English for Lawyers: a free online Legal English course

Legal English is not general English with longer words. It has its own vocabulary, its own document types and its own habits of reasoning, and most of it is learned by doing: reading a contract clause and deciding whether it binds, writing a client letter that a partner would sign, listening to a call about a cargo claim and knowing what to ask next. That is how this course works. Every chapter is built around real tasks of that kind, and every exercise marks itself and explains what was wrong.

The course is free, runs in your browser and was written by Kyle Atkins, a DELTA-qualified English teacher with eighteen years of experience who has taught professional English across legal, medical, business and technical fields.

Who the course is for

It is written for practising lawyers, trainees and law students who already read English comfortably (around CEFR B2) and need to use it with precision: in correspondence, memoranda, contracts, meetings and exams. Legal translators and paralegals use it too. If your English is still at B1, start with the general grammar units and come back; if you are not sure, the free English placement test takes ten minutes.

What the twelve chapters cover

Work through them in order for a full course, or go straight to the field you need. Each chapter is self-contained.

Foundations

1. Intellectual property: patents, trade marks, copyright and the language of licensing and infringement.
2. Competition law: agreements, dominance, investigations and regulatory correspondence.
3. Employment law: contracts of employment, dismissal, discrimination and advising on procedure.
4. Contract law 1: formation, terms and the words that decide whether an agreement binds.
5. Contract law 2: breach, remedies, limitation of liability and negotiating a way out.
6. Real property law: interests in land, leases, title insurance and careful purchasing.

Business and environment

7. Company law 1: business forms, governance, meetings and community interest companies.
8. Company law 2: restructuring, share classes, corporate finance and cross-border insolvency.
9. Environmental law: access to information, polluter pays, product and waste rules, impact assessment.

Maritime

10. Maritime law 1: ships, cargo, jurisdiction, charterparties, ship recycling and the compliance conventions.
11. Maritime law 2: collision, salvage, general average, limitation, pollution, insurance, arrest and settlement.
12. Final test: questions spread across chapters 1 to 11, a capstone client briefing and two drafting tasks, with a score and a breakdown by chapter.

Chapters 7 to 11 add recorded listening and two model answers, at B2 and at C1, for every written task. The full index with exercise counts is on the Legal English chapters page.

How the chapters work

• Exercises mark themselves and explain the answer, so you can study alone.
• Writing tasks include a checker that reads your draft before you hand it in.
• Your answers and writing are saved by your browser on your own device; nothing is uploaded, so use the same browser to come back.
• Every chapter prints to PDF if you want a copy to keep.
• Answer keys and model answers sit behind a code that your teacher holds, so a class can use the chapters as marked work. If you are teaching with these pages, the teacher key explains the marking scheme for every written task.

Check your level first

The Legal English placement and progress test has two hundred questions across every field in the course, four short reading tasks and a written advice task that is marked for you. It takes about two hours and gives you a score, a breakdown by field and your weakest areas. Sit it at the start to find your level, or at the end to see what has stuck.

Grammar for lawyers

Three shorter units practise the grammar that legal writing leans on most: conditional sentences in legal English (rules, possibilities, hypotheticals and past alternatives in contracts and advice), relative clauses in legal English (identifying parties, documents and rules precisely) and maritime law English with an IMLI Malta focus (terminology, legal effect and drafting practice around an applied case).

Live lessons for legal professionals

If you want a teacher as well as the course, English for specific purposes is taught live, online, one-to-one or in a small group. Lessons focus on the exact vocabulary, situations and documents you deal with, so what you learn is useful straight away. The published rate for specialised English (exam, AI and ESP) is EUR 45 an hour in 1.5-hour sessions, with 10 percent off a pack of ten lessons and 20 percent off a pack of twenty; all rates are on the courses page. Start with a short message describing your work and your goals, and we agree a plan and a schedule from there.

Questions people ask

Is the Legal English course really free?

Yes. All twelve chapters, the final test and the placement test are free to use in your browser, with no account. Live lessons with the teacher are the only paid option.

What level of English do I need?

The chapters are pitched at CEFR B2 to C1. You should already read English comfortably; the course builds the precision that legal work demands on top of that.

Is it based on English law, US law or international law?

The chapters draw on common-law practice, EU and international instruments and the IMO maritime conventions. They teach the language used to discuss these areas; they do not state the law of any single jurisdiction, and the fictional cases practise language rather than legal rules.

Do I get a certificate?

No certificate is issued for the free chapters. The final test gives you a score and a breakdown by chapter that you can print or save as a PDF.

Can I use the chapters with my own students?

Yes. The chapters are designed for classroom use as well as self-study. Answer keys and model answers open with a teacher code, and the teacher key explains the marking scheme for every written task.