If you’ve ever tried to read a legal document, you know that they can be confusing, full of jargon, and just plain difficult to understand. But have you ever wondered why legal writing is so different from other types of writing? In this blog post, we’ll take a look at some of the reasons why legal writing is so hard and what you can do to make it easier to understand.
The first reason why legal writing is so hard is because of the jargon. Jargon is the specialized vocabulary that is used by a particular group or profession. Lawyers use a lot of jargon in their writing because it allows them to communicate more efficiently with each other. However, this same jargon can make it very difficult for non-lawyers to understand what they’re reading.
Another reason why legal writing is so hard is because of the complex sentence structures that are often used. This is due to the fact that lawyers need to be very precise in their writing in order to avoid ambiguity. Ambiguity can lead to misunderstanding and even legal problems, so lawyers err on the side of caution by using long, complicated sentences.
Finally, another reason why legal writing is so difficult is because of the passive voice. The passive voice is often used in legal documents in order to make the writing sound more objective. However, this can make the meaning of the text more difficult to understand.
As you can see, there are several reasons why legal documents can be so difficult to understand. However, there are also some things that you can do in order to make them easier to read. First, try to break down the text into smaller chunks in order to better comprehend it. Second, use a dictionary or glossary to look up any unfamiliar terms. Finally, ask a lawyer or law student for help if you’re still having trouble understanding what you’re reading.