Attorneys at foreign law (外国法事務弁護士, gaikokuhō jimu bengoshi), or gaiben (外弁) for short, are lawyers from foreign countries licensed to practice law in Japan. The term gaiben is composed of the characters for 外 (gai), defined as "outside, without" and 弁 (ben)", defined as speech, tongue". Two authoritative translations of the term are Registered Foreign Lawyers (RFL), or Foreign Special Members. The colloquial term gaiben is often used by individuals, but is not determinative.