Why do so many legal terms overlap between English and Spanish?

Both draw heavily from Latin legal tradition, so words like jurisdiction and litigation look alike. Meanings and legal systems still differ, so always confirm the exact English term used in a specific contract or jurisdiction.

Can I practice reviewing a real contract in class?

Yes, an English for work class can go through an actual document you're working with and build vocabulary and phrases around it.

Legal vocabulary in English

The list

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Legal vocabulary
Term	Meaning	Spanish	Example
contract	a legally binding agreement	contrato	Please review the contract before signing.
clause	a specific section of a contract	cláusula	This clause covers termination conditions.
liability	legal responsibility for something	responsabilidad legal	The company accepted liability for the damages.
breach	failing to follow the terms of an agreement	incumplimiento	They sued for breach of contract.
plaintiff	the person who brings a case to court	demandante	The plaintiff filed the lawsuit last month.
defendant	the person being accused in a case	demandado	The defendant denied the allegations.
settlement	an agreement that ends a dispute	acuerdo, arreglo	They reached a settlement out of court.
jurisdiction	the authority of a court over a matter	jurisdicción	This falls outside the court's jurisdiction.
litigation	the process of taking legal action	litigio	The company is involved in ongoing litigation.
compliance	following laws and regulations	cumplimiento normativo	We updated the policy to ensure compliance.
due diligence	careful investigation before a deal	debida diligencia	We did due diligence before the acquisition.
intellectual property	legal rights over creations of the mind	propiedad intelectual	The patent protects our intellectual property.
nondisclosure agreement	a contract to keep information confidential	acuerdo de confidencialidad	Sign the nondisclosure agreement before we share the data.
terms and conditions	the rules governing an agreement	términos y condiciones	Read the terms and conditions carefully.
indemnify	to compensate for loss or damage	indemnizar	The vendor agreed to indemnify us for any losses.
arbitration	settling a dispute outside court	arbitraje	The contract requires arbitration, not a lawsuit.
draft	to write a legal document	redactar	Can you draft the agreement by Friday?
amendment	a formal change to a document	enmienda	We need an amendment to extend the deadline.
waiver	giving up a legal right	renuncia de derecho	She signed a waiver before the activity.
counsel	a lawyer, or legal advice	abogado, asesoría legal	We should get counsel before responding.
statute	a written law	estatuto, ley	The statute sets a three-year limit for claims.
binding	legally enforceable	vinculante	This agreement is legally binding once signed.
negligence	failure to take reasonable care	negligencia	The case centers on claims of negligence.
testimony	a formal statement, often under oath	testimonio	Her testimony was key to the case.
enforceable	able to be legally required or upheld	exigible, aplicable	The clause is not enforceable in this state.

How to use these at work

Many legal terms look similar in English and Spanish (contrato, cláusula, negligencia), since both draw on Latin legal tradition, but watch sentence: in a legal context it usually means a judge's punishment ruling, not a grammatical sentence.
Counsel (a lawyer, or legal advice) sounds identical to council (a committee). Context tells them apart, but it's worth knowing they're different words.
English legal writing repeats the same defined term throughout a document on purpose, instead of varying the wording for style. Don't read that as a mistake if you see it.

Practice

Questions

Why do so many legal terms overlap between English and Spanish?: Both draw heavily from Latin legal tradition, so words like jurisdiction and litigation look alike. Meanings and legal systems still differ, so always confirm the exact English term used in a specific contract or jurisdiction.
Can I practice reviewing a real contract in class?: Yes, an English for work class can go through an actual document you're working with and build vocabulary and phrases around it.

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