You are here: 51²è¹Ý Washington College of Law Impact Initiatives Programs Spanish Legal Spanish Programs

Back to top

Online Spanish for Lawyers Course

10 Weeks of Conversation, Reading, and Writing in Spanish Legal Language

Spring 2025 Course Dates: February 3 to April 11, 2025

51²è¹ÝWCL's online Spanish for Lawyers course presents Spanish terminology in context. It focuses on U.S. Criminal Law, U.S. Immigration Law, and cross-cultural communication and it is taught by specialists in each field. Participants will interact with professionals online and broaden their knowledge of legal terminology and concepts in Spanish. This will help them communicate in Spanish both with clients and other attorneys. Please see our sample syllabus to get a better idea of the course contents.

This course is particularly geared towards U.S. attorneys and paralegals with a practice in immigration law, criminal law, and related fields. For this reason, 51²è¹Ý Washington College of Law has joined forces with the , offering special AILA membership privileges when enrolling in this course.

More than 330 professionals who need Spanish for their routine work as lawyer or paralegal have so far taken this program. Be one of these successful lawyers and enroll now!

WHAT MAKES THIS PROGRAM DIFFERENT?

This online program provides participants with the flexibility and convenience of studying legal Spanish while maintaining their day-to-day responsibilities.

SCHEDULE

The online program will have asynchronous and synchronous components. Participants will watch lectures and complete exercises in their own time. They will also meet online once a week at a specified time. During the Spring 2025 online course, the online live classes take place weekly on Wednesdays, between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., EST (time in Washington, D.C.).

CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE

Participants will receive a Certificate of Attendance upon successful completion of the online Spanish for Lawyers course (successful completion is defined as at least 80% of all coursework).

TECHNOLOGY

The online Spanish for Lawyers course uses the most advanced web-based technology available. Our state-of-the-art technology features

  • an extraordinary learning environment that blends asynchronous and synchronous tools;

  • self-paced coursework produced by Washington College of Law faculty and career experts;

  • a collaborative online community that uses familiar social networking, group, and organizational tools; and

  • live and recorded lectures as well as one-on-one coaching sessions through virtual technologies, as needed.

ONLINE LEARNING PLATFORM

51²è¹Ý Washington College of Law has partnered with the online learning platform Canvas. We use education technology tools that are integrated into a seamless learning experience and enable participants to collaborate with faculty and peers around the world. The program will provide learners with live and recorded video lectures, self-paced coursework, and a collaborative community of instructors and classmates available via online chats.

REQUIREMENTS:

  • Webcam

  • Microphone

  • We recommend using internet bandwidth of 25mbps for streaming video during live sessions  

Are you sufficiently proficient in Spanish to take this course?

If you are not sure that you have a high-intermediate to advanced level of Spanish proficiency, please feel free to take our PLACEMENT TEST. Please access the test by clicking "read more" and discuss your score with the course coordinator, Bjorn Arp, at arp@wcl.american.edu. Generally, we recommend that you score 70% or more to be comfortable taking this course.