Legal English Introductory vocabulary

Plaintiff

The person who brings a case against another in a court of law.

Defendant

An individual

Adjourn

To break off a court proceeding with the intention to resume later.

Allege

To claim or assert that someone has done something illegal or wrong

Binding

Describes an agreement

Discretionary

Powers or decisions left to the discretion of a particular official or body

Writ

A form of written command in the name of a court or other legal authority to act or abstain from acting in a particular way.

Injunction

A judicial order that restrains a person from beginning or continuing an action threatening or invading the legal right of another.

Hearing

A proceeding before a court or other decision-making body or officer

Trial

The formal examination of evidence by a judge

Verdict

The decision on a disputed issue in a civil or criminal case or an inquest.

Appeal

To apply to a higher court for a reversal of the decision of a lower court.

Barrister

A lawyer entitled to practice as an advocate

Solicitor

A member of the legal profession qualified to deal with conveyancing

Statute

A written law passed by a legislative body.

Tort

A wrongful act or an infringement of a right (other than under contract) leading to legal liability.

Deposition

The process of giving sworn evidence.

Litigation

The process of taking legal action.

Misdemeanour

A minor wrongdoing. The term is used more in US law but is sometimes applied in British English for similar minor offences.

Precedent

A principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts.

Offer

A proposal by one party to another intended to create a legally binding agreement.

Acceptance

An agreement to the terms of an offer

Consideration

Something of value exchanged between parties

Capacity

The legal ability of a party to enter into a contract.

Duress

Unlawful pressure exerted on a person to coerce them into a contract.

Misrepresentation

A false statement of fact made by one party to another party

Warranty

A term in a contract that is a promise that certain facts are true.

Breach of Contract

A violation of any of the agreed-upon terms and conditions of a binding contract.

Liquidated Damages

A predetermined amount of money that must be paid as damages for failure to perform under a contract.

Injunction

A court order requiring a party to do or refrain from doing specific acts.

Specific Performance

A legal remedy where the court requires the performing party to execute the contract

Void

A contract that is entirely without legal effect.

Voidable

A valid contract that may be legally rejected by one of the parties.

Enforceable

A term used to describe a contract that can be enforced by law.

Unenforceable

A contract that

Term

A provision or condition of a contract.

Condition

A fundamental term of the contract

Privity of Contract

The principle that a contract cannot confer rights or impose obligations arising under it on any person except the parties to it.

Assignment

The transfer of rights or property to another party.

Novation

The act of replacing an obligation to perform with a new obligation or replacing a party to an agreement with a new party.

Indemnity

A contractual obligation of one party to compensate the loss incurred by the other party due to the acts of the indemnitor or any other party.

Innominate Terms

Terms in a contract that are not clearly defined as either conditions or warranties

Force Majeure

A clause included in contracts to remove liability for natural and unavoidable catastrophes that interrupt the expected course of events and prevent participants from fulfilling obligations.

Consequential Damages

Damages claimed for a loss that does not directly and immediately result from the breach but rather as a consequence of the breach.

Reciprocal Promises

Promises that are mutual and dependent on each other; each party's promise is contingent upon the other party's promise.

Mutuality

A principle where both parties in an agreement are bound to the terms

Estoppel

A legal principle that prevents a party from going back on a promise that is not contractually supported

Exclusion Clause

A term in a contract that seeks to restrict the rights of the parties under the contract

Anticipatory Breach

A declaration by one party to a contract that they do not intend to fulfil their contractual obligations before they are due to perform.

Rectification

The correction of a mistake in a written contract so that it accurately reflects the true intentions of the parties.

C. Finance Law Vocabulary

Securitisation

The process of converting an asset

Derivative

A financial security whose value is dependent upon or derived from an underlying asset or group of assets.

