Have you ever seen a contract that has this kind of language?

“In the event that the Party of the First Party undertakes any act or effort to extend the rights of such Party hereunder beyond what is reasonably contemplated by the Party of the Second Party under a restrictive interpretation, the understanding of said Party of their respective rights, duties, and obligations hereunder. , the Party to the Second Party, upon written notification to the Party to the First Party, shall be released from any performance obligations hereunder to the extent that such performance obligations may indicate or express an agreement on the part of the Part of the Second Part to accept such extension of rights “.

This strange and convoluted language has rightfully earned the name “legal jargon.” Like any other language, it is rarely understood by anyone other than its native speakers (and sometimes not even then). However, unlike any other language, using twisted legal jargon can lead to a costly court battle.

A brief history of the legalés: How come people who grow up speaking the same language as everyone else in their country get out of law school writing sentences that no one but themselves can understand? Many experts believe that legal jargon has its roots in the Battle of Hastings in 1066, which led to the Norman conquest of England. After the conquest, the Norman French came to the English courts. English lawyers weren’t sure if a French word had the same meaning in English and so they started including both words in contracts to be sure. This leads to phrases that are still used today, such as “right, title and interest”, where “right” and “title” are in English, and “interest” in French, and “trespassing”, in which the English word “break” is combined with the French word “enter”. This cross-channel linguistic mix spawned increasingly complicated phraseology as it was passed down from generation to generation of lawyers.

The rise of plain English: Although legal jargon is a language unto itself, it was still widely used in contracts until the mid-1970s. Then, in 1975, Citibank attorneys created the first “easy-to-read” consumer loan agreement by eliminating the legal jargon and replacing it with shorter, more precise language, while at the same time adding numbered paragraphs and other comprehension aids. In the decades that followed, contract law professors began to embrace the “Plain English” concept and teach it to their students. By the 1990s, plain English was even adopted as a requirement for certain consumer agreements in some states.

The benefit of using plain English is very clear. When contracts are written in pure legal jargon, the parties who really need to fulfill them may not understand their obligations. This results in an ambiguity in which one party to a contract interprets a confusing term differently from the other party, which in turn leads to contractual disputes and litigation. So why do many attorneys continue to incorporate legal jargon into contracts, despite the rise of plain language? There are basically three reasons why this practice continues:

– Tradition: The legal profession has a long and colorful history. The legal is as much a tradition as the wigs and dresses that are still worn in English courts and, like English lawyers, American lawyers are reluctant to abandon their cherished traditions.

– Laziness: When drafting contracts, many attorneys simply copy the language of previous contracts. This practice has been conducted by attorneys from the year 1066 to the present, which means that some elements of the legal jargon are simply passed on.

– Personal importance: It is important for an attorney to appear more polite and intelligent than the clients who hire them. Many continue to include legal jargon to impress their clients and justify high bills.

Here’s a farewell lesson: Read all contracts before signing. If your contract includes strange and complicated legal terms that you cannot easily understand, ask your attorney what it means. If you can’t explain it easily, don’t sign the contract and hire a new attorney.