces and even a table of contents in longer contracts can help the reader find his/her way around the text. Long paragraphs can also be cut into sub paragraphs.

It is important to keep the text as simple and as concise as possible. Sentences need to be kept short. The first few words in a sentence determine readability. It is therefore advisable to avoid left-handed sentences (those which start with long phases and preambles). Verbs should be used, not nominalisations (words ending in -tion, -ancy, -ment, etc). The latter make the text heavy. For example, it is better to write ‘conform’ rather than ‘in conformity with’ and ‘amend’ rather than ‘make amendments to’.

The drafter not only needs to have an excellent knowledge of the fundamentals of English grammar, but he/she should also be aware of the special grammatical features of legal English. As a general rule, it is advisable to use the active voice in place of the passive voice. It is clearer if the actor of the sentence is known straight away. The active style is also less cumbersome and easier to read, e.g. ‘UK law governs this contract’ is preferable to ‘This contract is governed by UK law’.

Some words are notoriously difficult to get right and so the drafter needs to make sure that he/she understands their meaning and use. For example, according to the BBC Learning Zone ‘every’ refers to all the members of a group, whereas ‘each’ refers to individual members of the group, singly.

Computer Keyboard Sykono i Legal Drafting Skills

© istockphoto.com/ Sykono

Legal documents are very complex and difficult to word correctly, especially in a second language. It is therefore paramount that the document is edited and corrected. Editing is a way to check for good practice. In order to avoid the loss of valuable time, it is important for professional people to know what they are looking for when editing. A couple of main points to be aware of include:

  • First, check that there is no ambiguity. If words or phrases can have two or more possible meanings, make sure that the one you want to convey is clear to the reader. ‘Shall’ is often used in legal documents to express obligation, but it also implies the future. Therefore, this modal verb can lead to ambiguity. As the Prof. Joe Kimble, Thomas Cooley Law School stated about ‘shall’…’ “it breeds litigation. There are 76 pages in “Words and Phrases” (a legal reference) that summarize hundreds of cases interpreting “shall”.
  • Second, omit needless words. Being concise and clear is the objective, so remove unnecessary prepositions, ‘he drafted the document with regard to remov(e)ing unnecessary words’ and pronouns ‘The judge said that it was an issue that could be resolved’.

Becoming proficient in drafting skills requires a lot of study and practice. Some people recommend reading Richard Wydick’s book ‘Plain English for Lawyers’ as a guide, others would suggest that a legal English course specialising in drafting skills is the best solution.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Jun 29

Learning Legal English in England

Business English Training Courses, English Language Training, Legal English Training Courses 1 Comment »

When searching for a legal English course, it is wise to consider the advantages of following a training course in a country, such as England, where the target language is spoken as a first language by the vast majority of the population.

First, a legal English course in England offers the delegate the advantage of travelling away from his/her place of work. There are therefore fewer possibilities of professional interruptions from the learning process, allowing the delegate to concentrate fully on the course content. The trainee benefits enormously from being able to focus fully on the tasks at hand.

Second, the delegate is completely immersed in the target language. English is not just the language inside but also outside the training room and can be further practised in social situations organised or suggested by the training organisation. Natural practice of the language is essential in increasing confidence and fluency. There is nothing like a social evening in an English pub to encourage conversation.

Third, being on a legal English course in England enables the delegate to visit the local law courts and/or a practising law firm. This type of activity permits the delegate to see legal English being used naturally.

Fourth, by deciding upon England, training organisations should be in a better position to offer the delegate a high-quality course. As the trainer on a legal course should be a practising legal professional as well as a qualified English language trainer (guaranteed by the better training organisations), it is easier for training organisations to find the perfect trainer to match the delegate’s level of English, specific requirements and objectives from the higher number of trainers available in England. .

Business People 8 Sean Locke i1 Learning Legal English in England

© istockphoto.com/ Sean Locke

This provision of quality, however, also depends on the delegate doing research and choosing an organisation with a good reputation and credentials. The training organisation should be able to respond to the delegate’s requirements in terms of course content and organisation. The delegate’s language level and objectives should be analysed, for example, before the appropriate trainer is assigned. As far as course organisation is concerned, an example of the kind of flexibility a delegate should expect is that offered by the Culture and Communication Skills Consultancy Communicaid.

