“I feel comfortable using legal jargon in everyday life.” Elle Woods - Legally Blonde
Can we have order in this courtroom! While you may chuckle at the idea of using legal jargon daily, the number of legal dramas that feature on our television screens make it possible for even the layperson to get acquainted with legal terminology. When the courtroom can be brought into your living room in the form of, “Suits,” you have to admit that you have become all too eager to understand legal jargon.
You must remember that television programmes that depict lawyers and law firms tend to be over-exaggerated. However, you also have to keep in mind that the hour-long murder trial showcased on your screen is far more dragged out in the real-life courtroom. Some cases require months of deliberation and contemplation before a verdict is reached. Can you remember the Oscar Pistorius trial that had all South Africans hooked?
The more well-versed you are in legal jargon; the easier it is to see that scriptwriters purposely include all the real legal jargon and terminology into their films and series. When you have to take the center stage as a judge or a lawyer in an actual courtroom, there is a lot more legal navigation that has to occur. In order to get the ball in your court as a lawyer, you need to know the whole host of legal speak.
If you are keen on becoming an advocate, attorney, or judge, the first step to success is to master the legal jargon that is found in between the pages of the law textbooks
A law scholarship could get you on the right track towards getting the law degree that you need to complete in order to better understand legal jargon.
You need to know terms like, “plaintiff,” “defendant,” and “deposition” mean if you would like to get anywhere in the law field.
Objection overruled! Superprof is here to assist you to find your feet as a law scholar wishing to get a full introduction to law in South Africa.
The Basics of Latin Law Terms
A term that you have probably heard from the movies is ‘allegation’. By now you have understood that an allegation is something that someone has said has happened. So what happens if an allegation had been made against you? Should you, plead not guilty?
If the allegation made against you is more detrimental, it will be dealt with in the Regional Magistrates' Court.
When you chose to plead not guilty, your case is heard by a jury who is overseen by a judge.
So would you be the juror or would you be the judge? On oath, you have to speak only the truth so are you ready to cross-examine the law textbooks to see what you could use in your defense.
A civil law tutor on Superprof could be what you are in search of to help you understand the legal terms that you will find during your law course.
You could choose to use informative books like, “Latin for Dummies: Understanding Latin Legalese,” to help you come to grips with legal speak before you even take the plunge and pursue law.
Terms you may know include, “alibi.” You may have heard this term being thrown around in every possible law show that you had the privilege of watching. An “alibi,” is a detailed account of your whereabouts on the night where someone had been murdered. Your alibi will serve as proof that you cannot in any way be responsible for the dreadful deed.
Is that the only Latin law term that you may have stumbled across? Perhaps you have heard the term, "bona fide" being used. The Latin term, “bona fide” means in good faith or sincere and genuine.
A term you may hear quite frequently is, “affidavit”. When you can produce an affidavit, it means you can produce a sworn written statement that something has, in fact, occurred.
Other common Latin terms include:
- habeas corpus which means bring a person before the court
- sub poena refers to an order that commands a person to appear in court under penalty for not appearing in court
- ex officio is defined as by virtue of one’s position
- appellate means with regard to appeals
- ad hoc for a specific case or a certain situation
- de jure according to the law, or as per the right
While these are a few important Latin legal terms you will encounter, this is only a gist of what you will learn in law school.
Are you ready to consume more legal terms and understand their meanings?
You can also learn about how to get the the most knowledge out of your law degree with the help of a tutor.
Legal Terms and their Meanings: Legal Titles
When deciding to study law, someone might have asked you if you would like to be a barrister. Did you take a step back and not know how to answer?
You will no doubt have stumbled across the term, "advocate". In many Commonwealth countries, the term barrister means the same as the term advocate does in South Africa.
In South Africa, advocates are the type of lawyers who are considered to be specialists in the skill of advocating in the court of law. We consider advocates to be experts in the field.
If you are not interested in being an advocate, perhaps you would like the title of an attorney then.
An attorney or solicitor, as it is commonly termed overseas, is the type of lawyer who is far more easily accessible to clients. In South Africa, you are more likely to liaise with an attorney on your case first. We believe that advocates have far more skills than attorneys. We would also say that advocates have the necessary skills in terms of all the ethics in a courtroom proceeding.
Another legal title you may have heard of is that of a legal counsellor. What exactly is a legal counsellor?
A legal counsellor is much like an attorney and serves to be the person who can offer advice to clients, however, a counsellor cannot represent clients in court.
Has hearing all about the legal titles and terms whet your appetite for the law field slightly?
The Law Degree
“There is no better way to exercise the imagination than the study of law.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
They say the law has its roots in Rome as when there was no law within a country to address grievances, Roman law had been applied.
Irrespective of where the law has its roots, you can certainly undertake the study of law in South Africa. There are many students studying law at the University of Witwatersrand, University of Pretoria, and at The University of Johannesburg.
Ask any student and they are bound to mention that studying law is costly and no easy feat but gaining a law degree makes it worth it in the end.
All those legal terms and Latin terms that we discussed earlier will all be covered in your law course. Soon you will understand that "amicus curiae," refers to a friend of the court and it won’t seem so overwhelming when you hear it being said in one of your favourite court shows.
De jure (according to the law), we note that studying for an LLB degree will take 4 years after which you can choose to specialise. Practice makes perfect. Doing pro bono work, which is free legal work, will prove to be a stepping stone towards the success that you will obtain as a lawyer.
Find various law classes online on Superprof.
I Want to Study Law
If you are uttering the statement, “I want to study law,” you have probably made up your mind. This means you need to start doing your research as well. Go Legal is one site that has a range of law-related articles that may possibly provoke you to be interested in the law field all the more.
You may also want to do your research about pro bono lawyers as well.
So while we gave you a tip of the iceberg in terms of the Latin dictionary that you will master during your 4 years of studying law, the onus is on you to get to grips with everything court-related.
Remember, you need not partake in your 4-year-long law learning journey alone, there are many law teachers and tutors who are eager to help you speak legal law jargon as if you were born to speak it.
Search for a law teacher on Superprof.
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