Welcome to ESL Legal Academy. We are happy you are here.

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English is the de facto international business language, including contract drafting and negotiating. ESL Legal Academy was formed this year because after I, Attorney Raymond G. Husum, learned Conversational Spanish as a second language, I realized that I could not negotiate or draft contracts written in Spanish.

 

That got me wondering: did non-native English-speaking attorneys, who negotiate contracts in English, also have that problem?

 

To find out, I reached out to several non-native and native English-speaking law professors in Europe & the United States, and other ESL Instructors, and asked them if they specifically taught a Legal English Course (ESL) about contract negotiations and drafting, or if such a course was a good idea.

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In response thereto, a U.S. law school professor, who teaches a course on complex negotiation and contract drafting with native and non-native English speaking law students from other countries, stated:

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“Shockingly, law schools often give no training on how to draft contracts. Most of my third-year law students tell me the course gives them their first experience drafting a contract. My guess is that an ESL student in one of these fields would all the more find the course valuable, as long as it coaches...on typical terminology in a term sheet and a contract.”

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Others believe “that non-native English-speaking legal educational and other professional language programs fail to address the practical aspects of negotiating and drafting contracts or agreements in English.” 

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Therefore, it is our position that non-native English-speaking legal professionals and law students who are involved with contracting need ESL Legal Academy for guidance to understand, negotiate and draft contracts and agreements in English.

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ESL Legal Academy offers real-time instruction, via Zoom and in-person, to legal professionals, law students, and to anyone for whom English is a second language.

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Given the internet and the information technology available, including email and video conferencing, what was once cost-prohibitive is now cost-efficient and effective. The benefits to our clients are that our standard and/or personalized/customized Legal English lessons are streamlined to solve the problems at hand, which keeps the contract process moving smoothly and on-time.

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We offer:

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• Standard Weekly Legal English Online Zoom Lessons- See our ESL Legal Courses.

• Personal/Customized one-on-one or team Lessons- Please contact us now to discuss your customized lesson plan, and scheduled in-person seminars- See our Calendar for Next Start Date and Enrollment. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The benefits to Non-Native English-Speaking Contracting Professionals are:

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• With new knowledge, techniques and skills, your self-esteem and confidence will increase along with critical thinking, resulting in a more professional contract negotiator and decision maker.

• With an understanding of how the opposing contract professional thinks, you will be able to identify which compromise or concession will appeal to them and effectively know how to negotiate a positive outcome.

 

The benefits to law firms, companies and/or government entities are:

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• A cost-efficient program to train contract negotiators because training is an evolving activity;

• When you work with ESL Legal Academy, you can scale up or scale down the number of resources you need, just when you need them most;

• Regardless of where your contract negotiators are located, ESL Legal Academy will go there, or such courses can be conducted online;

• Your Company or Department will “On Demand” have a pool of trainers and facilitators, who are experts in contracting;

• A distinct competitive advantage over other companies without such training;

• Decrease employee turnover because training employees is a proven way to improve job satisfaction. In turn, worker productivity increases while turnover and absenteeism decreases. An employee will feel much better knowing that he or she is steadily working toward a better position within the company and growing professionally.

 

The benefits to Non-Native English Speaking Educational Institutions and/or students are:

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• A supplemental course for students who want to learn about contracts and improve their English language skills at the same time;

• Recognition as an institute of learning with a hands-on approach to learning (learn by doing).

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Lastly, our scheduled in-person seminars are a great way to start or re-energize your or your legal team’s legal career, gain expert knowledge, network with other legal professionals, and improve communication skills.

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If, in your opinion, you feel that you can benefit from our Legal English Course, and have other questions, please contact me.

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Sincerely,

Raymond G. Husum, Esq.

Founder