All of the above advantages can be possible in a variety of locations in England. Whether the delegate feels more comfortable in a large city or a small town, these advantages remain the same. In addition, travel to England is relatively easy by plane or cross-channel rail and the country is manageable in terms of size. This means that a legal delegate who wishes to attend a training course in the north of the country, for example, is only a few hours away from London in the south.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Jun 17

Learning Legal English in France

English Language Training, Legal English Training Courses No Comments »

Following a legal English course in France is a training option which should be seriously considered by companies in France. Why send your employees to an English-speaking country such as England or the USA when they can be trained in the comfort of their own offices? Finding a legal English course in France has never been easier now that training companies such as Communicaid offer such flexibility that courses can be adapted to the logistical requirements of the delegate.

Chinese businesspeople 5 Izusek i Learning Legal English in France

© istockphoto.com/ Izusek

The English language teaching industry is becoming increasingly flexible as a service-provider. It was previously only possible to learn English in certain training centres and these were usually situated in larger towns. After that, immersions became very popular with companies providing the budgets and the time to send their employees to the target language country.

Now, there exists the added possibility of receiving the trainer in your own office, wherever you are in France. This is the ideal choice for professionals who are unable to leave their workplace unattended for long periods of time in order to follow a course. It also brings the trainer into direct contact with the reality of the delegate’s professional situation, therefore providing the trainer with obvious opportunities to adapt the legal English course content to precisely what the delegate requires. Authentic legal materials are at hand and the real-life working environment allows the trainer to experience and ‘feel’ the delegate’s needs.

It is also possible to gain an internationally-recognised legal English qualification in France. The University of Cambridge ILEC (International Legal English Certificate) can be taken in about 13 different examination centres in France ranging from Paris to Marseilles. The TOLES (Test of Legal English skills) can now be taken in Paris with Communicaid.

The quality of a legal English course, whether in France or England, depends essentially on the trainer and such factors as his/her knowledge of the subject matter, experience in the legal profession and ability to transfer knowledge effectively and efficiently. The immersion factor is not so important as the delegate is most probably particularly interested in specific terminology and skills directly related to legal English and not in the additional ‘benefits’ of an immersion course (everyday English terms, idioms, pronunciation differences, slang, cultural experiences, etc). An effective trainer is a mobile trainer who is not necessarily attached to a training room in a certain city. He/she can be flown from London to Paris, for example, to deliver courses on agreed-upon dates.

As pressure on workers’ time increases, French companies will be very interested in the possibility of their employees following an legal English training course in France, delivered by a qualified, experienced legal professional. The increased flexibility of the service provided by the language training industry has brought the training closer to both the delegate’s office and his/her needs and objectives.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Jun 15

Benefits of a Legal English Course

English Language Training, Legal English Training Courses No Comments »

When searching for a training course, it is imperative to ask yourself “what do I want to be able to do in the language?” The answer to this question could be “to travel”, “to pass an exam” or “to be able to do my job better in an international working environment”. Whatever the answer to this question, the truth is that a general all-encompassing course is no longer satisfactory for the majority of delegates. A training course needs to be adapted to the needs of the delegate. This is why a Legal English course is the only real sensible option for anybody hoping to progress professionally in the legal sector.

Meeting Neustockimages i Benefits of a Legal English Course

© istockphoto.com/ Neustockimages

Time is another important factor to take into consideration. Why spend valuable training time practising and acquiring areas of the English language that are not relevant to the legal area you work in? The amount of lexical items that a delegate can realistically acquire during a training session is limited and so it is essential that only language relevant to the delegate’s needs is presented.

A delegate’s time is valuable and money spent on a language training course should be well spent. So why waste valuable training budgets aiming for targets and shooting wide of the mark? Well-detailed Legal English courses (such as the ones delivered by Communicaid), should be tailored to the trainee’s needs and be concerned with how effective this training course is. These concerns are reflected in the A to Z approach used by Communicaid. Communicaid carries out Diagnostic Consultancy and Programme Design before the training takes place and Impact Management to assess the effectiveness of the legal English course.

The delegate learns much better when his/her affective filter is lowered (‘The Natural Approach’, Krashen). This filter blocks the flow of language the delegate assimilates. It is lower when the trainee is feeling at ease with content of the training course. When this content is exactly what the trainee requires to improve professionally, then motivation is higher and the affective filter lower. As the trainer is dual-qualified (i.e. he/she holds a legal qualification and a teaching qualification), he/she is aware of exactly what a trainee needs to know and how to deliver this content efficiently and in optimal training conditions.

The trainee on the legal English course is in direct contact with a professional who has worked in English as a legal professional. The exchange of anecdotes, ideas, opinions and experiences between the trainee and his/her trainer can be both highly-motivating and richly-rewarding both professionally and personally. The legal English course will thus inevitably broaden your mind as well as improving your language skills. New career moves might also become more obvious to the delegate, such as taking a specialist qualification like the TOLES (Test Of Legal English Skills).

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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