B eing able to use modal verbs skillfully and correctly attests to the linguistic expertise not only of a legal writer,but of a C - E legal translator as well.This paper looks into the function of shall,one of the modal verbs most frequently used in legal documents,and examines the various ways to have it translated into target language.The author identifies and analyzes existing conventions for handling modal verbs in legal translation and suggests that additional guidelines or rules be adopted to this end. B eing able to use modal verbs skillfully and correctly attests to the linguistic expertise not only a legal writer, but of a C - E legal translator as well.This paper looks into the function of shall, one of the modal verbs most frequently used in legal documents, and examines the various ways to have it translated into target language. The author identifies and analyzes existing conventions for handling modal verbs in legal translation and suggests that additional guidelines or rules be adopted to this end.