Legal terminology

The special terms and phrases used in the field of law.

legal language
legal terms
judicial terms
judicial phrases
legal phraseology
judicial language
legal phrases
judicial phraseology

knowledge

cross-sector

Legal terminology is an essential knowledge of the following occupations:

Legal administrative assistant:
Legal administrative assistants carry out the daily administrative activities of firms, offices of notaries public, and companies. They perform activities such as writing mails, phone-answering and typing/keyboarding. They combine these activities with specific knowledge and understanding of the procedures and codes managed in legal business affairs.
Judge: Judges preside over, review and handle court cases, hearings, appeals and trials. They ensure that court procedures conform to conventional legal processes and review evidence and juries. Judges preside over cases involving such areas as crime, family issues, civil law, small claims and juvenile offenses.
Legal consultant: Legal consultants advise a varied array of clients ranging from business, individuals, up to legal firms. They provide legal advisory outside courtrooms in relation to legal affairs which depend on the nature of the client. They advise in matters such as merging of multinationals, housing purchase, modification of contracts and its implications. They help clients in general to abide by the regulations and avoid committing illegal acts.
Supreme court judge: Supreme court judges preside in high courts, dealing with complex criminal and civil cases. They examine the case during trials in order to formulate a sentence or to direct a jury in reaching a conclusion, and decide on any punishments if an offending party is found guilty. They rule proceedings and ensure the trial is held in a fair manner compliant with legislation.
Scopist: Scopists edit the transcripts created by court reporters in order to make of them a readable professional legal document. They listen or read to the reports given to them in order to apply punctuation, missing words, format, and improve the accuracy of the document.
Lawyer linguist: Lawyer linguists interpret and translate legal pieces from one language to another. They provide legal analysis to the information before them and help in understanding technicalities of the content expressed in other languages.
Intellectual property consultant: Intellectual property consultants provide advice on the usage of intellectual property assests such as patents, copyrights, and trademarks. They help clients to value, in monetary terms, intellectual property portfolios, to follow adequate legal procedures for protecting of such property, and to perform patent brokerage activities.
Legal assistant:
Legal assistants work closely together with lawyers and legal representatives in the research and preparation of cases brought to courts. They assist in the paper work of cases and management of the administrative side of court affairs.
Conveyance clerk: Conveyance clerks provide services for the legal transference of legal titles and properties from one party to another. They exchange the necessary contracts and ensure all properties, titles and rights are transfered.
Court reporter: Court reporters type in word processors or any other software each one of the words mentioned in the courtroom. They transcript the hearings that take place in court in order to issue the official hearings of the legal case. They allow that the case can be further studied by the parties in an accurate fashion.
Prosecutor: Prosecutors represent governmental bodies and the general public in court cases against parties accused of illegal activity. They investigate the court cases by examining evidence, interviewing involved parties, and interpreting the law. They use the results of their investigation in order to present the case during court hearings, and to construct persuasive arguments in order to ensure the outcome is the most favourable for the parties they represent.
Court enforcement officer: Court enforcement officers enforce orders of court judgements such as managing the recovery of money owed, seizing of goods, and selling goods in public auctions to obtain the money owed. They also send summons and arrest warrants to ensure attendance in court or other judicial procedures.
Law lecturer: Law lecturers are subject professors, teachers, or lecturers who instruct students who have obtained an upper secondary education diploma in their own specialised field of study, law, which is predominantly academic in nature. They work with their university research assistants and university teaching assistants
for the preparation of lectures and of exams, for grading papers and exams and for leading review and feedback sessions for the students. They also conduct academic research in their respective field of law, publish their findings and liaise with other university colleagues.
Case administrator: Case administrators supervise the progress of criminal and civil cases from the point of opening to closing. They review the case files and case progression to ensure proceedings occur compliant with legislation. They also ensure the proceedings occur in a timely manner and that everything has been concluded before closing cases.
Legal service manager: Legal service managers oversee the general management of a legal service office. They not only strive for the highest efficiency and effectiveness when delivering legal services and advice, but they also coordinate a team of legally trained professionals. They manage different profiles of clients and adjust the legal services to their needs.

Patent engineer: Patent engineers advise companies on different aspects of intellectual property law. They analyse inventions, and research their economic potential. They check if  patent rights have already been given out for an invention and ensure that these rights have not been affected or violated.
Corporate lawyer: Corporate lawyers provide legal consulting services and representation to corporations and organisations. They give advice on matters relating to taxes, legal rights and patents, international trade, trademarks, and legal financial issues arising from operating a business.

Legal terminology is optional for these occupations. This means knowing this knowledge may be an asset for career advancement if you are in one of these occupations.

Court clerk: Court clerks provide assistance to judges in a court institution. They handle enquiries on court proceedings, and assist judges in various tasks such as performing legal research in preparation of cases or writing opinion pieces. They also contact parties involved in cases and brief judges and other court officials.
Mediator:
Mediators resolve disputes between two parties by examining the case, interviewing both parties, and advising on a solution which would be the most beneficial for them. They listen to both parties in order to facilitate communication and find a fair agreement and organise meetings. They aim at resolving disputes through dialogue and alternative solution without having to take the case to litigation and courts. Mediators ensure that the resolution is compliant with legal regulations and is also enforced.
Tax advisor: Tax advisors use their expertise in tax legislation to provide commercially-focused advisory and consultancy services to a wide range of clients from all economic sectors. They explain complicated tax-related legislation to their clients and assist them in ensuring the most efficient and beneficial payment of taxes by devising tax-efficient strategies. They also inform them of fiscal changes and developments and may specialise in tax strategies concerning mergers or multinational reconstruction for business clients, trust and estate taxes for individual clients etc.
Lawyer: Lawyers provide legal advice to clients and act on their behalf in legal proceedings and in compliance with the law. They research for, interpret and study cases to represent their clients in a variety of settings such as courts and administrative boards. They create arguments on behalf of their clients for lawsuits in different contexts with the aim of finding a legal remedy.
Public affairs consultant: Public affairs consultants function as representatives for a client’s goal. They attempt to persuade legislative bodies and policy makers to implement laws or regulation in accordance with the client’s wishes, and negotiate with parties with potentially conflicting interests. They perform analytical and research duties in order to ensure that the client’s cause is being addressed in an appropriate way to the appropriate parties. They also consult their clients on their causes and policies.
Notary: Notaries ensure the authenticity and legitimacy of official documents such as declarations, certificates, contracts, deeds and purchases. They examine the documents, witness the signing and authenticate them. They administer oaths and affirmations and perform other acts of notarisation.

References

1. Legal terminology – ESCO