AT A GLANCE
What is TOLES?
TOLES means Test of Legal English Skills. TOLES certificates let international lawyers and law students prove their level of specialised legal English, language that’s different from what’s needed to pass a general English exam, and significantly different from the English required for an LLB or an LLM.
TOLES exams test the specific vocabulary and grammar needed to understand and draft cross-border contracts in English, and the English needed to feel confident handling international commercial liabilities and financial matters.
The certificates were established in 2000 and are jointly owned by Cambridge Law Studio Limited and Global Legal English Limited. They do not expire. They are valid for life.
English Skills
PROFESSIONAL EDGE
How a TOLES certificate helps your career
Studying for TOLES helps your career from the moment you begin, whether you’re a lawyer, a law student, or working in procurement, risk, or compliance. If you’re already working as a lawyer, it gives you the English vocabulary to do your job with more accuracy, efficiency, and confidence. If you’re a law student, in a market where many countries produce far more law graduates than there are jobs, strong commercial legal English is a genuine way to improve your CV and add value to what you offer an employer. From your first practice paper or your first Westminster preparation course, you’re learning the English needed to succeed in international commercial law.
LEVELS
The three levels of TOLES exams
Level 01
01
Foundation
Build the essential legal vocabulary and communication skills needed for an international legal environment.
Level 02
01
Higher
Intermediate legal English.
Level 03
Advanced
Upper intermediate/advanced legal English.
ONLINE EXAMS
Take your exam where ever you are.
TOLES online is open to everyone who wants to take an exam. Exams are hosted on a secure, proctored platform, candidates are observed via laptop camera and recorded throughout, and those recordings are checked afterward to confirm exam conditions were met. That means you can sit your exam on any available date, without attending a fixed venue.
WHERE TOLES FITS
Who recognises the TOLES certificate
TOLES is not a replacement for a general English exam, we recommend adding TOLES to your other English qualifications rather than treating it as a substitute. TOLES candidates consistently show up better prepared for typical interview questions than candidates relying only on their law degree, a real benefit of studying for TOLES.
Specialised legal English
Focused specifically on the language used in international commercial law.
Practical application
Built around the language professionals use in actual commercial legal work.
Long-term qualification
TOLES certificates do not expire. They are valid for life.
PRACTICAL ADVANTAGE
Why take a TOLES exam?
The knowledge you gain studying for TOLES improves your CV and boosts your confidence when working on legal matters that demand fluent, accurate legal English. TOLES takes its direction from working lawyers and law firms, not academic institutions, listening to experienced commercial lawyers and building study material and exams around their recommendations. Much of what’s needed to pass a TOLES exam can’t be found in a British or American law degree, a genuine “something extra.” The aim is to equip lawyers at law firms, banks, and corporations with the exact knowledge the job requires, not just a theoretical, academic knowledge of legal English and English law.
Not sure which level is right for you?
Cambridge Law Studio’s free legal English quiz is a quick way to get a feel for the kind of language the exams test before you commit to a level.
