I was talking on the phone to a friend of mine, a certain little miss know-it-all, about some stuff that I had learned in law school, when she caught me talking like a lawyer. I can't capture the outrage and how much her voice raised when she exclaimed "You're talking like a lawyer!" For those who know little miss know-it-all, I can only say that the combination of outrage and tone was similar to when she would stomp her feet and yell "You're a bureaucrat" at me.
Despite being a law student, this is not a good thing. It has put me in an incredibly awkward position. Since the year 2000, I have worked either for the legal profession or within the justice system. During these six years, I have fought for using plain langauge. When little miss know-it-all came along she took on the mantle of plain language champion and ran with it. It's bad enough to be caught, but to be caught by a fellow campaigner, well that's just bad.
I'm the guy whose first book for law school was "Plain Language Writing for Lawyers", yet somehow I'm slipping. I spend all day reading old judgments, it was bound to sneak into my head sooner or later.
Well now, it's time to focus, buckle down and concentrate. Someone once said "lawyers don't talk like dead judges" but I'd have to disagree, unfortunately lawyers are taught to talk like dead judges. I am changing this quote to say "good lawyers don't talk like dead judges" and will post this on my bathroom mirror so I see it everyday.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment