Statutes or “Legislative English” is a “high stake” genre in legal settings. In situations where learners’ first language is other than English, law students and recent graduates in the profession of law reportedly find it hard to cope with statutes while performing academic and occupational task. The aim of this paper is to identify the level of linguistic adequacy of Pakistani learners of law with regard to two areas: 1) learners’ understanding of complex structure of statutes, and 2) their ability to apply statutes to cases. This empirical research was carried out through survey questionnaires by taking into account three members of legal discourse community: teachers of law, recent graduates and senior lawyers. The analysis revealed that a vast majority of learners have inadequate competence. The findings provide insights to course developers in the field of English for Academic Legal Purposes (EALP) and English for Occupational Legal Purposes (EOLP).