Legal Business English Course Module


Minimum level of English requested: B1 / intermediate

Business Law calls for Legal Business English, the common language for transactions, contracts, negotiations, finance, marketing, compliance etc.
The ability to use and understand legal/business language together with a strong command of soft skills is essential for building effective relationships and solving disputes without wasting time or litigation.
This is important for any lawyer, but it is crucial for in-house and international lawyers.

15/16/17 June 2022

COURSE TIMETABLE 6 hours/day – 9am-4pm

The Syllabus includes a total of 18 hours of classroom activities, plus an e-learning platform, where participants can access reading material, exercises, grammar notes and glossaries. This dynamic skill-based course will provide participants with an overview of the most critical strategies and tools necessary for effective legal business activities.

The course adopts an interactive methodology where participants are requested to actively take part in roleplay, simulation, draft reports and clauses, present opinions and advice, work in pairs/groups and analyse case studies.

Participants will learn:

  • How people relate to each other and what strategies we need to gain trust and respect.
  • How cultural values impact in cross-cultural relations.
  • To promote cross-cultural interaction and learn to manage diversity.
  • To be aware of communication parameters and develop a keener perception of the needs to underlying messages, needs and intentions.
  • Strategies to communicate effectively in a second language.
  • To develop techniques to translate thoughts and opinions into clear, precise and concise English.
  • To develop effective communication skills and language tools for meetings and negotiations.
  • To use specific legal business terminology with confidence.
  • To develop speaking and writing skills in order to present a case and confront objections.
  • To read and listen carefully; the importance of being able to listen to others in order to understand issues and concerns.
  • To achieve an effective written style.
  • The tips, tricks and techniques required to move towards an effective outcome in a challenging business/legal environment.

Developing vocabulary, key performance strategies & tools How can I work effectively in a second language, optimizing my skills and minimizing my weaknesses?

Presenting What are my cultural values and how do they impact on my presentation style?

Presenting your case & handling objections effectively What strategies do I need to create trust, respect, and bring people around to my way of thinking?

Effective communication skills for meetings and negotiations How do I state and maintain my position, manage objections, remove barriers and overcome conflict and potential opposition in order to reach an agreement?

Applied & active listening Do I listen ‘well’? Do I have the listening techniques and skills to ensure I can work with what I think I have understood? How do I show interest and recognise the speaker?

Making arrangements & building rapport How can I create a collaborative environment conducive to agreement?

Achieving an effective written style How can I achieve a style that is clear, concise, accessible, and where my message is retained?

Legal business writing standards and vocabulary Do I have the necessary tools to ensure every word of my legal opinion communicates precisely the advice I intend to covey?

Drafting legal documents, contracts, reports, memoranda, email Do I have the techniques, language and skills to guarantee my work is valid, admissible and enforceable?

  • Legal/business communications in a cross-cultural context
  • Effective oral communications
    • Trust, respect & accessibility
  • Choosing register, capturing the audience & owning the room
  • Applied groupwork: presentations
  • Effective written communication
    • Cultural & language values
    • Italian vs. English
    • Key language issues & applied exercises
    • Clarity- Brevity – Simplicity
    • Applied work
  • Applied groupwork: email
  • Cross-cultural issues in interactive visual/non-visual environments
  • Meetings and negotiations
    • Creating dynamic powerful language
    • Opening & closing
    • Prioritising
    • Listening, recognising & acting
    • Communication styles & creating a language toolkit
    • Active listening
    • Dealing with objections
    • Reaching shared solutions
    • Feedback & fine-tuning: tricks, tips, techniques, language issues, false friends, applicable language
  • Advice concerning roles, especially in business transactions
  • Different countries, different business, different legal systems
    • Common law & Civil law
  • Key foundational principles
    • Background, pitfalls
    • Legal / linguistic risk management as a business lawyers
  • Specific vocabulary and Plain English legal drafting principles
  • Mock cases and exercises
  • Professional English Advisor & Counsellor
  • Special Advisor and Lawyer with 20 -year-experience in a London law firm
  • Experienced American-English lawyer and law/Compliance/business ethics professor

The course will be open to registrations of participants ouside the Summer School starting from 26 April 2022.

Participants of the Legal Business Skills for Europe Summer School : € 90,00

Other participants: € 300,00

Young people (35 or less) will benefit from a reduced rate of € 180,00.