Linguistic difficulties often arise when two legal cultures clash during translation, a case illustrated by the German and the Anglo-American legal traditions. The root of these problems lies in their varying legal histories, cultures, and systems. The task of the legal translator, like that of any technical translator, is to transfer one highly technical language, for example, English legal language, into another highly specialized language, for instance, German legal language. Simultaneously, translators must acquire a basic knowledge of the legal fundamental differences of these systems. The technical nature of the legal language thus requires an intralingual and interlingual translation strategy. Three prerequisites exist for successful translation of legal texts. First, translators must acquire a basic knowledge of the legal systems, both of the source as well as of the target languages. Second, they must possess familiarity with the relevant terminology. Third, legal translators must be competent in the target language’s specific legal writing style. This article introduces selected aspects of the German legal system as they relate to legal translation.