1 (judicial) [+error] judicial; [+document] legal it is possible that there has been a legal error
[+firm] de abogados she works for a legal firm in the City
[+question, matter] legal; jurídico this is above all, a legal question I'm no expert in legal matters
to take legal action poner una denuncia you can tell them I fully intend to take legal action she's thinking of taking legal action to stop him
to take legal action against sb poner una denuncia a algn; presentar una demanda (judicial) contra algn
We intend to take legal action against the union
to take legal advice consultar a un abogado We're taking legal advice. I've nothing further to say
legal adviser asesoraasesora (m) (f) jurídicoajurídica;a asesora a jurídica The president's top legal adviser made no comment Many people use solicitors as an emotional prop instead of a legal adviser to handle sb's legal affairs The BBC's legal affairs man, Joshua Rosenburg, interviewed her as she left the court
legal battle contienda (f) judicial or legal; pleito (m) They were keen to avoid a lengthy legal battle The mother of the girl whose teachers refused to have her in class has lost her legal battle over the dispute
legal costs or fees costas (f); gastos (m) judiciales He had been given £18,000 to cover the cost of his legal fees Brought to court for showing A Clockwork Orange, the cinema was left with crippling court costs and legal fees It is understood that the damages and legal costs amount to nearly 100,000
legal department (of bank, company) departamento (m) jurídico our legal department is looking into the matter
to be above or over the legal limit estar por encima del límite permitido por ley Two-thirds of drivers killed have alcohol levels above the legal limit He was probably over the legal limit to drive
to be below or under the legal limit estar por debajo del límite permitido por ley
Both back tyres were worn below the legal limit Even if you are below the legal limit, you can still be prosecuted if a police officer thinks your driving has been affected by alcohol
legal loophole laguna (f) en la legislación; resquicio (m) legal
legal proceedings procedimiento (m) jurídico; pleito (m) He expected the legal proceedings to take several months
to start or initiate legal proceedings against sb entablar un pleito contra algn
she has decided to initiate legal proceedings against her former employers for unfair dismissal They plan to begin legal proceedings against the company The bank has started legal proceedings against me
the legal process el proceso judicial or jurídico He urged that the law and the legal process be respected
the legal profession la abogacía to enter the legal profession hacerse abogado
We called for positive steps to ensure more women enter the legal profession members of the legal profession I think the legal profession is grossly overpaid for legal [reasons] The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is battling to find her former lover who disappeared after the scandal broke
they were allowed no legal representation no les permitieron que un abogado les representara
2 (lawful) [+activity, action] legal; legítimo is it legal?
[+owner] legítimo; (under the law) [+right, protection] legal The public has a legal right to this information The school has the legal right to discipline pupils who are bullying other pupils You may have some legal rights Teachers had a legal obligation to see that the tests went ahead There is a legal obligation on children to pay out of their own pockets for the care of their parents If we do get married, we'll have to draw up a legal document saying who gets what if we separate The Government will have to provide legal protection for workers who do not want to work more than 48 hours Most wild animals have no legal protection from whatever abuse humans choose to inflict on them
to be legal to do sth ser legal hacer algo
in the Netherlands it is legal to smoke cannabis
to have the legal authority to do sth tener la autoridad or el poder legal para hacer algo The Government has the legal authority to ban the satellite porn channel There must be a clear legal framework to define ownership of property and investments He has called for a legal framework to determine the numbers of foreign workers coming into the country
to make sth legal legalizar algo they have now made it legal for under-16s to go into pubs
they decided to make it legal (get married) decidieron formalizar or legalizar su relación
he is the legal [owner] Crash-helmets are a legal [requirement] in Britain At present, there is no legal requirement for either captive- bred barn owls or their breeders to be registered Italy promises legal status to all immigrants who register I don't know what my legal status is