PLAIN LANGUAGE: THE BRIDGE BETWEEN LAWYERS AND NON-LEGAL PROFESSIONALS
DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE IN ANY SHAPE OR FORM AND SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN AS SUCH.
The disconnect between legal professionals and non-legal professionals seem more distant now than ever. There’s clauses for clauses, words the average person would never understand, and a bunch of mumbo jumbo in between you may think to yourself, “screw it I’ll sign this let’s just get this over already”.
The Beginning of One of Kanye’s Many Music Contracts
However thinking back to Kanye’s tirade earlier this year about deceptive business practices in music contracts and even recently with Dave Chappelle’s situation with not wanting the Chappelle Show to be streamed anywhere(due to his lack of just compensation), maybe its just time to write contracts how we are actually speaking.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CH-rR9znT3g/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link ( Dave Chappelle’s Unforgiven)
Thinking back to my drafting class in law school, our biggest assignment was to correct a lengthy contract and make it as plain/simple as possible. Let me be the first to tell you that was a real chore to do. If I had to see another “hereforth” “thereafter” or some other term we never say I was going to lose my wig. If I was feeling that as law student, with SOME understanding of the law, imagine a young guy/gal with NO LAWYER (or a very sleazy one) feel like.
Plain Language can operate as the much needed bridge between the legal world and those who operate outside of it. Legal Professionals think with a whole different brain than other people, some of the words I use with my non-legal friends, I know they say, “Harry what the heck are you talking about”. So Imagine an experienced Lawyer using their full arsenal of vocabulary in contract negotiations, it makes my head just thinking about it.
Even in my business practices, plain language has been at the core of my contracts, its as simple as “abc” and “xyz”. The question remains is why aren’t contracts reflecting plain language more often? Do Lawyers want to prove their extreme intelligence? Is it to hide deceptive practices in plain sight? Or is it a “this is how we’ve always done it” thing, so no one has the courage to break free from it?
Whatever the reason is, plain language need to be adapted, so each party can know exactly what is required from them in the deal and for absolute fairness to be ensured!
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