OT-ES-E 342

The Language of Law: Legal Grammar Lesson #2

Zielgruppe

People with a working knowledge of English (CEFR levels B1/B2 and higher) who want to express themselves accurately and appropriately when speaking or writing about law.
NB: This session covers the same material as “Shall I stay or shall I go?“ (autumn 2025).

Inhalt und Ziele

Legal English has a special ring to it, doesn’t it? One reason is its special use of modal verbs (eg “shall”, “may”, “must”) and its fondness of antiquated expressions. In this session on “The Language of Law” we will explore another important intersection between grammar and vocabulary: which of those “legalese” terms are specific to legal usage, which are OK for everyday purposes – and do they mean the same in both contexts?

You want to get it right in language and law? Come and dive deeper into expressions like …

• SHALL, etc

• • Art. 13 TFEU: “The Union's institutions shall be: the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council (…)” – Do we HAVE to use “shall” to make it legally binding?
  • “You shall go to the ball, Cinderella.” – Does Cinderella HAVE to go to the ball?
  • How can we best express the fundamental legal concepts of OBLIGATION, PERMISSION and PROHIBITION?

• Other “old-fashioned“ vocabulary and usage, e.g.:
  • HEREBY, THEREOF, HEREINAFTER, etc
    What exactly do these expressions mean, and how do they work?
  • WHEREAS, WHEREBY, etc
    • We know “whereas” from preambles to EU regulations and directives. How can we use it in other contexts? Is it common in spoken language?
    • Does “whereby” mean the same as “wobei”?

… analyse their use in laws, treaties and judgments, and try them out in practice.

Lernmethode

• Interactive webinar with group work and lots of speaking practice
• Working with legal texts

Technical requirements:

• PC / laptop / tablet / smartphone (possibly private) with camera and microphone (or headphones), as well as stable internet access

• Webinar software platform Zoom

Trainer

Mag. Andrea Steiner

Zeit und Ort

Seminarnummer:

OT-ES-E 342

Trainingsform:

Online-Tr. / Webinar

Dauer:

1 Tag(e) (3 Stunden)

Termin:

01.12.2026

Stundenplan:

09:00 - 12:00

Ort:

Online

Anmerkungen

You may also be interested in the other parts of “The Language of Law” series (OT-ES-E 340 and OT-ES-E 341).

Organisation

Seminarleitung:

Eder Ursula, Dr.

Sekretariat:

Fröhlich Elisabeth