THE IMPORTANCE OF LEGAL ENGLISH

Currently, contracts used in business are mostly long and poorly structured, often including discursive, inaccurate, ambiguous, redundant, outdated, legal grammar and language. Plus endless synonyms, all-caps, excessive italicizing, and numerous semicolons.

Contracts should not take countless hours to negotiate, yet poorly penned legal documents result in business leaders calling attorneys to interpret agreements they will administer. 

In today's world, business people want contracts written in accessible language—where potential business partners can sit down over a short lunch without their lawyers and read, truly understand, and feel comfortable signing a contract—a world where disputes caused by ambiguity disappears.

Lawyers may find editing form contracts (templates) to suit their needs. But, unfortunately, most unskilled legal professionals resort to using tired old templates repeatedly, whether they are for agreements, IT contracts, lease agreements or anything else. Before long, there are a dozen templates that all vary and include copious changes, leading to different interpretations of the same issues, resulting in arguments and delays. 

Poorly worded agreements often lead to costly litigation and figure in almost every dispute. Litigation is a war that nobody wins; even if a judge or magistrate rules in your favour, you have lost time, money, and energy in a fight that you should not have fought in the first place. If there is any money at stake, not having a lawyer properly draft a contract is equivalent to rolling the dice. 

Moreover, international Legal English differs according to the nature of correspondence or document. The distinct lack of punctuation in legal papers and different word orders confuses a lawyer who has only taken or studied a standard English course. 

It is not easy to balance a formal legal document precisely without knowledge and understanding of international Legal English. Someone who does not understand global legal English will struggle to create or interpret a legal document that balances a need for formality with the client's layman requirements and understanding. 

The use of international Legal English should result in a formal and impressive document, but it should not intimidate or confuse the client. If it does, then neither the documents nor the legal professionals are correctly fulfilling their roles.