OUR TESTIMONIALS
I was looking for a way to gain a broader and deeper understanding of the law - beyond what is usually offered in seminars for legal translators. A colleague recommended the Vienna LLP course, and it was definitely worth the effort. Prof. Heidinger is an excellent teacher with decades of experience in the legal field - as a professor, lawyer, and interpreter. The course helped me to significantly improve my research skills and my understanding of the various laws, legal systems, and their comparison. For this, the weekly study aids were also extremely helpful. The time expense should not be underestimated but I can nevertheless highly recommend this course to all translators working with English in the legal field.
Regina Seelos
I was looking for a way to brush up my legal English skills before departing for my LLM studies in the United States. Prof. Franz J. Heidinger is a great teacher who blends his years of experience as a university professor, interpreter, and attorney. As I had expected, Vienna LLP was a unique experience. Not only was Vienna LLP a great way of practicing and improving my English skills; it also led me to dive deeper into Anglo-American law and to develop a better understanding of its fundamentals, as Prof. Heidinger shared his experience as a practitioner of Anglo-American law with us. I can wholeheartedly recommend the Vienna LLP to everybody who seeks to engage in the Anglo-American legal language and seeks to significantly improve.
Mag. Marawan Mansour, Vienna
When I learned that the Vienna LLP Fast Track would be taught as a hybrid course, I jumped at the chance to enrol in it because I had been looking for exactly this type of course combining an overview of legal topics in the two languages – German and English – that I chiefly work in. It is difficult to find such courses which cater to both legal professionals and practitioners in both languages. I enjoyed the Vienna LLP Fast Track immensely, and looked forward each week to the two-hour sessions which flew by over the five-month period from January to May 2022. The course provides an ideal combination of legal expertise and technical language training in German and English. As a translator, it helped me to acquire a deeper understanding and knowledge of the various fields of law in the US, England and Wales, Germany and Austria, while also enhancing my proficiency in both languages. Although the course was challenging in terms of the subject matter, it was very worthwhile. I can now confidently apply the knowledge I acquired in my daily work. I would have no hesitation in recommending the Vienna LLP Fast Track to anyone working in the translation or legal sectors.
Ann Brogan, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Staatlich geprüfte und ermächtigte Übersetzerin für Englisch, BDÜ
As a translator who often works with legal texts, this course has proved to be a perfect choice. Within a manageable time frame, experts in their field conveyed comprehensible and complex content understandably and interestingly, thus enabling a deep understanding of the matter. The contrastive approach, i.e. the comparative consideration of the legal systems, turned out to be an eye-opener. All this happened in a relaxed environment, in exchange with interested and active participants and motivated speakers. Thus, a positive dynamic developed over the weeks and months. Certainly, the time to be invested should not be underestimated; however, it mainly depends on personal interest and commitment and – based on the clearly defined and structured specifications in advance – it may be perfectly planned in terms of time and content. Thanks to the documents and books provided, the weekly work orders can also be completed easily within 1 - 2 hours. The deepening of one’s topical and linguistic competencies and the development of new specialist areas are complemented by the intensive analysis of the topics chosen for one’s presentations and the valuable feedback on them.
Mag. Helga Benigni-Cokan, Graz
The seminar offers first-class insights into legal matters and areas from Austria, Germany, the UK and the US. Whether you are just beginning your journey or switching careers, or just want to have a refresher course, the structure of the topics provides fundamental know-how. But it is not only the seminar lecturer, Prof. Heidinger, who passes on such knowledge through his presentations. In addition to his talks, all participants had the opportunity to prepare their own presentations for up to three subjects (e.g. family law, civil procedural law, IP/copyright and many more). There was also homework and exercises which were instrumental in deepening what you had just learned. What I liked most is the diversity of the seminar participants which also enabled an exchange regarding many fields of expertise at a bilingual level. All in all a course which serves its purpose well as an entry point but also offers the opportunity to dig deeper. Plus, there are many networking opportunities!
Sabine Jones
I choose to learn from the best. When it comes to achieving English legal language proficiency, Prof. Franz J. Heidinger is the person to turn to — his teaching is based on his personal experience as a lawyer-linguist and he is excited and enthusiastic to introduce you to the Vienna LLP approach of comparative law and language. The Fast Track course was a great opportunity to enhance my legal English skills and exchange views with the other participants on a highly professional level.
Bardija Delir
My work as a translator includes, amongst others, the translation of legal texts. For this, it is not only essential to have profound knowledge and command of legal terminology in the source and target languages, but also to have a thorough understanding of the legal systems that these languages stem from. The Vienna Legal Language Proficiency course covers both aspects in depth and is therefore a valuable asset for both legal translators and lawyers working in an international context.
Thanks to the online and/or hybrid format of the course, lawyers and translators from all around Germany and Austria were able to participate. Personally, I found that the international and interdisciplinary composition of the group was highly beneficial as it enabled us to not only compare different legal systems but also different professional perspectives.
Lea Bienefeld