Jun 21

Legal English Courses for Legal Secretaries and Paralegals

English Language Training, Legal English Training Courses 1 Comment »

It is logical that the international language of business is also used as the international language of law. English, and more correctly, Legal English is now the established language of international law and contract drafting. Lawyers across the world working in private practises, large multinationals and international institutions are now required to possess competency in Legal English.

While legal English courses such as English for Lawyers and Drafting Contracts in English are now widely available for lawyers, training specifically targeted at legal support staff is less commonly recognised. Legal secretaries and paralegals play a vital role in the successful running of any law firm or legal department.

Business Woman 13 nicole waring i Legal English Courses for Legal Secretaries and Paralegals

© istockphoto.com/ Nicole Waring

We all know what a legal secretary is, but what exactly are paralegals? Also known as legal assistants, they support solicitors in their legal tasks. As the Law Society stated in the findings of its research and policy planning study n° 23, ‘…Paralegal staff, properly qualified, enable solicitors to concentrate on the more complex cases and they also increase the productivity of the firm’

As far as finding a suitable training course is concerned, properly trained paralegals and legal secretaries in legal English will help increase the efficiency of the profession they work in and, logically, the confidence of the company’s clients

Legal secretaries and paralegals need to have the skills and technical knowledge to be able to carry out their daily tasks efficiently. These competences can best be acquired on a specialised legal English course.

The content of such a course provides the delegate with essential background knowledge about the different legal systems and the specific terminology associated with them. Punctuation and certain grammatical points can be different in legal writing from everyday business and general language. Therefore, comprehending and being able to interpret legal documents in English is a skill to be learned. Drafting texts such as contracts and legal letters is also important.

Although there are certain fundamentals that all legal secretaries and paralegals should know, law is a vast area and the delegate should look for a training course that adapts as much as possible to his/her specific field of work: tax, intellectual property, real estate, corporate finance, to name a few. It is important that the delegate feels that the time spent on a training course is well spent. This concern diminishes if the training organisation approaches the course in a specific way. The delegate’s level of English and specific needs should be diagnosed before a tailored programme is drawn up. The training organisation should also guarantee that its trainers are dual qualified: legal professionals and English language trainers.

Even though the training course focuses on a specific professional area, it must not be forgotten that the course is in English and the delegate will be learning to carry out specific legal tasks in this language. It is therefore logical to look into the range of legal English courses in the UK, England or even London. In this way, the delegate can be immersed in the English language outside as well as inside the training room. Confidence in the language, clear pronunciation, fluency and ability to understand English spoken at a natural speed are skills which improve by following a course in an English language speaking country. Another advantage of following a legal English course in the UK is that as a paralegal you can experience the legal terminology being used in a natural environment through visits to a Court or to a law firm.

There are a lot of courses for paralegals and legal secretaries in the UK, but there are not many specially designed by organisations to improve the delegate’s linguistic skills at the same time. One such organisation, however, is Communicaid, whose Legal Englishcourses are available in its main training centre in London or in any other place of the delegate’s choice at any time of the year.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Jun 16

Legal Language in English

English Language Training, Legal English Training Courses No Comments »

Legal language in English is often referred to as ‘legalese’. This implies that there are lexical and grammatical differences which make this type of English distinct. Many of the differences between legal English and general or business English have come about as a result of its origins and history. We will look at this aspect in the first part of the post. The second part will focus on some of these lexical and grammatical differences and the final section will concentrate on the move to render Legal English more comprehensible.

Legal English has French and Latin influences. William, Duke of Normandy, defeated the Anglo-Saxon king Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and became king of England. William and his followers spoke a type of French and their legal documents were written in Latin. Latin was replaced by French as the dominant legal language around 1275, which in turn gave way to English under the Statute of Pleading in 1362.

Dictionary English Christopher Ewing i Legal Language in English

© istockphoto.com/ Christopher Ewing

Even though a lot of Latin words and phrases still exist in legal English, it was the French language which had a greater influence. This situation is also true in the United Sates. Even though the Americans won independence from Britain, they did not change the Legal language the British had established in their country.

Here is a list of some of the Latin terms and maxims that are used in legal English.

A lot of them are also common in general English. As well as having lexical differences from other forms of English, Legal English can also use grammar in a special way. At times, it even seems to have its own grammatical rules. Here is an example of a sentence whose word order would appear to have French origins: ‘the provisions for termination hereinafter appearing or will at the cost of the borrower forthwith comply with the same’

Another example concerning grammar is the fact that legal documents are written in the present tense although they refer to the future: not “the mortgagee will agree to lend the sum of £ 20,000” but “the mortgagee agrees to lend the sum…”

These linguistic ‘difficulties’ have led to the creation of the lobby group ‘the Plain English Campaign’. This movement became important in the 1970s on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed an executive order that required Federal regulations be “as simple and clear as possible”. Likewise, in the new rules of civil procedure which were introduced in 1999 in England, some changes in the Legal English used were noticeable. Such terms as: subpoena, in camera, writ and plaintiff now have simpler alternatives (witness summons, private hearing, claim form and claimant).

Although some changes have been made, Legal English still remains a form of English that is difficult for people who have English as a second language to understand. It is therefore both logical and extremely important that all professional people who have dealings in any way with legal documents or legal matters in English, should attend a specialized Legal English course. This type of course is offered by such organisations as the Culture and Communication Skills Consultancy, Communicaid.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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