Talk:Legal writing

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The exemplar phrases given all seem like plain English to me. Maybe not in everyday use, but I would think that 95% of English speakers would understand what is meant. 148.177.129.212 15:14, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps some discussion of the SEC "plain English" directives would be useful in understanding efforts to combat legalese.

I have contributed significantly to the "Legal Writing" article. I am here now because the article has been flagged: "the neutrality of this article is disputed." I do not see a dispute here in the talk page. I do not know what "exemplars" the first entry above is referring to, and I agree that discussing the SEC's plain-English directive would be helpful. I will. So what is the dispute? Wschiess 14:38, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

I'm amused that there is so little discussion here. For what it's worth, I thought this article well- and concisely written. It also looks about as neutral as this topic is going to get. Zajacd01

[edit] US

Examples peculiar to the US should be extracted from the main article, perhaps saved for a "US Section". As it is, specific US articles are worth less than general English ones. 195.24.29.51 12:24, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] wording issue

Could anyone help me understand what "you will indemnify <website name> or its affiliates for all claims resulting from content you supply" means? Am i passing ownership to them? Can i still post a photo on Commons after uploading it there? Thank you. -- Jokes Free4Me 07:20, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Two (2) things

I have two questions. First, should legalese redirect to Legal writing or Legal_writing#Legalese? It currently goes to the first, but I can't decide which is better. So, I'll take the easy way out and pass it off to others.

Secondly: why, why, do legal documents feel the need to write numbers in two (2) different ways? Legal documents, instructions, and anything written by ignorant people trying to write formally. "I have three (3) cats." Huh? It's as if they're trying to avoid any controversy with people who aren't very literate in English, while conveniently forgetting that legalese is incomprehensible to half of all native English speakers. Why? Any and all explanations, clarifications, justifications, rationalizations, or explanations will be greatly appreciated by one person or many persons, including, but not limited to, the following person: Twilight Realm 20:27, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

It is way too easy to modify 3 cats to 8 cats with a sharp pencil. The difference between $3000 and $8000 is not negligible, therefore it is tempting to modify the value, even if it be not right to do so. --193.179.187.70 (talk) 15:04, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Merger proposal

Perhaps it's just me, but I don't want the Legal English entry merged into the Legal Writing entry. Who does? Wschiess 13:42, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

I do. They appear to be about the same phenomenon. Can you explain why they are not? --Alynna 16:37, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes, please explain. Jsmaster24 (talk) 00:23, 21 November 2007 (UTC)

An article called 'Legal English' suggests a straightforward description of the salient features of 'Legal English'. The term 'Legalese' for many suggests an abuse of language by a professional group to maintain its privilege, comparable perhaps to priests using Latin for the mass in the Middle Ages. As such the focus of the two articles, or at least elements of the two articles, would be different. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.25.106.209 (talk) 15:36, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

Legal English includes the specific field of teaching English to lawyers and law students who speak English as a second language. It should be kept as a separate category from Legal Writing. Intlawprof (talk) 15:39, 27 April 2008 (UTC) Mark Wojcik