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Subject:Technical writing in the legal field? From:Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Sun, 28 Aug 2005 09:45:13 -0400
Lisa Wright wondered: <<Is there anyone on the list who works in the
legal arena? I met a young woman today who is thinking about writing as
a profession, is interested in law, and is wondering what sort of
preparation that might involve and what the work is like.>>
I don't get involved in anything related to law if I can avoid it.
Apart from the fact I don't know the jargon, lawyers use English in
ways God never intended, and I'm constantly enraged by the density and
incomprehensibility of legal prose. The few times I've helped write
contracts or other legalistic stuff, I've found my efforts greatly
appreciated by the lawyer who was involved, even when they had to
rewrite the text to use correct jargon. Apparently, even lawyers can
recognize clarity when they see it. <g>
Several colleagues who dwell in copyediting-l*
(http://www.copyediting-l.info/) work as legal editors. At various
times in the past, during various discussions, they have confirmed my
longstanding suspicion that the claim of the legal profession to write
rigorous, logical, unmistakably clear text is a crock of animal waste.
The legal profession, as is the case with any other group of
professionals who are not primarily writers, includes a large number of
individuals who write so badly that they should have their word
processors confiscated. <g>
* That's "L as in list", not 'ell as in the place bad editors go after
they die. <g>
A tad less facetiously, it's also true that very few writers, even
professionals like us, write well enough that they would not benefit
from the skills of a good editor. I regularly learn something new about
my own writing from being edited, and am a much stronger writer as a
result. Why should lawyers be any different from those of us who earn
our living writing? Like any other SME, legal professionals often need
writing help.
That being the case, it seems that editorial jobs in a large law office
are somewhat common, and your colleague should join copyediting-l and
ask the question there to obtain more pointed advice.
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