Questão de Inglês — Interpretação de Textos (Understanding) — INSTITUTO AOCP 2025

The case for foreign languages as an aspiring lawyer

If you want to work in the competitive legal profession, having foreign language skills can help to set you apart.

The relative lack of foreign language skills among the UK population is well-documented. A recent Guardian survey revealed that 39% of young native English speakers were put off learning a foreign language because “most people speak English”, and 14% by the idea that “most other languages are not useful”. But for students hoping to enter the legal profession – which is increasingly global in outlook – being able to speak a foreign language is useful, and ever more desirable to employers. In other words, students who speak more than one language are increasingly valued by employers. The globalisation of legal practice means that many international law firms will not hire lawyers without language skills, said Patricio Grané Labat, partner of public international law firm Volterra Fietta. “In our profession, language skills are critical because, as international lawyers, we apply our trade with words. It is certainly something I look for when I recruit. If a candidate is not fluent in other languages, I generally will not consider them – if I do, it’s usually for a discrete assignment,” he said.

Dr. Martina Künnecke, lecturer at the University of Hull, added: “Students need a global mindset, and language skills are a part of that. It’s absolutely crucial considering the competition in the jobs market today.” She encourages students to learn a new language in their spare time and to take up opportunities to study law abroad.

Knowing at least one foreign language can also enable you to broaden the scope of your work, said Gabriel Helou, legal officer at the Norwegian Refugee Council and former project manager in the rule of law and justice sector at the EU delegation in Jerusalem.

“It enables legal professionals to explore foreign legal systems or experiences through a comparative approach. Referring to the original sources of information can sometimes be more reliable and comprehensible,” said Gabriel Helou. According to him, foreign language skills give lawyers a global mindset which is increasingly useful and desired by employers – so it might be worth dusting off those old textbooks.

Adapted from: SUTCLIFFE, Matthew. The case for foreign languages as an aspiring lawyer. The Guardian, London, Aug. 19, 2014. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/aug/19 /foreign-language-skills-law-career. Accessed on: Apr. 27, 2025.