Research Guides: International LL.M. and Graduate Students Guide: Legal English Resources

Legal Writing and Legal English Podcasts and Blogs

USLawEssentials Law & Language Podcast
This podcast series is intended specifically to help non-native English speaking lawyers and law students improve their legal English. The episodes include discussions of recent court opinions, discussions of recent legal events in the news, and interviews with multilingual lawyers. Each episode is about 15-20 minutes and rich in legal English concepts and vocabulary, but in an engaging and accessible way. A great way to improve your legal English in a relaxing, non-pressured way in the in-between moments.
Civics 101: A Podcast
Produced by New Hampshire Public Radio, this series provides great explanations of varied legal topics.
Study Legal English
This website's purpose is to help users become fluent in legal English. It contains an extensive podcast library, which can be sorted by level and type. While some content requires a subscription, most is free.
Business Wars
Listening to these podcasts, produced by Wondery, is a great way to build up cultural knowledge. The hosts speak at a good pace for easy comprehension.
LawProse Lessons
Bryan Garner, the editor in chief of Black's Law Dictionary and the author of many well known books on legal writing, regularly posts his thoughts on legal writing.

The Legal Talk Network provides an array of podcasts by and for legal professionals in the United States and beyond. Highlighted below is a State Bar of Texas podcast discussing "Tips for Exceptional Writing Skills".

For those interested in locating additional podcasts or blogs covering a range of topics The ABA Law Journal published a Web 100 in 2018 highlighting blogs, podcasts, and even people to follow on Twitter.

Books Available in the Library

Temple Law Library has several books about legal writing written with International Graduate Students in mind. Below are some books you might find helpful. You can use Library Search to locate more resources on this or other topics.

Legal Reasoning Research and Writing for International Graduate Students by Nedzel
Call Number: KF240 .N43 2008
ISBN: 9780735569539
Publication Date: 2008-02-29
Legal Reasoning, Research, and Writing for International Graduate Students Second Edition, offers broad coverage and skill-building exercises for legal research and writing courses geared toward LL.M. students.
Legal Reasoning and Writing by Steven Riess
Call Number: KF250 .R5 2004
ISBN: 9783825877699
Publication Date: 2004-07-31
The principles of legal reasoning, together with an understanding of their practical application, form the foundation for a sound understanding of the functioning of the American common law.
Culture to Culture by Jill A. Ramsfield
Call Number: KF250 .R354 2005
ISBN: 9780890891186
Publication Date: 2005-08-01
"Indispensable to international students studying U.S. law, Culture to Culture explains the U.S. legal system's rhetorical preferences, linguistic specializations, and current conventions."--BOOK JACKET.
Introduction to Legal English by Mark E. Wojcik
Call Number: KF250 .W65 1998
ISBN: 9780935328868
Publication Date: 1998-08-01
From Google Books: Employing a hands-on, structured approach, the author leads the reader through carefully crafted exercises that allow readers to understand and make practical use of AngloAmerican legal terminology. The layered sequence of topics and exercises leads from the simplest use of legal terminology in conversation to mastery of advanced legal terminology and increasingly complex writing.
United States Legal Discourse by Craig Hoffman; Andrea E. Tyler
Call Number: KF250 .H64 2008
ISBN: 0314159940
Publication Date: 2006-05-01
This work is designed to help students improve their skills at common law legal analysis.
Elements of Success, Books 1-4 by Anne M. Ediger; Randee Falk; Mari Vargo
Call Number: PE1112. B235 2015
ISBN: 9780194028202
Publication Date: 2014-08-22
A general English grammar course. The grammar is clearly presented with highly visual charts and explanations, and varied practice problems help students apply and remember what they learn.

The books below were not written specifically for international students, but they are helpful for any law student looking to improve their writing.

Legal Reasoning and Legal Writing by Richard K. Neumann
Call Number: KF250 .N48 2009
ISBN: 9780735576667
Publication Date: 2009-03-30
The Sixth Edition of this respected and popular text remains grounded in the premise that legal reasoning and legal writing are best learned when they are taught together.
Legal Writing in Plain English by Bryan A. Garner
Call Number: KF250 .G373 2001
ISBN: 9780226284187
Publication Date: 2001-06-05
This text provides lawyers, judges, paralegals, law students and legal scholars advice and practical tools for improving their written work. It offers insight into the writing process: how to organize ideas, create and refine prose, and imporove editing skills. The book draws on real life examples and covers all types of legal materials, from analytical and persuasive writing to legal drafting. The author also explores aspects of document design, and provides exercises in each section to reinforce the book's principles.
Point Made by Ross Guberman
Call Number: KF251 .G83 2014
ISBN: 9780199967964
Publication Date: 2014-01-01
Each of this book's 50 chapters introduces a technique to improve the reader's legal writing skills, along with annotated examples, and exercises to allow the reader to practice the technique.
Legal Analysis by Cassandra L. Hill; Katherine T. Vukadin
Call Number: KF240 .H533 2012
ISBN: 9781422483244
Publication Date: 2012-01-01
Legal Analysis: 100 Exercises for Mastery: Practice for Every Law Student offers 100 paced exercises to sharpen students' legal analysis skills.
Street Law: a Course in Practical Law, Student Edition by McGraw Hill
Call Number: KF387 .A73 2010
ISBN: 9780078799839
Publication Date: 2009-01-21
Street Law's interactive methods focus on legal issues relevant to students' lives as they help students develop the knowledge and skills essential in our law-related society. This book is intended for high school students but is rich in legal vocabulary and gives fundamentals of the US legal system.

Don't forget to consult citation rulebooks, style guides, and dictionaries. Some examples of these resources are below.

The Bluebook by Harvard Law Review (Compiled by); Columbia Law Review (Compiled by); University of Pennsylvania Law Review (Compiled by); Yale Law Review (Compiled by)
Call Number: KF245 .U55 2015
ISBN: 9780692400197
Publication Date: 2015-06-25
The Bluebook provides a system of citation widely used by the legal community in the United States.
The Redbook by Bryan Garner
Call Number: KF250 .G376 2018
ISBN: 9781642421002
Publication Date: 2018-06-27
A well regarded style guide for Legal Writing.
Black's Law Dictionary by A. Bryan Garner (Editor-In-Chief)
Call Number: KF156 .B53 2014
ISBN: 9780314613004
Publication Date: 2014-05-01
A comprehensive law dictionary.

Linked In Learning Videos on English Language and Grammer

Additional Resources

YouGlish.com
Type in any word or phrase, and YouGlish will pull up Youtube videos where people say that word or phrase so you can hear how it's actually used and pronounced.
John Grisham novels
John Grisham, a former criminal attorney, has written dozens of popular legal thrillers. Intended for a non-legal audience, these books are a fun way to learn English legal terminology. Temple Law Library has several of his most popular titles, as well as his Theodore Boone series, which is geared to younger readers.
Newsela
Newsela aims to provide engaging, high-quality English-language content. Sign up for a free account to access their news content.

Temple University

University Libraries

See all library locations

Need help? Email us at asktulibrary@temple.edu