How To Work Comfortably Between Plain English and Legal English - The English Training Company

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We train professionals to work comfortably between Plain English and Legal English – it’s a key step to help professionals become Advanced Business English Speakers.

The English Training Company – we help companies and professionals to become Advanced Business English Speakers.

In an increasingly global context most non native English speaking professionals, and not just lawyers, are coming into more contact with contracts and documents full of legal terms in English.

And often they need to be able to explain legal English terms to non legal people in a simpler way in a meeting, conference call, presentation or by email. This can be particularly challenging in your own language let alone in a second language like English.

We use a simple tool called Plain English, which is a database of legal English terms and their Plain English meanings.

Plain English means explaining a complex term, such as a legal or business term, in a simpler way so more people can understand it.

The website’s database has a search function, which searches for the Plain English term for a legal English term. You can look for the ‘legal English term’ then click on the button ‘show plain English term’  In this case.

Here are some examples from the “Plain English” database:

Legal English Term = Plain English Term

absence of = no, none

abutting = next to

adequate number of = enough

anterior to = before

at the present time = now

at the time when = when

by means of = by

contiguous to = next to

due to the fact that = because; since

during such time as = while

during such time as = while or as long as

excessive number of = too many

for the duration of = during

in as much as = because; since

in case = if

in the event that = if

in the interest of = for

is able to = can

is entitled to = may

it is directed that = must

it is the duty of = must

notwithstanding the fact that = although, even if

on grounds that / on the ground that = because

previous to = before

prior to = before

pursuant to = under law, in accordance with

subsequent to = after

sufficient number of = enough

that certain = a

the reason being that = because

until such time as = until

with reference to = about