New publication

Legal English and the Common Law by Alison Riley with Legal Grammar Handbook by Patricia Sours is a new course book in Legal English specially written for Italian law students, jurists and lawyers, due for publication in September 2008 by Cedam, Padova.

The book also provides an introduction to the English legal system and examines the style of judicial reasoning typical of the common law judge, illustrating how principles develop case by case in common law legal systems.

The language of the law and aspects of the legal system are presented in clear English at intermediate level, with some sections devoted to more advanced readers. The volume is richly illustrated with original legal texts in the English language from national law, European Union law and international law, notably in the context of European Convention on Human Rights law. A series of Tasks with full keys and explanations of language and law provide opportunities for comprehension, discussion, training in legal skills and research, as well as terminology and vocabulary development.

The volume is partly bilingual and contains Reflection and Comparison sections by Italian jurists written in the Italian language, to stimulate reflection about comparative legal aspects and language.

Legal English and the Common Law by Alison Riley, with Legal Grammar Handbook by Patricia Sours, Cedam, Padova, 2008

Legal English and the Common Law by Alison Riley

Chapter One       English in Legal Contexts

Chapter Two       The Language of a Legal System

Chapter Three    The European Dimension

Chapter Four      The Language of Criminal Law

Chapter Five       The Language of Civil Law

Chapter Six         The Language of Contract

Legal Grammar Handbook by Patricia Sours

Chapter Seven    Text Layout and Use of Formal Terminology

Chapter Eight      Punctuation

Chapter Nine       Basic Sentence Structure

Chapter Ten        Verb Forms

Chapter Eleven   Adverbial Clauses and Nominal Structures