English for Lawyers

This course focuses on the needs of Law students who have NOT reached the required standard for admission to UNIcert® courses at the Placement Test administered by the Sprachenzentrum. Participants will study a corpus of authentic texts relating to law and legal practice as a means of enhancing their reading comprehension skills. Supplementary exercises and class activities will allow students to broaden their vocabulary and improve their grammatical accuracy. Students who complete the course with an overall grade of 2.3 or higher will be exempted from the Placement Test and can proceed to take further (Legal) English courses.
Successful participation is recognized as part-fulfilment (2 SWS) of the requirements stipulated in JAPO §24 Fassung 13.10.2003.

Day/Time

Campus Online

Promoting greater accuracy and range of expression are the principal goals of this course. Emphasis is placed on assisting students to develop a wider vocabulary base (including legal lexis) for effective spoken and written communication. English drawn from a variety of practical and professional situations will be used to enhance students' fluency and confidence in their use of idiomatic English. The proficiencies developed in this course will also prepare students for work-related scenarios such as applying for a vacation placement with an international law firm, interviewing a client in English and drafting legal documents under supervision. Exercises based on authentic video and audio materials will help participants improve their listening skills. Relevant points of grammar will be revised as required. Students will also read and discuss texts relating to current legal issues.

Campus Online

The aims of this course are to provide an introduction to the English legal system and to develop the language skills relevant to this area of study. English for Lawyers 1 will focus on central features of the legal system, including the common law and the development of equity, the courts and the role of the jury, the doctrine of judicial precedent, the constitution and human rights, as well as the legislative process and statutory interpretation.

This course builds on the competencies acquired by participants in the introductory English for Lawyers 1 course. Emphasis will be placed on consolidating and expanding students’ command of Legal English, enabling them to read case reports, prepare case briefs, and articulate their opinions regarding key legal concepts and current issues in Anglo-American Contract, Tort, and Criminal law. Each unit will be centred around the relevant 'landmark' cases.

Campus Online

NOTE: This course can be taken AFTER or CONCURRENTLY with English for Lawyers 2 (JAPO §24). Successful completion qualifies students to register for the UNIcert® III examination in Legal English and to earn credit (2 SWS) towards a ‘Freischuss’ in accordance with JAPO §37 (2 SWS).
This course focuses on developing both oral and written mooting skills in the context of trial advocacy and litigation. Mock cases from the areas of civil and criminal law will be used to develop a range of advanced legal communication and advocacy skills. You will be provided with case materials including witness statements, medical reports, rules of evidence and case-law. The task will then be to create a structured and persuasive case on behalf of your client and to present it to the court. You will be competing against an opposing team and you will also be required to question witnesses in an accurate and effective manner. Skills to deal smoothly and convincingly with demanding judicial questions will also be developed.
Specific communication skills learned in the course will include:
 Crafting and structuring opening statements
 Persuasive oral presentation
 Questioning of witnesses (direct and cross examination)
 Dealing with judicial questioning
 Applying case-law and rules of evidence
 Effective closing arguments

This course builds on the competencies acquired by participants in the introductory Lawyers 1 and Lawyers 2 courses; it aims to prepare students for professional activity in an international business environment by equipping them with the necessary linguistic skills and relevant knowledge of the Anglo-American legal system. Students will be expected to research, study and discuss the relevant statutory and case law and apply this to sample cases; they will be asked to read and interpret specimen documents and to formulate legal opinions for potential ‘clients’; they will also be required to present legal arguments in simulation exercises, thus relating the principles of business law to the current practice. Particular attention will be paid to expanding participants’ business and legal vocabulary and enhancing their powers of logical expression, while consolidating their general communicative competence and rhetorical skills. The course will focus on the following key areas: Company Law; Business Transactions and Contract Law; Intellectual Property Law.

Campus Online

This course complements, but can be taken before, after, or concurrently with, English for Lawyers 3. The course will have a similar format to English for Lawyers 3 and will focus on the following areas: Business and the Law of Torts; Criminal Liability in Business (Fraud); Consumer Protection.

Campus Online

This course will focus on an increasingly important part of the Anglo-American legal system, that of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). The escalating cost of court proceedings has served as an impetus for potential litigants to resort to ADR and, in particular, to mediation – the use of a neutral third party to assist disputants in reaching a compromise. Mediation currently plays a key role in the settlement of disputes between business partners in the international arena. Students will be encouraged to apply the legal and linguistic knowledge they have acquired in previous English for Lawyers courses as they explore the theoretical issues involved in ADR/mediation. In the practice-oriented part of the course participants will have the opportunity to enhance their oral (negotiation) skills in simulation exercises based on authentic case material. A variety of follow-up writing assignments will help to consolidate lexical and grammatical competence.

Campus Online

This course will build on the mooting skills developed in the Moot Court course. A wider range of mooting techniques will be learned and applied to standard trial and appeal court formats using real cases from the UK and US. The focus will be on the creation of structured and persuasive oral argumentation, dealing skillfully with judicial questioning, effective witness examination, and confident presentation skills and body language. Students will make several practice moots during the course, which will be filmed and analyzed to provide individual (video) feedback.

Campus Online