Legal English Program
For Foreign-Trained Law Students and Professionals.
Delaware Law School offers an entirely online course focusing on students and professionals who are non-native English speakers. Through small group and online interactions, students will receive instruction and professional training in legal English language skills in the areas of legal writing, legal vocabulary, academic reading, and professional speaking and listening. This experience will help participants prepare for success in law related education and careers by building skills and confidence to write, speak, and listen in the context of the American legal system. Participants will have the opportunity to learn and apply their legal English skills in the virtual classroom by practicing and presenting their legal English terminology with faculty and others in the program. Students will develop and apply legal English language skills in the contexts of learning about legal writing and analysis and about a variety of US common law topics.
Course Dates: March 10, 2025 to April 30, 2025
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. ET
Location: Online via live Zoom
Tuition: $1,625
Registration Deadline: February 28, 2025
Instructor: Donna Bain Butler, PhD
Dr. Butler teaches professionals to advance English language proficiency and bilingualism in law and legal translation. For lawyers operating internationally, communicating across cultures implies a need for transnational legal and linguistic awareness. Whatever the form of professional writing or speaking, both legal skills and language skills’ acquisition forms a vital part of legal education and training in today’s global age.
Dr. Butler originates from Montreal, Quebec, Canada and has lived and worked in multiple French language and Creole settings. Her role as teacher-scholar in the U.S. has been facilitator for professionals who use English as an additional language in education, law, and law enforcement. While teaching, designing, and developing legal English courses for the Washington College of Law, she earned her doctorate from the University of Maryland College Park with a specialization in second language education and culture. Her practitioner research/publications focus on strategies for learner development at high levels of English proficiency. She is an English Specialist for the U.S. Department of State and Associate Editor for the Journal of Distinguished Language Studies.
Register and Submit Payment Here.
Delaware Law School also offers an Advanced Legal English Program.