SBAND PRESIDENT
SBAND PRESIDENT
A DEFENSE FOR THE USE OF LEGALESE AND THE EXPANSIVE VOCABULARY
HON . TED SANDBERG SBAND President
Greetings to all from Grand Forks .
As George Bernard Shaw once noted , England and America are two countries separated by the same language . So it is also true of lawyers and the rest of the population . Lawyers , by nature being letters-oriented students , often have a sizeable vocabulary at their instant disposal . Fearing that a growing disconnect between “ Lawyer English ” and “ Human English ” was negatively impacting a lawyer ’ s ability to communicate with clients , there has been , over the past few decades , a seemingly never-ending push for lawyers to speak and write plainly .
Supreme Court justices and law professors have begged , extolled , preached , and written ( and written , and written ) about the value of using plain English in place of the esoteric language of previous generations of lawyers .
As Justice Clarence Thomas once said , “ The beauty is not to write a five-cent idea in a ten-dollar sentence ” but rather “ to put a ten-dollar idea in a five-cent sentence .” Lawyers are told to use the “ active voice ,” don ’ t “ nominalize your verbs ,” and most of all : “ Avoid legalese .”
These are good general bromides , useful for fulfilling the ultimate legal mission of communicating complicated legal problems to a non-legal public . For instance , there seems to be no benefit in sprinkling Ye Olde Latin into an argument . And for legal writing , diligent editing is usually best as this frequently proves correct the paraphrased musing of Blaise Pascal , “ If I had more time , I would ’ ve written less .”
But I want to take this moment to offer a defense for the use of legalese and the expansive vocabulary . As lawyers and judges , we have been highly educated in all facets of the English language ; and as professionals , we use the English language as the lingua franca of our livelihoods . We are the keepers of the highest level of the language , which is the language used as a tool and not merely for the daydreams of the novelist .
As keepers of the highest level of the working language , we have a duty to protect and practice the best of the language . A hard-earned vocabulary should not be a source of shame , any more than it should be a source of meritless pride . Perhaps lawyers should be a benefit by being a positive example of fair and erudite use of the best of the language in our often-coarse society . I am proud to be a lawyer , and so should you all . We are the profession of Lincoln , Gandhi , Jefferson , and Thomas More . We owe it to posterity to keep sharp the tip of the spear of the English language .
Do I this espouse a return to the artificial flowering ? No , I do not . I espouse , rather , to do as Gracian did , “ Put a grain of boldness in everything you do .” In that same light , even as you work to counsel and guide your clients , perhaps consider also putting in a grain , even if only from time to time , of your great lawyerly birthright of a high and expansive beautiful language .
Call for CLE Speakers
SBAND and the North Dakota CLE Commission sponsor seminars and programs throughout the year in all sorts of formats , including live , webinars , and IVNs .
We want to know about SBAND members who have ideas for topics or who are interested in being a presenter .
Contact Carrie Molander at carrie @ sband . org .
4 THE GAVEL