术语可以是对内的，即对从事同一行业的人士，如律师对律师或法官对律师；但也可以是对外的，即对律师的客户和法律所服务的对象，即普通民众。行话（argot）则不然，它是完全对内的，即同行的语言，虽然有时并非是故意要将行外人士排斥在外。状辞、法律观点、法庭辩论词、谈判词，属于典型的行内法律文书。合同，给陪审团的法律指引、法庭通知，甚至包括对象为一般公众的法例、法律、法令，公司规章和章程，属于对外的法律文书。前者可以使用大量行话；后者一般只允许使用法律术语或专业术语。以下是常用的法律行话用语：
alleged, alter ego, argumentative, at issue, bail exonerated, Blackacre, breaking and entering, came on for hearing, case, cause of action, damages, due care, four corners of the instrument, inferior court, issue of fact, issue of law, pierce the corporate veil, purported, pursuant to stipulation, record, reversed and remanded, superior court, well settled, without prejudice.
另外，在翻译法律文件中，经常会碰到下面的这些累赘词：
acknowledge and confess, aid and abet, aid and comfort, alter and change, authorize and empower, breaking and entering, cancel annul and set aside, cease and desist, deem and consider, each and all, each and every, fair and equitable, false and untrue, final and conclusive, fit and proper, force and effect, forgive and pardon, fraud and deceit, free and clear, full and complete, full true and correct, give devise and bequeath, goods and chattels, had and received, have and hold, hold and keep, hue and cry, keep and maintain, let or hindrance, mind and memory, new and novel, null and void, remise release and quitclaim, request and require, rest residue and remainder, right interest and title, save and except, seriously and gravely, sole and exclusive, will and testament.
在翻译这类短语时，译者需要确定其中哪一个词属于常用的现代英语中的普通词，译者需要译的便是这个普通词。例如，在rest, residue and remainder这三联词组中，最常用的普通词是rest，因此需要翻译的就是这个普通词，其他两个词（residue和remainder）可以在译文中予以忽略。倘若某个三联词组，在同一法律文件中多次出现，每次需要翻译时只能挑选其中的一个词。如在上例中，当该词组在文内第一次出现时，译者选了rest来翻译，第二次出现时，就不可以挑选任何其他两个词（residue或remainder）来作不同的翻译。因为在法律翻译中需要尽可能保持上下文用词的一致性，以免引起读者对相同概念的不必要猜测。
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