Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
I. Din primul curs - "Communication and legal language Introduction & Overview"
1. Definitia comunicarii in general - slide 4
has predictable elements (ensures the understanding of communication partly due to the
existence of expected/conventional elements that people anticipate and recognize);
organized on levels (btw. two individuals/groups of individuals/mass media and its audiences);
equality vs. inequality (people inhabit different social and personal positions on gender, age, ethnicity,
etc. basis -> theories of power relations).
3. Communication skills - slide 8
feedback: all the verbal and non-verbal messages sent back and forth between sender and
receiver as communication proceeds.
Understand your audience. With whom are you communicating? What do they need to know?
Plan what you want to say, and how you'll send the message.
When you do this, you'll be able to craft a message that will be received positively by your
audience.
Good communicators use the KISS ("Keep It Simple and Straightforward") principle.
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Using email to send simple directions is practical. However, if you want to delegate a complex
task, an email will probably just lead to more questions, so it may be best to arrange a time to
speak in person so that you can judge the impact of your words and adjust these appropriately.
Time constraints.
To be a great communicator, you also need to step back, let the other person talk, and just listen.
This doesn't mean that you should be passive. Listening is hard work, which is why effective
listening is called active listening.
Avoid distractions.
The language of lawyers is so convoluted because of the conservatism of the profession and its
veneration of history and tradition. Legal English is in a product of its history. It is a story of
Anglo-Saxon mercenaries, Latin-speaking missionaries, Scandinavian raiders, and Norman
invaders, all of whom left their mark not only on England, but on the language of its law. The
Anglo-Saxons have develop a type of legal language, remnants of which have survived until
today. Examples include words like bequeath, goods, guilt, manslaughter, murder, oath, right,
sheriff, steal, swear, theft, thief, ward, witness and writ. They have used not only Old English
as a legal language, but also Latin. Before long, Latin was the language not only of the church,
but of education and learning. Because it was the main language of the profession for so many
centuries, French has had a tremendous influence on legal language. A vast amount of legal
vocabulary is French in origin, including such basic words as appeal, attorney, bailiff, bar, claim,
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complaint, counsel, court, defendant, evidence, indictment, judge, judgment, jury, justice, party,
plaintiff, plea, plead, sentence, sue, suit, summon, verdict and voir dire. Things were similar in
the United States. Despite initial antipathy in the colonies towards the legal profession, the
Americans soon realized that they needed to develop a system of justice. The only real model at
their disposal was the English one. The fledgling American states adopted not only England's
common law, but its language as well. American legal language ended up being very similar to
its English parent.
II. Non-verbal Communication. Lawyer-Client Interaction
1. Definitia si cele 3 elemente ( enumerare) - slide 4
Non-verbal communication, such as facial expressions, gestures, posture, and tone of voiceis
an important component of most human communications.
There are three main elements of nonverbal communication:
appearance,
body language,
sounds.
Listening for facts= You listen for facts, and analyse what you hear
Think about the topic before attending the lecture/conducting an interview.
Read about the topic before attending the lecture.
Listen for main arguments.
Note which arguments support the main ideas.
Listening while taking cognisance of feelings= This way of listening is extremely
important for a lawyer. This is an even more active process as you also listen for what is
being felt.
Do not judge the speaker.
Use non-verbal communication to help the speaker relax and to trust you.
Do not interrupt the speaker.
Avoid disturbances like phone ringing etc.
Do not quote examples from your own life.
Do not give advice unless you are asked for it.
Once the person is finished make a summary of what he/she said
present tense. By drafting in the present tense, you avoid complicated and awkward verb forms.
DON'T SAY: The fine for driving without a license shall be $10.00.
SAY: The fine for driving without a license is $10.00.
3. Avoid noun sandwiches - slide 35
Avoid noun sandwiches. Administrative writing uses too many noun clusters -- groups of nouns
"sandwiched" together. Avoid these confusing constructions by using more prepositions.
DON'T SAY: Underground mine worker safety protection procedures development.
SAY: Development of underground procedures for the protection of the safety of mine workers.
OR MORE LIKELY: Development of procedures for the protection of the safety of workers in
underground mines.
4. Gender-specific terminology - slide 37,38,39,41 + exemple
Don't use gender-specific terminology (the previous table)
DON'T SAY: The administrator or his designee must complete the evaluation form.
SAY: The administrator or the administrator's designee must complete the evaluation form.
Write short sentences. Readable sentences are simple, active, affirmative, and
declarative.
The more a sentence deviates from this structure, the harder the sentence is to
understand.
Long, run-on sentences are a basic weakness in legal documents.
Legal documents often contain conditions which result in complex sentences with
many clauses.
The more complex the sentence, the greater the possibility for difficulty in
determining the intended meaning of the sentence.
Solutions
State one thing and only one thing in each sentence.
Divide long sentences into two or three short sentences.
Remove all unnecessary words. Strive for a simple sentence with a subject and verb.
Eliminate unnecessary modifiers.
If only one or two simple conditions must be met before a rule applies, state the conditions
first and then state the rule.
Use short paragraphs. A writer may improve the clarity of a regulation by using
short, compact paragraphs. Each paragraph should deal with a single, unified topic.
Lengthy, complex, or technical discussions should be presented in a series of related
paragraphs.
Examenul va contine 3 subiecte din cele prezentate mai sus si inca 2 subiecte din primele 3 unitati din
carte : ex. 4 pag. 11; ex.2 pag. 14; ex.1 pag 16; ex.2 pag 17; ex.5 pag 17; ex. 2 si 3 pag 23;