Preposition Precision
The company is liable _____ damages arising _____ breach of contract.
What is "for" and "from"?
Rewrite as a legal condition: "Maybe the buyer won't pay, so we need protection".
What is "In the event that the Buyer fails to remit payment, the Seller shall..."?
Complete: "to _____ an action" and "to _____ proceedings"
What is "bring/commence" and "initiate/institute"?
Convert to nominalization: "The company failed to comply..."
What is "The company's failure to comply" or "Non-compliance by the company"?
The "arm's length principle" - define it.
What is: "transactions between related parties must be priced as if between independent parties"?
"The claim was brought _____ negligence" vs. "The claim was based _____ negligence".
What is "in" and "on"?
Convert to third conditional and explain why it matters: "If the contract was not properly executed, it is void."
What is: "Had the contract not been properly executed, it would have been void"
Give two formal collocations for "reject" in appellate decisions
What is: dismiss, overrule, overturn, set aside?
De-nominalize: "The determination of liability is dependent upon the establishment of breach."
What is: "Liability depends on establishing breach" or "Whether the defendant is liable depends on whether breach is proven"?
Explain these concepts:
1. "Absolute job security" or "Reinstatement-protected employment status"
2. Qualified job security" or "Indemnification-protected employment" or "Economic dismissal protection"
1. This model provides the strongest level of employment protection, where an unjustified or unlawful dismissal is null and void, and the employee must be reinstated in their position.
Under this system:
The dismissal has no legal effect unless it meets specific statutory grounds (e.g., misconduct, redundancy duly proven, or gross negligence).
The primary remedy is reinstatement, meaning the worker must return to the same job with continuity of service and full back pay.
It applies especially to dismissals deemed discriminatory, retaliatory, or constitutionally prohibited, as seen in jurisdictions recognizing the “nullity of dismissal” principle.
Qualified job security provides protection through compensation rather than reinstatement. Dismissals are not void, but economically regulated: if termination is unjustified, the employer owes the employee severance pay, notice pay, or damages, rather than having to rehire them.
Under this approach:
The dismissal is legally valid but economically burdensome for the employer if deemed unjustified.
The worker may receive indemnity equivalent to several months’ wages instead of reinstatement.
The court ruled _____ favor _____ the defendant _____ the grounds _____ procedural irregularity.
What is "in," "of," "on," "of"?
In liability and indemnification clauses, lawyers use conditional structures to establish causation. Explain the legal and linguistic difference between these THREE formulations, and identify which provides the STRONGEST protection for the indemnifying party:
(A) "The Indemnitor shall indemnify the Indemnitee for losses if caused by the Indemnitor's negligence."
(B) "The Indemnitor shall indemnify the Indemnitee for losses to the extent arising from the Indemnitor's negligence."
(C) "The Indemnitor shall indemnify the Indemnitee for losses but for which the Indemnitor's negligence would not have occurred."
Answer
Order from most to least certain: arguably, clearly, possibly, undoubtedly
What is: undoubtedly > clearly > arguably > possibly?
Rewrite using appropriate nominalization: "We investigated, then discovered fraud, which caused us to terminate"
What is: "Our investigation revealed fraud, resulting in termination" or "The discovery of fraud led to termination"?
How would you translate these concepts into English:
GUARDIA PASIVA
TRABAJO INSALUBRE
Passive on-call duty
Unhealthy work, hazardous work, or work in unhealthy conditions
Explain the legal difference between "liable FOR," and "liable TO".
To be liable for means to be responsible.
Liable followed by the preposition to indicates vulnerability or risk. Liable to can also be used as a synonym for likely to, especially when there is some risk of an unpleasant outcome.
Rewrite with appropriate hedging: "This breaches the contract."
What is: "This may/could constitute a breach..." or "This arguably amounts to a breach..."?
Rewrite using strategic nominalization to make this more formal and concise: "After we investigated thoroughly, we discovered that the company had failed to comply, which resulted in the contract being terminated."
What is: "Our thorough investigation revealed the Company's non-compliance, resulting in termination" OR "The discovery of non-compliance following investigation led to contract termination"?