Legal Language

Portada
University of Chicago Press, 1999 - 314 páginas
Statutes, judicial opinions, contracts, deeds, and wills profoundly affect our daily lives, but their language tends to be often nearly impossible to understand. In this lively history of legal language, Peter Tiersma slices through the thicket of legalese, explaining where it comes from, why lawyers continue to cling to it, and why it's doesn't have to be an inevitable feature of our legal system.

"Legal Language will resonate with lawyers . . . and any non-lawyer who has waded through legal documents, or has tuned in to the latest trial on Court TV."—Carmie D. Boccuzzi, Jr., Boston Book Review

"[A] masterful, highly readable, and enjoyable book. . . . Legal Language is truly a fun book to read."—David Schultz, Law and Politics Book Review

Dentro del libro

Contenido

Introduction
1
Origins
7
Celts AngloSaxons and Danes
9
The Norman Conquest and the Rise of French
19
The Resurgence of English
35
The Nature of Legal Language
49
Talking Like a Lawyer
51
The Quest for Precision
71
Constructing the Legal Narrative
147
Testimony and Truth
153
Completing the Story
181
Reforming the Language of the
199
What Makes Legal Language Difficult to Understand?
203
Plain English
211
Communicating with the Jury
231
Conclusion
241

The Legal Lexicon
87
Interpretation and Meaning
115
Variation
133
In the Courtroom
145
Appendices
245
F Revised Citibank Promissory Note
261
Select Bibliography
293
Derechos de autor

Otras ediciones - Ver todas

Términos y frases comunes

Acerca del autor (1999)

Peter M. Tiersma (1952-2014) was professor at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles.

Información bibliográfica