legal department
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legal department
The department in a company, public authority, or organization that is responsible for handling all legal matters. It advises management, reviews contracts, and represents the organization in legal disputes.
Bevor wir den Vertrag unterschreiben, muss ihn unsere Rechtsabteilung prüfen.
Before we sign the contract, our legal department has to review it.
The word consists of 'Recht' (law), the linking -s, and 'Abteilung' (department). So it is literally the department that deals with the law, that is, with legal questions.
Jedes große Unternehmen hat eine eigene Rechtsabteilung.
Every large company has its own legal department.
You 'konsultiert' (consult) the legal department or 'schaltet' it 'ein' (bring it in) when you need legal advice. The legal department itself 'prüft' (reviews) documents or 'gibt eine Einschätzung ab' (provides an assessment).
Wir müssen die Rechtsabteilung einschalten, bevor wir auf das Schreiben antworten.
We need to bring in the legal department before we respond to the letter.
A very common construction is 'etwas von der Rechtsabteilung prüfen lassen' (to have something reviewed by the legal department). This expresses that you are not carrying out the review yourself, but are assigning the department to do it.
Wir lassen alle Verträge standardmäßig von unserer Rechtsabteilung prüfen.
As standard practice, we have all contracts reviewed by our legal department.
law office / office
'die Kanzlei' and 'die Rechtsabteilung' both have to do with legal questions, but they refer to different places or organizations. A 'Kanzlei' is usually an independent office or firm run by lawyers, notaries, or tax advisors. A 'Rechtsabteilung', on the other hand, belongs to a larger company, public authority, or organization. There, employed specialists take care of that organization's legal matters. The words can be confused because in both cases contracts, laws, or disputes play a role. In practice: for external help, you go to a Kanzlei; within a company, you ask the Rechtsabteilung.
Vor der Unterschrift schickt die Firma den Vertrag an die Rechtsabteilung.
Before signing, the company sends the contract to the legal department.
Für die Scheidung hat er einen Termin in einer Kanzlei gemacht.
For the divorce, he made an appointment at a law office.