When creating legal guidelines for your business, avoid legal language, a form of drafting that makes your policies unnecessarily complicated. When it comes to drafting contracts, precision is perhaps even more important. The English language is complex; Many words have multiple meanings and can be open to interpretation in many cases. There can be no room for interpretation in the legal structure, as there is a risk that the contract will not stand up to the courts. Instead, they aim to get their message across as effectively and directly as possible. The easiest way to do this in many cases is to use legal language. It`s natural if the person they`re communicating with is familiar with the terminology. First and foremost, write your fonts in plain language. Avoid long and complicated sentences and replace legal terms with simpler words whenever possible. The examples above show that it is possible to replace legal language with plain language in your policies.
TurboTax`s current user agreement, which still contains an arbitration clause, covers over 15,000 words of dense legal language. The language of the American legal system is heavily influenced by Latin. As a result, many Latin terms taken from their original text have been translated into a language commonly used by jurists called the legal language. These sample sentences are automatically selected from various online information sources to reflect the current use of the word “legal language.” The views expressed in the examples do not represent the views of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us your feedback. Legal language refers to the contractual language used by lawyers. This legal terminology or language usually refers to words such as “henceforth” and “determination.” Essentially, legal language is legalese that can be difficult for people outside the industry to understand. Legal language is used by companies in the hope that it will make their policies more legally sound.
However, since few users are familiar with legal language, too much of it in your legal policies will likely hurt your business. Generally used as a pejorative term for written forms of legal English, legal language is characterized by verbosity, Latin expressions, nominalizations, embedded sentences, passive verbs, and long sentences. See the full definition of legal language in the English Language Learners Dictionary One of the most important tasks of a lawyer is precision and accuracy. Language is no exception. Even though there is a broader language that could be used to communicate a point, this is not the purpose of a lawyer when using legal German. Here`s another legal example found in an example disclaimer: In the U.K. and the U.S., advocates of plain English have pushed for legal language reform to make legal documents easier for the public to understand. In general, it is appropriate for a lawyer to use legal language when drafting a law or speaking to a judge.
However, as this can create a language barrier, it is not ideal for communicating with customers. It is a lawyer`s job to choose their words wisely to ensure they are fully understood. A mispronounced word could cause chaos when it comes to court cases. Therefore, legal language can be crucial in many situations. I realize that this statement is written in the harmless legalese that judges must use, but I am sure that Justice Gallagher is showing his true feelings here. Most of the time, the political conversation is wrapped in legal language about free speech and who speech matters, but we need to change and understand the true cost of disinformation. Also, legal language makes users feel alienated, as most people outside of the lawyer are not familiar with legalese. The term “review” is legal language – but an important legal language because it describes exactly how a court should review a law. Learn more about why lawyers use legal language by reading this article.
There are laws around the world that explicitly prohibit the use of legal language in legal policies. To help you get a better example of what legal language is, here are some examples: Although there has been a movement towards the use of simple or simple English, legal German persists in the legal field. This is often attributed to lawyers who believe that legal language increases the prestige of legal jobs, impresses clients, and protects market demand for legal services. Proponents of legal language also believe it allows for greater precision in legal drafting. The formation and use of model contracts and model documents promotes legal language because there is no economic value in rewriting these models. On the other hand, when legal language is used in litigation, it is often made to tie a crime to previous proceedings. This is because the effects of crime are different depending on past decisions. Given that much of our court system is based on judgments that have been made in the past, lawyers could argue that this is necessary.
Read on to find out where you can find legal language, get examples and ideas on why lawyers use it. Next, learn why it`s not always the best language for lawyers in certain situations. Legal language refers informally to the specialized terminology and expressions used by people in the legal field and in legal documents. Legal language is notoriously difficult for the public to understand. The most important features of classical legal language include long, verbose and complicated sentence structures with passive and outdated formalisms, as well as the use of Latin, archaic or unnecessarily long words when a simpler and clearer language exists. Legal language is also often found in lawyers` arguments in the courtroom. This is often because they need to be as precise as possible when arguing. When it comes to jury trials, some lawyers may use legal language to leave parts of their opponents` reasoning open to interpretation, improving their chances of winning the case.
In short, there is always another way to use language that does not involve the use of legal language. Since a large part of the population is not familiar with the foreign language, it may be better to eliminate its use to allow for more direct understanding. This article discusses the importance of legal language, reasons to avoid legal language, and best drafting practices for your legal policies. Don`t copy your competitors` terms and conditions or other policies, as they can be interspersed with legal language. For us, the worst culprits are legal language and planning documents. Overall, legal language is useful in many scenarios. It allows lawyers to speak as effectively as possible and allows them to communicate their views to each other and to the judge in a way that is easily understandable in the legal society. The transparency and clarity of your policies help prevent potential lawsuits based on perceived manipulation of words.
For example, clearly describe in your privacy policy how you handle user data and explicitly state your refund policy in your return policy. Here is an article where you can find more examples of legal language. Here are three main reasons why you should avoid legal language when creating your legal and business policies. In his eyes, Washington was dominated by lawyers who all spoke incomprehensible legal German – or, as Keynes put it, “Cherokee.” Your policies are also for your protection. For example, terms and conditions help protect your website`s rights and determine how users can interact with your properties. If your terms and conditions are full of legal language, your users won`t understand them and won`t be able to follow your rules.