Insolvency

The state of being unable to pay debts owed

Equity

The value of an ownership interest in property

Hedge Fund

A private investment partnership and funds pool that uses varied and complex proprietary strategies and invests or trades in complex products

Syndicated Loan

A loan that is provided by a group of lenders and is structured

Due Diligence

An investigation

Credit Risk

The risk of loss of principal or loss of a financial reward stemming from a borrower's failure to repay a loan or otherwise meet a contractual obligation.

Asset Management

The direction of a client's cash and securities by a financial services company

Venture Capital

Financing that investors provide to startup companies and small businesses that are believed to have long-term growth potential.

Leverage

The use of various financial instruments or borrowed capital-such as margin-to increase the potential return of an investment.

Fiduciary Duty

A legal obligation of one party to act in the best interest of another. The obligated party is typically a fiduciary

D. Corporate Law Vocabulary

Incorporation

The process of legally declaring a corporate entity as separate from its owners.

Limited Liability

A form of legal protection for shareholders and owners that limits personal loss to the amount invested in the company.

Shareholder

An individual or entity that owns shares in a corporation and thus has a claim to a part of its assets and earnings.

Board of Directors

A group of individuals elected to represent shareholders and govern the corporation's affairs and oversee management.

Corporate Governance

The system of rules

Merger

The combination of two or more companies into a single entity

Acquisition

The action of one company buying most or all of another company's shares to gain control of that company.

Dividend

A payment made by a corporation to its shareholders

Proxy

Authority that one person holds to act on behalf of a shareholder at corporate meetings and vote on corporate matters.

Dissolution

The closure or termination of a company's legal existence.

Joint Venture

A commercial enterprise undertaken jointly by two or more parties which otherwise retain their distinct identities.

Articles of Association

A document that specifies the regulations for a company's operations and defines the company's purpose.

Corporate Veil

A legal concept that separates the personality of a corporation from the personalities of its shareholders and protects them from being personally liable for the company's debts and other obligations.

Fiduciary Responsibility

An obligation to act in the best interest of another party

Insider Trading

The trading of a public company's stock or other securities by individuals with access to non-public information about the company.

Debenture

A type of debt instrument that is not secured by physical assets or collateral but is secured by the general creditworthiness and reputation of the issuer.

Corporate Restructuring

The act of reorganising the structure of a company to make it more profitable or better organised for its present needs.

Equity Financing

The method of raising capital by selling company shares to investors. In return

Debt Financing

Raising funds through borrowing

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

A mandatory yearly gathering of a company's interested shareholders where directors of the company present the annual report containing information for shareholders about the company's performance and strategy.

Minority Interest

An ownership or equity interest of less than 50% of a company

Shareholder Agreement

A contract among a company's shareholders describing how the company should be operated and the shareholders' rights and obligations.

Liquidation

The process of bringing a business to an end and distributing its assets to claimants. It is an event that usually occurs when a company is insolvent

Hostile Takeover

An acquisition attempt by a company or individual against the wishes of the company's management and board of directors.

Corporate Compliance

The process of making sure a company and its employees follow the laws

Convertible Bonds

Bonds that can be converted into a predetermined number of shares of the issuing company

Golden Parachute

Substantial benefits guaranteed to corporate executives if they lose their position due to a takeover or merger.

Poison Pill

A strategy used by companies to deter hostile takeovers by making the company's stock less attractive to the acquirer.

Share Repurchase

The action of a company buying back its own shares from the marketplace

Proxy Fight

A contest between a group of shareholders and company management to win votes from other shareholders to effect a change in the company's board of directors.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)

A US federal law that set new or expanded requirements for all U.S. public company boards

Non-compete Agreement

A contract where an employee agrees not to enter into or start a similar profession or trade in competition against the employer.

Due Care

A requirement that a person act toward others and the public with the watchfulness

Articles of Incorporation

The primary rules governing the management of a corporation in the U.S.

Capital Structure

The particular combination of debt and equity used by a firm to finance its overall operations and growth.

Claimant

The party who initiates a lawsuit before a court against one or more defendants.