An Expert’s Guide to Understanding Legal Terminology
When dealing with lawyers and the law, people are often worried that they will not understand what is being said or what is going on.
A common issue is the terminology used by legal professionals. The language used in law is slowly changing to a plain English style however there are still legal phrases that can confuse non-lawyers.
I have put together a non-exhaustive list of the words and phrases to help (1) non-lawyers to understand legal words/phrases, and (2) other lawyers to explain legal phrases to their own clients.
As a legal professional, you may forget that other people do not have the same knowledge as you. The points below should help to ensure that everyone involved is on the same page.
Let’s Get into Legal Terminology
To help you as your read this, I will split common terminology into sections, let’s look at who could be involved in a legal matter…
Legal Terminology for PEOPLE
Defendant: A person or group against whom a criminal or civil action is brought.
Claimant: A person or organization who is making or bringing a claim or action (they used to be called Plantiffs).
Solicitor: A member of the legal profession who traditionally dealt with conveyancing, the drawing up of wills, and other legal matters. Solicitors act represent their clients in lower level courts.
Barrister: A qualified legal professional who offers specialist advice whilst representing, advocating and defending its clients in court or at a tribunal.
Third party: A term used to describe someone other than the two sides in a particular situation: An example would be in motor insurance policies to describe other people besides the person who is insured and the company that insures them.
Legal Executives : A trained legal professional, often specialising in a certain area of law. Their training is usually much more vocational as compared with solicitors and barristers.
Paralegal : Not qualified lawyers, but usually those with good qualifications, looking to assist solicitors and other lawyers in more routine or standard tasks.
These terms describe the main parties involved in a legal case. You will either be the defendant or claimant depending on the legal matter.
Legal Terms for AREAS of law
There is a long, long list of all the different practice areas of law but don’t worry, I’m not going to make you wade through that! Below I have listed some of the areas of law which we personally cover at Harry Suleman Solicitors.
Commercial Litigation: A kind of disagreement between two businesses over the terms of an agreement signed by the parties involved. Can also be known as business disputes.
Commercial Contracts: A commercial contract is an agreement between two or more parties on a commercial issue such as terms and conditions.
Personal Injury: A personal injury occurs when a person’s body, mind, or emotions are injured as a result of the negligence, carelessness, or wrongful conduct of another person. Personal Injury can also be referred to as tort law (see in next list).
Family Law: The area of law that deals with matters relating to a family, such as divorce, economic matters and child custody.
Professional Negligence: Where a professional fails to undertake their work with the standard required or breaches a duty of care.
General Legal Terminology
Many forms of legal terminology do not fit into a category, they can be heard in many situations and areas, but they are just as important to know. Here is a short (non-exhaustive) list of legal terms which I believe are important.
Compensation: Usually money awarded by the court (or agreed to be paid) to one party to recognise their loss, suffering or similar.
Assets: A resource owned or controlled by a person or organization which may help to produce a positive economic value.
Injunction: An injunction is a court order, usually one telling someone not to do something (or do to something).
Out-of-court settlement: Where two or more parties agree to conclude a case or action privately before a court reaches its decision.
Negligence: A failure to behave with the level of care required in certain circumstances. For instance, poor driving.
Breach of contract: The violation of a contractual obligation.
Contract: A contract is a legally binding promise (written or oral) by one party to fulfil an obligation to another party in return for consideration.
Litigation: The contest process before a court.
Tort: A tort is an act or omission that gives rise to injury or harm to another and amounts to a civil wrong for which courts impose liability.
Have you found these lists helpful? Legal advice should be accessible for everyone, I hope that you will share this with anyone else who may find it helpful in their own legal ventures.
This is not an exhaustive list of all the legal terms which you are likely to hear in a legal setting, however they are likely the most common and will give you a head start on understanding your legal proceedings.
If you are in need of legal advice, Just Ask Harry!