A person may want to unlock their phone, but can`t because they haven`t paid their bill. It is included in the Terms and Conditions, but the customer may have skimmed these Terms and Conditions only because he thinks they are too complicated or do not apply. In this case, the legal language protects the company, but if the legal language is not explained or the customer does not read the contract in its entirety, the customer may feel mistreated. Lawyers should switch between legal language and simply explain those legal terms to someone who is not in the law, and the big ones know when to use them. Legal terms can be extremely confusing to laymen, but lawyers seem to use them on a whim. Every law student needs to learn this, so they learn it during their years in law school, use it daily in their professional life, and may not even realize they`re using it. These legal terms are legal. While some believe that legal language can confuse and alienate their clients and laymen, there are others who remain strong advocates. The law has been around for a very long time, and much of the law is based on precedents and previous cases to interpret today`s law. This is called stare decisis (defined below). This means that much of the legal language used today was used hundreds of years ago and why many legal terms seem outdated and old.
While this gives it some charm, it can be confusing and discouraging for people who don`t know the language of the law. Legal writing courses in law schools increasingly emphasize the benefits of legal writing, which can be understood clearly, concisely, and by non-legal readers. Proponents of plain English argue that since non-lawyers have adjusted their legal rights, duties and obligations through legal instruments, parties should be able to understand the content of the instrument without having to bear the additional costs of hiring a lawyer to translate the legal language. Write a passage of a contract of your own creation with at least three legal terms. See the example of the mobile phone contract provided in the lesson. Below is an example of the terms and conditions of the Strawberry Mobile Phones Agreement. It deals with the guarantees provided by the company. See how many examples of legal language you can identify: Learning English legal vocabulary can make your job much easier, relieve important paperwork, and even expand your international career opportunities. These words and phrases are a great start to improving and building your English legal vocabulary! Take the time to familiarize yourself with these words and practice them, and you will feel more comfortable speaking English and German. Legal language refers informally to the specialized terminology and expressions used by people in the legal field and in legal documents. Legal language is notoriously difficult for the public to understand. The most important features of classical legal language include long, verbose and complicated sentence structures with passive and outdated formalisms, as well as the use of Latin, archaic or unnecessarily long words when a simpler and clearer language exists.
Now that you are more aware of these legal terms, you should know better what you see the next time you look at a legal form. An example of legal language is the terms of the contract. In a mobile phone contract could be certain conditions: the amount due each month, the customer`s obligation to pay for the phone, military exemptions or payment plans. All this can become very confusing, especially if the person does not understand his obligations when buying the phone. In this article, you will learn more than 60 of the most important English legal vocabularies for courts and crimes, property law and contracts. Let`s think back to your basketball contract. Why is there legal language? The basketball contract is a binding agreement between you and the team. Because you are expected to behave a certain way and be held to certain standards, your understanding of expectations may be different from that of the team. To ensure everyone is on the same page, the contract details each goal to avoid loopholes and misunderstandings. Create a chart, poster, or other type of graphic organizer that lists the pros and cons of legal language. Here are some common examples of legal language. Each is accompanied by a brief definition or explanation: it is difficult to escape the legal language (legal language) in business and in life.
Although there has been a movement towards the use of simple or simple English, legal language persists in the legal field. This is often attributed to lawyers who believe that legal language increases the prestige of legal jobs, impresses clients, and protects market demand for legal services. Proponents of legal language also believe it allows for greater precision in legal drafting. The formation and use of model contracts and model documents promotes legal language because there is no economic value in rewriting these models. Common legal terms include the following, which we covered in this lesson: Each video includes interactive captions, flashcards, exercises, and full transcripts. You`ll practice vocabulary and develop your skills in a targeted way while absorbing English the way native speakers actually use it at work. FluentU even tracks what you`ve learned and suggests new videos based on that information. Some joke that lawyers use legal language so they can charge higher fees. While this is not entirely true, as mentioned above, there may be some truth to this. Just as a physician needs to know a lot about technical terms when diagnosing and treating patients, lawyers also need to know the language of the law to do their job effectively. This is partly why clients pay legal fees.
Clients hire trained and qualified lawyers to help them navigate their legal questions and documents. The use of legal language also allows for some precision, as law students and lawyers need to know the specific and precise meaning of each of these legal terms and everything associated with them. Another way to look at it is that it ensures consistency. Lawyers or lawyers are less likely to misunderstand each other if they understand a legal term that they use consistently. Let`s say you sign a contract to become a professional basketball player. The contract contains many confusing terms that you are not sure about. Before you decide to sign, hire a lawyer to review the contract with you. It tells you that the legal language of a contract is sometimes too difficult for the typical person to understand. Therefore, it is important that the contract is first reviewed by a lawyer.
Write an essay of about two to three paragraphs that defines legal language as it should do and how it differs from normal language. As discussed in this article, legal language serves a useful function and is not necessarily bad. However, there is a time and a place for legal language. For example, the correct use of legal language in contract drafting can help the document gain clarity and precision when read by someone with legal training. But what if it is a text that is not intended for this audience? It is not uncommon for lawyers and other jurists to assume that laymen are familiar with these terms and use them with this assumption. This can make the law intimidating and confusing. Make a list of five types of agreements where you might encounter legal language. The lesson shows the example of a cell phone contract, but find five examples of your own. Hopefully, you won`t find yourself on the wrong side of the law in an English-speaking country, but if you do, it would also be helpful to know a bit of English legal vocabulary. Even for something as simple as a speeding ticket, legal English can be crucial in understanding your responsibilities and consequences.
To practice legal English, which is specifically related to crime and the courtroom, this exercise will give you some good exercises. In criminal law, the constitutional guarantee that an accused receives a fair and impartial trial. In civil law, the legal rights of a person who is confronted with an adverse act that threatens liberty or property. Latin, which means „of one`s own will”. Often designates a court acting in a case without either party asking for it. It is often used in the passive voice to describe the condition of someone who is or has been charged. My uncle is a convict. He is due to spend another three years in prison. A penalty or other type of enforcement used to ensure compliance with the law or rules and regulations. debts secured by a mortgage, pledge or other lien; Debts for which the creditor has the right to pursue certain pledged assets in the event of late payment. Examples include residential mortgages, car loans, and tax privileges. Here are some of the most common and useful English legal words and phrases you should know! Injunction A court order that compels someone to do or refrain from doing an act.
Failure to comply with an injunction can result in civil or criminal penalties, such as fines or even jail time. An unsecured claim that is entitled to be paid before other unsecured claims that do not have priority. Priority refers to the order in which such unsecured claims are to be paid. Once you have a general understanding of some of the most common and useful English legal words and phrases, use these resources to put your knowledge into practice. Latin for „friend of the court”. This is counsel formally offered to the court in a pleading filed by an entity interested in the case but not by a party to it. A federal judge who, after reaching the required age and duration of judicial experience, acquires a higher status, thereby creating a vacancy among the active judges of a court. A senior judge retains the judicial office and can reduce his or her workload by up to 75%, but many choose to retain a larger number of cases.