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Don't learn the lingo. (No legalease we're clients).
26 November 2009 :: Business Review

Do you speak “legalease”? No? Many lawyers still speak archaic English and expect their clients to understand them, according to a senior lecturer who has called on lawyers to speak clearly. Typical examples, says David Emmet, from the City of London Law School, are to use “hereinafter” instead of “below” and “save as aforesaid” instead of “otherwise”. Apparently, according to Emmet, within weeks of qualification, junior lawyers use the same jargon as partners. Lawyers are verbal conservatives, we are told.  It’s about time for a change, then.

Recently, the Ministry of Justice announced that it would look to amend divorce terms, changing, for example, “decree nisi” and “decree absolute” to “conditional” and “final” orders. The Ministry of Justice, however, could not come up with anything better to replace “interim maintenance” than “maintenance pending outcome of proceedings”. Time for David Emmet to help the MoJ too, I reckon.

The Law Commission has just launched a public consultation on what should happen when someone dies without a (fully effective) will. It deals with the rules about intestacy and who can make claims through the courts. One preliminary proposal could give cohabitees certain rights in such circumstances. The consultation contains lots of useful information and can be found at www.lawcom.gov.uk/current_consultations.htm. In the meantime, making proper wills is one way of giving effective provision on death.

At this time of year, specialist family law teams like mine see an increase in child contact disputes. Not all separated or divorced mums and dads, unfortunately, are able to agree arrangements for their children over the Christmas break. If a constructive dialogue is not possible between the parents, we often suggest mediation, a voluntary process where decisions can be explored through negotiation. The local mediation services do a sterling job with their experienced trained mediators. Of course, it is important to remember that mediators cannot give legal advice but this forum for discussion is a valuable one.

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