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Issue 8
March 2008
I Object!
The last issue of The Awkward Adverb on the grocer's apostrophe mentioned the language of lawyers in passing, but this month we'd like to focus on how the legal profession has a habit of churning out incomprehensible "legalese." If a writer's job is to engage the reader, or at the very least to communicate clearly, then lawyers frequently fail at writing. Here's a sentence taken from a bank's promissory note:
No failure or delay on the part of the Bank in exercising, and no failure to file or otherwise enforce the Bank's security interest in or with respect to any Collateral, shall operate as a waiver of any right or remedy hereunder or release any of the undersigned, and the Obligations of the undersigned may be extended or waived by the Bank, any contract or other agreement evidencing or relating to any Obligation or any Collateral may be amended and any Collateral exchanged, surrendered or otherwise dealt with in accordance with any agreement relative thereto, all without affecting the liability of any of the undersigned.*
Got that?
All legalese is plagued by run-on sentences, passive voice, archaic terms, needless repetition, and wordiness. Why don't lawyers write in normal, modern English?
One reason is that the law loves precedence. Lawyers would find it difficult and risky to tamper with established verbiage, so they copy boilerplate. Also, lawyers bill by the hour so they have little incentive to be concise. Public advocates criticize the legal profession of using confusing jargon to exclude lay people, whether intentionally or not, from access to the law. And some linguists say legalese goes beyond jargon and has become its own sort of sublanguage. Indeed, attorneys need three years of law school plus additional training to gain fluency in legalese. The rest of us scratch our heads in bewilderment.
*Translation: The borrower may delay enforcing his or her rights without losing them.
About this E-mail
The Awkward Adverb, an e-mail newsletter sent out once a month, highlights English-language flaws that have appeared on a sign, in print, on the Web, or anywhere in the public sphere. It may address grammatical errors, careless usage, bothersome buzzwords, punctuation problems, misspellings, or confusing writing in general.
Subscribers are encouraged to submit their findings for future editions of The Awkward Adverb by responding to this e-mail. Archived past issues of the newsletter are located here.
Henry Alpert, editor of The Awkward Adverb, is a New Orleans-based copywriter and business writer who works with businesses, ad agencies, and graphic design firms on a wide array of writing projects. For more information about his services, visit action-copy.com.
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