Articles Featuring Instructor
Dena Falken and other presenters

Tell me a little bit about your background and how you ended up choosing your field.

I had a law degree, and graduated Law School. I decided to do a program in Comparative law and worked in Milan, Italy for two different law firms. I did not choose the field I am in now, I really think that it chose me. I never imagined that I would wind up doing what I do now. I did always had a love of other languages, and so I am able to use my languages and my passion for languages. They said, “ language is the dress of the Soul”. I believe that.

I founded Legal-Ease International, which trains professionals who work in different languages than English, in Legal English. I devoted my career to that.

What made you take the leap into entrepreneurship?

I saw a great need to give training Seminars in Legal English.Speaking a language is one thing but being able to conduct work in the technical aspect of any language can be difficult. In Legal English, one word can change the entire meaning, and I saw a true need to explain these terms and show how they differ in different languages. Its been of great help to professionals around the World and it is very gratifying.

What hurdles did you overcome?

Thank you, that is a great question! I began my business in Milan, Italy and that presented unique challenges. I would say I had many hurdles to overcome. Learning how to work in a different culture for starters. I was just out of school so I had many things to learn about life in general and not being a student any more. I had never started a company or even gave a seminar for that matter, so I had to learn all of that. Of course, ‘Capital’ was a huge hurdle. Every Entrepreneurs issue, I think. That was hard. I had no initial capital, so the idea simply had to succeed. I had no fall back. That was a challenge but also a cause of my success. Failure was simply not an option.

How do you personally define success?

Success means making a difference. That is how I see it. If someone learns something from one of our Seminars at Legal-Ease International that they did not know before, then I have a great feeling of accomplishment. This is why I do what I do.

How do you differentiate yourself from others in your field?

Another great question…

Legal-Ease International is a very personalized company. We specialize in training professionals around the World in Legal English, the Language of the Law.

By providing a very personal service, we strive to get to know our clients on a personal level. This way we can understand their needs better and really be as useful as possible. I want everyone to feel important and that their needs will be met by taking one of our Seminars. Every one who takes a Seminar has different needs. Some may need to focus more on writing, others speaking. Each one focuses on their own unique areas of their Professional Practice and we focus on that. No matter how many are the Seminar, I want them to feel that the Seminar is for them.

Legal-Ease International also goes directly to the cities that we teach in and that makes a difference. Other companies require the students go to them, where Legal-Ease International goes to the students.

How did you deal with push back from family or friends concerning your entrepreneurial pursuits?

That is interesting!

I got both pushback and encouragement. I did hear,,why don’t you practice law? You would make more money,”..quite often. On the other hand others told me it would be a great idea. I handled the pushback by simply explaining that this was

my passion and I was going to pursue it. At that time, being an Entrepreneur may have been less common then it is now. Today many Entrepreneurs can work on their computer and just start…we started over 20 years ago and everything has changed.

What advice would you give to someone asking for advice about becoming an entrepreneur?

Simple. Have capital and passion, in that order. That was my greatest challenge. Without capital to start, its hard to present the image that you want. One never knows how long it will take to make an income out of your entrepreneurial pursuits and one needs to be prepared.

Then of course, passion for what you are doing, and that will get your through the difficult times.

How can you be reached if someone is interested in your products or services?

Happy to say that Legal-Ease International has launched a new website

www.legalenglish.com our email is info@legalenglish.com