Communicating in Legal English voorjaar 2026

English is becoming increasingly important as a medium of communication for Dutch lawyers. Attorneys-at-law may need to advise foreign clients or communicate with colleagues from abroad. Court public relations' officers may need to explain the court's judgment to the international press. And legal academics increasingly find themselves having to teach their specialization in English. This two-day Legal English course is intended for judges, attorneys-at-law, civil-law notaries and legal academics who would like to be able to communicate with their international contacts with more ease and self-confidence.

In the first Legal English workshop, you will learn those language functions most needed by Dutch lawyers: explaining legal substance and procedure, giving advice, negotiating, agreeing and disagreeing. We will address the most important pitfalls in English pronunciation. And we'll make sure that you have legally "safe" English translations for the Dutch terms that you need in your everyday practice.

In the second Legal English workshop, you will put what you have learnt in the first workshop into practice in a number of short presentations and role-playing activities. In addition, you'll be given some pointers on how to write effective letters and e-mails.

Please note that the main language of the course is English. The description below continues in Dutch. 

Docent
Marielle Matthee,  Vaardigheidsdocent aan het Leiden University Centre for Linguistics.

Doelgroep
Advocaten, notarissen, (bedrijfs-)juristen, managers, etc. die zich het Engels voor juristen meer eigen willen maken of verder willen verbeteren.

Niveau
Verdiepingsniveau: basiskennis Engels wordt aanwezig verondersteld.

NOvA-punten
De cursus is geaccrediteerd met 8 opleidingspunten van de NOvA (‘PO-punten’).

Mogelijkheden onderwijs op afstand    
Bij deze cursus is deelnemen op afstand helaas niet mogelijk.