Litigation

Examples of Bad Legal Writing from the "Legalese Hall of Shame"

By Evan Schaeffer

Here's an example of some bad legal writing from the "Legalese Hall of Shame," originally spotted in a lawyer's letter--

At the Legalese Hall of Shame, you'll also find translations of the twisted English posted there. Here's the quote above, in translation: "I have signed and enclosed the stipulation to dismiss the Byrd case."

The Legalese Hall of Shame is maintained by Adam Freedman, author of The Party of the First Part:The Curious World of Legalese. There's also a sort of companion weblog, titled The Party of the First Part: Adventures in Legalese.

Even if these sites won't make you a better writer (because, obviously, you already know how to write understandable English), they'll certainly entertain you, while nudging you in the direction of becoming an even better writer.

(Concluding note: I originally saw these links in a post titled "First Arrow" at Raymond Ward's the (new) legal writer. Ward's post is a list of his favorite writing sites. All of Ward's recommendations are worth exploring.)

Full post as published by The Illinois Trial Practice Blog on March 17, 2009 (boomark / email).