Kissing Legalese Goodbye

Two titles in one volume! Kissing Legalese Goodbye is a list of common legalese that lawyers (and non-lawyers) love to use, followed by the everyday words that they should use instead. Example: Instead of "under obligation" (legalese), use "obligated" (everyday).

Do you insist on using legalese? Then flip the book over and upside-down for the second title, Legal Practitioner€s Abecedarian Manual of Legalese, Jargon, and Multi-Syllabic Words to Make Aforesaid Lawyers, Attorneys, and Counselors-at-Law Feel and Sound Like Same.

This part of the book lists everyday words and translates them into legalese. It€s a serious message (don€t sling the gobbledygook) with a tongue-in-cheek delivery. (By the way, "abecedarian" means "alphabetical.")

The respective introductions to the two parts of the book start the same and continue identically for three paragraphs:

"In law school, law students learn that they should write in plain language. In continuing legal education courses, lawyers learn that they should write in plain language.

"I€ve looked at dozens of books on legal writing, and every single one advocates using plain language.

"Yet lawyers use legalese, jargon, and multi-syllabic words when simple words will do."

After these three paragraphs, the introductions veer in different directions. One ends, "Ciao for now"; the other, "Further affiant sayeth not."