60 http://www.business-spotlight.de 2/2014Answers on page 64LANGUAGE LEGAL ENGLISHGeneral legal terms
Wie heißen die beiden Parteien, die vor Gericht
aufeinandertreffen? Und wer vertritt sie dort?
MATTFIRTHnennt einige Grundbegriffe. advancedHemeraExercise: A lawyer’s advice
Choose the terms that match the definitions.a) A document that formally states the terms of an agreement.
1.commercial 2.contractb) Formal legal proceedings against another party.
1.litigation 2.formationc) To initiate formal legal proceedings against another party.
1.sue 2.breachd) The person in a legal dispute who has suffered loss.
1.defendant 2.claimante) The documents and facts relating to a case.
1.letter 2.brieff) To reach agreement on a dispute.
1.settle 2.collectg) Money that is awarded for a loss or injury.
1.damages 2.expectationsT
he work of a lawyercan be divided
into two categories: work related
to legal disputesand work that is
not. However, many terms are common
to both types.
In trade and commerce, most of the
work of lawyers involves making sure
that a firm fulfils its legal obligations,
such as in the area of financial report-
ing, and that its business dealings fol-
low national and international laws.
Lawyers are usually consulted when
a company is formed. Once the busi-
ness has been started, a lawyer may be
needed to formulate contracts. Many
firms make use of standard forms for
such agreements, but the potential for
dispute can be reduced if a lawyer at
least checks the documents before anydeals are completed. A well-written
contract may help to avoid litigation. If
a company finds itself in a dispute on
a matter relating to a contract, a lawyer
will advise the company from the start
of proceedings.
One example of a commercial legal
dispute is a breach of contract. Typical-
ly, a contract will have been agreed be-
tween two parties, but sometimes, one
party does not act as promised. In such
cases, a lawyer for the injured party
puts pressure on the other party to fol-
low the contract as agreed. The lawyer
will describe exactly what the client ex-pects. If those expectations are not
met, his client may suethe other per-
son or organization.
Should the claimanttake the case to
court, this will be supported by facts
and documents relating to the case,
which are collected in a brief.
The defendantwill have their own
lawyer, who will also have a brief. It is
often in the best interest of both parties
to settle out of court. If this fails, the
judge will listen to the facts as present-
ed by the lawyers and decide which
side has the best case and on the
damagesto be awarded.
Not all cases involve damages. A
lawyer may request a court ordertelling
someone to stop doing something, for
example, spreading untrue stories.breach of contract Vertragsbruch
[)bri:tS Ev (kQntrÄkt]
brief [bri:f] Akte
claimant [(kleImEnt] Kläger(in)
court order gerichtliche
[)kO:t (O:dE] Anordnung
damages [(dÄmIdZIz] Schadensersatz
defendant [di(fendEnt] Beklagte(r)
lawyer [(lO:jE] Anwalt/Anwältin,
Jurist(in)
legal dispute Rechtsstreit
[(li:g&l dI)spju:t]
litigation Rechtsstreit(ig-
[)lItI(geIS&n] keiten)
proceedings [prE(si:dINz] Gerichtsverfahren
settle out of court einen Vergleich
[)set&l )aUt Ev (kO:t] schließen
sue sb. [sju:] jmdn. verklagenMatt Firthteaches legal English and
helped establish the European Legal
English Teachers’ Association.
Contact: [email protected]Useful words: the
language of law■BS
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