Lawyers are expected to communicate in their own special jargon, legalese,
for three reasons: (1) They don't realize that many terms are nothing more
than useless legal jargon, or (2) they enjoy a special comaraderie because
only they can interpret legalese, or (3) they create a constant need for
their own services by making it impossible for a layperson to handle even
the simplest legal matter. Unless there is a drastic alteration in what the
public expects of their lawyers or a change in what they expect of them
selves, lawyers will not be more readable than they now are.
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References
1.
Webster's New World Dictionary, 2nd College Edition, 1978, p. 308.
2.
Two popular form books in Illinois are: Roland R. Klinge, Callaghan's Illinois Civil Practice Forms (Chicago: Callaghan and Company, 1977). and Clark A. Nichols, Nichol's Illinois Civil Practice (Willmette, Illinois: Callaghan and Company, 1978).
3.
Nichols, Section 109.02.
4.
John M. Striker and Andrew O. Shapiro , Super Threats (New York: Rawson Associates Publishers, Inc.1977) p. 20.
5.
Sir Ernest Gowers, Plain Words: Their ABC (New York: Alfred A. Knopf Co., 1954) p. 146.
