Prepositions are difficult because essentially there are often no rules to guide us. We must simply try to remember which preposition to use with which words. This series of posts attempts to introduce prepositions in common usage in the legal context.

Complete the sentences with the correct preposition:

for             against(x2)             to(x2)             on(x2)

1) You may be eligible ……. Workers’ Compensation Benefits.

2) “Can I bring litigation ……. an ebay seller who agreed to sell an item for $27K to me and then sold it to someone else?”

3) You will need to submit a patent application ……. the UK Patent Office.

4) The Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003 confer rights ……. individuals as well as placing responsibilities ……. those persons processing personal data.

5) Subject ……. the requirements of Rules 7.1 and 7.3, a lawyer can advertise services through written, recorded or electronic communication.

Answers: 1) …for 2) …against 3) …to 4) …on, …on 5) …to

Could you fill in the gaps with the given verb in the correct form?

1. The judge adjourned the case and ……………the courtroom. (leave)

2. The director asked for a loan because the company ……………… money. (lose)

3. How many times …………………… the bank since last week? ((he)telephone)

4. The plaintiff …………………… about this for some time now. (know)

5. They ……………..……….. the litigant at the moment. (cross-examine)

Answers: 1) …left 2) …had lost 3) …did he telephone 4) …has known 5) are cross-examining

This series of posts will look at the obscure phrases commonly used in British or American commercial contracts and are based on the drafting standards of these jurisdictions. When working with contracts in English, it is critical that we use these fixed phrases correctly.

Aggregate amount. An amount which is calculated by combining different items.

Construed in accordance with. Interpreted according to.

Discharge of contract/obligation/liability. The termination of the contract/obligation/liability by performance.

Except as expressly provided in this Agreement. Unless there is a clear statement to the contrary elsewhere in the contract.

Incur expenses/fees. To accumulate or make oneself liable to pay expenses/fees.

Check your knowledge with this Exercise:

In Spain, Juan Antonio Roca was arrested for taking systematic bribes as head of urban planning in Marbella. His net salary was less than €150,000 a year, yet when he was arrested his property included two huge Andalucian estates, luxury hotels, three palaces, beachside housing developments, a private plane and artworks worth a combined $2.4 billion!

Asked by a judge to explain this wealth, Roca said he had won the lottery 80 times. The prosecution noted that the chances of that were one in 43,000,000,000,000,000! In such circumstances, even the best defence lawyer might falter a little when beginning a speech, “Improbable as it might seem . . . ”

This series of posts is designed to attempt to introduce some phrasal verbs which commonly appear in the legal context. Phrasal verbs consist of a verb together with an adverb or a preposition. The problem is that the verbs may have an ordinary meaning on its own which changes with the addition of the adverb or preposition when forming the phrasal verb.

There are many thousands of phrasal verbs and we will already know quite a few. We must try to focus on the phrasal verbs which we are likely to use in our work and then try to learn a few as often as we can.

Match the following phrasal verbs with the correct definition:

1. To write down an appointment, although you know that this might have to be changed later. ………….
2. To include a particular fact or situation when you are calculating something or thinking about or planning something. …………
3. To accept a law, an agreement or a decision and obey it. ………….
4. To begin or become legally committed to a formal agreement. ………….
5. To end abruptly, either temporarily or permanently, before you have finished. ………….

Complete the sentences with the phrasal verbs so that they make sense:

1. I’ll …………. 7 July for the meeting, but if there’s any change please call me.
2. The parties must ……….. the terms of the agreement.
3. You must …………. the possible cost of delays when calculating firm bids.
4. The negotiations were …………. this afternoon when the parties failed to find any common ground.
5. The UK has …………. a historic trade agreement with China.

Answers: 1) pencil in, 2) factor in, 3) abide by, 4) enter into, 5) break off

1) pencil in, 2) abide by, 3) factor in, 4) broken off, 5) entered into

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (45)- “a factitious word alleged to mean ‘a lung disease caused by the inhalation of very fine silica dust, causing inflammation in the lungs.’” – technical term

Antidisestablishmentarianism (28) – a political position that originated in nineteenth-century Britain in opposition to proposals for the disestablishment of the Church of England, that is, to remove the Anglican Church’s status as the state church of England, Ireland and Wales. longest non technical term

“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious“, the 34-letter title of a song from the movie Mary Poppins. It does appear in several dictionaries, but only as a proper noun defined in reference to the song title. The attributed meaning is “a word that you say when you don’t know what to say.”