Action means anything done, any deed, a lawsuit. Never means “share in a company”, as in French “action”.
Act means anything done, a law, a statute. It never means “legal files, records and dossiers” as in French “acte notarial”.
Agree never means “to recognize” or “to register”, as in French “agréer”.
Compensation has various meanings. Compensation and remuneration can be used interchangeably to mean “payment for services rendered” but remuneration is never used to mean “damages” whereas “compensation” is often used to mean “damages”.
Convocation should not be used as “call for a meeting of shareholders”.
Damage vs damages : in legal English, “damage” means “harm” and “damages” means “money awarded to a harmed person, to compensate them for their harm”.
Delay never means a deadline as in French “délai”.
Expertise never means “valuation”, as in French “expertise”.
Liberation never has the meaning of paid-up capital, as in French “libération du capital”.
Pre-emption generally (in American usage) means that federal law prevails. It never means “right of first refusal”, like the French “préemption”.
Privilege usually refers to a special right (as in attorney-client privilege) but it never means “lien” or “encumbrance”, as in French “privilège”.
Transaction refers to a business matter of any kind. It never means “settlement (of a dispute)” nor “compromise”, as in French “transaction”.
These are only a few examples of mistakes that are very easy to make, even for the English speaking lawyer practicing in France. If you are at all unsure of a term, a good reflex to aquire is to always look up the term in an English or American Law Dictionary.
