Helpful Latin Terms for English Law

If Latin is the so-called dead language, why are we still using or studying it?

Whether in the medical or legal field, Latin is essential for professionals to learn a body of key phrases.

As a professor of English for Lawyers and translator of legal documents from Spanish, French, and Portuguese to English, here are some phrases, of course not exhaustive, commonly encountered in the US English law.

As a bonus, you may want to visit these sites to help you with legal vocabulary:

Free Law Dictionary   
Nolo   
Common Legal Terms   
Fed Judiciary Talking Points   
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Intro to American Law - Legal English

In my English for Lawyer classes, I always begin with an introduction to US law.

US jurisprudence springs from English common law or the part of the English law not embodied in legislation.

Common law consists of rules of law, developed after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 by William of Orange, based on common custom and usage (hence its name) and on judicial (court) decisions (precedent).

As the court system became established under Henry II in the 12th century, and judges' decisions became recorded in law reports, the doctrine of precedent developed. Precedent obliges judges to earlier court decisions to form opinions of current cases.

Hence, common law (sometimes called ‘case law’ or ‘judge-made law’) keeps the law in harmony with the needs of the community where no legislation is applicable or where the legislation requires interpretation.

The US legal system is an adversarial in contrast to Roman law which is referred to as inquisitorial. A subsequent post explores Roman law and compares and contrasts the two systems.

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If you need English lessons, or Elite English Services including translations (Spanish/French/Portuguese to English), please  send an email to mrenglish101@gmail.com for a prompt evaluation.

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Be practical when teaching languages

Ah, now how should languages be taught? An editorial the website asiaone.com, Be practical when teaching languages, delves into the issue from Singapore.

The Singapore Chinese are learning their native language and English simultaneously which has created unique problems as the author explains.

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If you need English lessons in São Paulo or a precise and prompt translation from Spanish, French, or Portuguese to English, please contact Professor Winn at by sending an email to mrenglish101@gmail.com for a prompt evaluation. Professor Winn translates your success!