If you are applying to LL.M. programs in the U.S., you may have come across the phrase “legal English.” And for good reason as language is a crucial component of U.S. legal education. I still remember buying Black’s Law Dictionary and looking up words in 2010 during my own 1L, sometimes struggling to learn a new language.
The focus on legal English takes different forms for programs and LL.M. students. Extended LL.M. programs allow students to benefit from extended language training to begin their studies inside the U.S. earlier.
Legal English support is sometimes integrated into bar exam support to assist non-native English speakers. And legal English is used to signify resources and expert personnel, possessing backgrounds and advanced degrees that can help foreign-educated LL.M. students who speak English as a second language (like the two experts I spoke with for this piece).
What is legal English and why is it important?
Rebecca Pendleton is a lecturer at Boston University School of Law and the faculty director of its two-year LL.M. degree. Pendleton’s faculty bio highlights the ways she combines her passion for language and law, both with BU Law’s students and in her prior work teaching LL.B. and LL.M. students at Universidad Externado de Colombia, School of Law using an ESL-based curriculum.
Let’s start with a definition. “Legal English refers to the specialized language used within the legal system, comprising a distinct vocabulary, syntax and style,” according to Pendleton. And legal English is a crucial component to the LL.M. experience. To Pendleton, “it serves as a gateway to not only understanding the intricacies of statutes, case law and legal doctrines but also effectively communicating and arguing within the legal arena.”
Pendleton works with students who are specifically seeking legal English training and support as an integrated part of their extended programs. To Pendleton and her colleagues, the reason is clear. “Mastering legal English gives LL.M. graduates a strong advantage in the competitive job market, making them highly desirable to employers who value English proficiency.”
Enhancing legal English with the experts
Stephen Horowitz is a legal English lecturer at Georgetown Law and instructs students in the two-year LL.M. program with a Certificate in Legal English, the first program of its kind to pair a master of laws degree with an innovative legal English curriculum, according to a recent Georgetown Law article on bridging law and language. In addition to his work with Georgetown Law students, Horowitz provides insights to wider audiences through the Legal English Resources page of the Georgetown Legal English Blog.
Horowitz shares somewhat counterintuitive advice: Although legal vocabulary is often viewed as the most attractive or discussed topic, spending time on extensive reading and extensive listening, i.e., finding things you like to read and listen to in English for enjoyment and that are relatively easy to comprehend, is an extremely valuable use of time for learners not yet fluent or near-fluent in English. His suggestions?
“These can be law related, like news articles, John Grisham novels, or the USLawEssentials Law & Language podcast. But also, every time you re-read something already familiar like a legal memo you wrote, that’s extensive reading. And it’s equally beneficial no matter what you read as long as you read a lot. Because reading a lot without interrupting yourself to look up word meanings is what builds up reading speed, vocabulary and background knowledge better than any other approach. And those three things are crucial to success in law school, given the large volume of reading required and on exams including the bar exam, given that questions can be a page or longer.”
Two-year LL.M. programs, legal English expertise and bar exams
Pendleton and Horowitz both work closely with students in their well-known and well-regarded two-year LL.M. programs. Both shared inspiring examples of the carefully designed ways their programs are structured to turbocharge students’ legal English goals alongside their bar exam, post-LL.M. career, student experience and other goals. Both highlighted the transformative nature these programs have on the students who enroll in them.
According to Pendleton, BU Law’s two-year program welcomes students “aspiring to practice law in the United States, take a bar exam or extend their stay in the country post-graduation.” And their program “provides a unique opportunity to not only enhance English language proficiency but also gain a comprehensive understanding of the U.S. legal system.”
Given how important bar exams are for many LL.M. students, an extended runway to prepare can be attractive. Pendleton notes that students with a TOEFL 100/IELTS 7.0 in the two-year LL.M. program can begin taking bar-tested subjects during their first year.
I also asked Horowitz about the intersection of legal English and bar exam success for non-native English speaking LL.M. students. “Reading and writing speed are such significant factors in a student’s ability to pass the bar exam,” he explained. He also shared that “foreign-trained LL.M. students often struggle with reading speed leaving even less time to write.”
Horowitz added, “Another key component is helping students understand the expected discourse in exam writing (i.e., Issue Rule Application Conclusion), and learn how to connect discourse to the writing moves to execute the discourse, and the language they need to execute the writing moves.”
Although bar exams can seem daunting, Horowitz shared an inspiring story about an LL.M. graduate he worked with who passed the bar exam. The student let him know that the legal English writing support from him and his colleagues along with the legal topics studied in his course matched up well with the bar exam topics that year. And she made it clear that it was what she learned in his class, more than in her private bar preparation course, that helped her succeed in that part of the exam.
Experts like Pendleton and Horowitz and others in their legal English community work every day to help LL.M. students (and others) best position themselves to achieve their goals.
As LL.M. graduates begin their post-LL.M. careers seeking to incorporate their U.S. law knowledge, prepare for the final month for July 2024 bar exams and do so much more, the legal English skills gained during their studies will play an important role in their new opportunities.
