This course is about the legal concepts and English legal vocabulary found in the general, standard clauses of a typical commercial contract. These clauses are usually found towards the end of a contract, after the main terms and conditions, and tend to have a fixed content that is more or less the same in all agreements.

 

The focus is on the purpose of these so-called ‘boilerplate clauses’, which some lawyers also refer to as ‘general’, ‘standard’, or ‘miscellaneous’ clauses. These clauses have their own section within a contract, and the module looks closely at why it is important for a commercial lawyer to be aware of the advantages and possible disadvantages to a client that may be hidden within them. Although these clauses are often dealt with quickly by a lawyer who is drawing up a contract, they can lead to trouble if not enough attention is given to them. The module looks at how these general clauses can lead to expensive litigation for a client and examines the court case between businessman Donald Trump and banking giant Deutsche Bank. This case started when the 2007 financial crisis meant that the Trump hotel chain was unable to repay a $640 million loan to Deutsche Bank. 

 

Course access: this online legal English course will be available for 40 days after purchase.

 

At the end of this course in English for lawyers, you will know more about:

• the importance of boilerplate clauses in a commercial agreement
• governing law and jurisdiction clauses in the event of a dispute between the parties
• the prevailing language clause in cross-border contracts
• contracts signed in counterpart
• force majeure clauses and the importance of including a written force majeure clause in agreements regulated by the common law
• the litigation between Donald Trump and Deutsche Bank concerning a high-value Loan Agreement
• entire agreement provisions
• how a court can imply terms into a contract regardless of the express content agreed upon by the parties
• the litigation and the appeals process in the UK
• some key legal English dictionary terms that are essential to practising commercial law at an international level

 

Great practice for ALL THREE LEVELS of the TOLES exams in legal English.