About Us
As lawyers teaching lawyers, we speak the same language.
The language of the law. Our team of specialists is here to help your law firm or legal department improve its work and professional services. Since 2006, we specialize in creating and curating customizable programs that are made to fit your needs.
FOUNDING & HISTORY
In 2005, Stephanie Schantz began working as an American and British Law Lecturer at the University of Paris II – Assas. Having fallen in love with teaching, she decided she wanted to teach more and placed an advertisement in the Gazette du Palais to teach lawyers in Paris, France. Shortly after, she started receiving lawyers and jurists at her apartment to teach them about communicating in English.
A year later, her clients asked her to create a company so that she could diversify her offerings. This marked a new beginning – Legal Lingua was officially formed in 2006 to offer high-quality legal English instruction to companies and law firms.
Today, Legal Lingua’s team is composed of native English-speaking lawyer/linguists who offer both on and offline training. We are always ready to help your organization.
OUR TEAM
Our mission is to empower lawyers with practical and authentic legal English language instruction that will directly impact their ability to provide high-quality legal services in a global environment. To do so, we help lawyers perfect and polish their legal English one word at a time. We do this by offering the broadest range of personalized training taught by native English-speaking lawyers/linguists. We are the leader in teaching legal English and are ready to take on any challenge you might have.
FOUNDER & CEO
Stephanie Schantz
Legal Lingua founder, Stephanie Schantz, is an American lawyer with over 10 years of experience in international corporate private practice. Inspired by her passion for law and education, Stephanie launched Legal Lingua in 2006 to provide a solution for non-native English speaking lawyers to polish and perfect their legal English.
Stephanie received her JD from the University of Wisconsin Law School and a BA in government from Franklin and Marshall College. Additionally, she studied at Sciences Po and La Sorbonne. Stephanie is a member of the California Bar Association. She served on the Board of Directors of the European Legal English Teachers Association (EULETA) from 2012-2014.
Stephanie has lectured on legal English, the British and American legal systems, US Business Law, International Business Law, Corporate Governance and Entrepreneurship at Duke University Law School, NYU Law School, Sciences Po, SKEMA Business School and the University of Paris II (Pantheon -Assas).
SENIOR CONSULTANT
Charlotte Rieger
Charlotte Rieger is a qualified lawyer with 15 years’ experience in commercial law firms in Sydney, Australia, acting for multinationals on large scale projects. She has a master’s degree in law from the University of Sydney Law School and an Arts degree (honours in European history). Since moving to Paris in 2014, she has been lecturing in law at the University of Nanterre Paris and the American Business School in Paris. She coaches senior officials in the French administration and high-level CEOs in the private sector (including law and ed-tech). She trains European corporate lawyers in professional legal skills. She advises global start-ups in international business law. Charlotte is an editor and translator (French-English) of academic and legal texts. Charlotte has dual German-Australian nationality and speaks German, English and French.
SENIOR CONSULTANT
Jessica Singer
Jessica Singer is an American lawyer who is licensed to practice law in California and New York. Jessica graduated magna cum laude from Brown University with a B.A. in International Relations and earned her J.D. from UCLA School of Law. She is fluent in French.
Among her other experience, Jessica is an expert consultant on national (U.S.) training and technical assistance projects regarding issues of gender-based violence. Prior to her consulting work, she served as a public defender in Brooklyn, New York. She also worked as an attorney for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, where she enhanced the response of justice system professionals throughout the U.S. to cases involving domestic violence, human trafficking, elder abuse, and child welfare.
PROGRAM DIRECTOR – ITALY
Lisa Marchese
Lisa Marchese has a passion for teaching and writing. She brings a broad base of academic and practical experiences to her work with Legal Lingua. Before moving to Milan in 2019, Lisa had a long and celebrated career as a practicing attorney in the United States. Lisa was Legislative Counsel in the United States Senate and she worked as a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for King County in Seattle, WA. There she successfully prosecuted many complex and high-profile homicide cases. Later, Lisa became a partner in two international law firms where she built a thriving practice as a complex commercial litigator. She successfully represented corporate clients in American courts as well as arbitration and dispute resolution tribunals throughout the world. Lisa was consistently named a top commercial litigator by Chambers USA. In 2008, she was inducted into the American Board of Trial Advocates.
Lisa is also an experienced educator. Since 2000, she has been an Adjunct Law Professor at Seattle University School of Law. Lisa also teaches at Gonzaga University School of Law’s annual Summer program in Florence where she lectures in the Mediation/ADR program. She also teaches university and graduate students at universities in Milan and Brescia. Lisa’s classes include business law, international economics and business and legal English. Her extensive professional and academic experiences and boundless enthusiasm for teaching help her to offer students a unique and invaluable learning experience.