Express Clear; definite; explicit; plain; direct; unmistakable; not dubious or ambiguous. Declared in terms; set forth in words. Directly and distinctly stated. Made known distinctly and explicitly, and not left to inference. Manifested by direct and appropriate language, as distinguished from that which is inferred from conduct.
EXPRESS. That which is made known, and not left to implication. The opposite of implied. It is a rule, that when a matter or thing is expressed, it ceases to be implied by law: expressum facit cessare tacitum.
Over hundreds of years, lawyers and judges seem to have developed a language of their own, rife with Latin terms you can't decipher without those ninth grade notes you lost after the final. This secret language gives legal professionals a certain dramatic mystique that can be intimidating, sexy and, as every law students knows, annoying to learn.
Legal professions are no exception — in fact, lawyers might use more confusing words and phrases than people in any other field. From "upstanding" to "wobbler," we compiled examples of terms that make sense to lawyers, but make outsiders scratch their heads.
If you are like many people you agree that lawyers sometimes use language that seems complex or even impossible to understand. If you're like me, you've also had the experience where you think that you've been very clear but the other person (whether a lawyer who you're paying or a spouse or friend) doesn't really understand what you want and need.
An express contract is an exchange of promises in which the terms by which the parties agree to be bound are declared either orally or in writing, or a combination of both, at the time it is made.
Express consent is permission for something that is given specifically, either verbally or in writing. Express consent contrasts with implied consent, which is an assumption of permission that is inferred from actions on the part of the individual.
Express written permission means written permission explicitly granted. In contrast, expressed written permission is redundant, since if the permission is written it is by definition expressed. To express, from exprimere by way of the medieval Latin expressare (also to press out), means to put into words.
Definition and Examples Legalese is an informal term for the specialized language (or social dialect) of lawyers and of legal documents. Also known as lawyer's language and legal parlance.
One way to express approval is to use a positive adjective such as good, great, amazing, fantastic, perfect or wonderful with the verb to be: That is/was great/amazing/fantastic. That's a good/great/excellent idea.
To authorize is to give official approval or clearance for something.
The definition of express is something that has a specific purpose or something that operates at a faster-than-normal speed. An example of express is when the purpose to go to a store is just to buy milk. An example of express is a train that gets you where you are going five times faster than other trains.
There are two categories of contracts: express and implied contracts. For a contract to be considered an express contract, there must be clear and unequivocal terms to communicate a promise that the parties have made to one another.
counsel. noun. legal a lawyer who gives someone legal advice and represents them in a court of law.
7 Ways To Improve Your Legal Writing SkillsRemember Your Audience. Robert Daly/Caiaimage/Getty Images. ... Organize Your Writing. Organization is the key to successful legal writing. ... Ditch The Legalese. ... Be Concise. ... Use Action Words. ... Avoid Passive Voice. ... Edit Ruthlessly.
One of the reasons the law is often written in complicated or hard-to-understand language is because of the way law develops. In the United States, we use something called stare decisis. (That's pronounced starry de-sigh-sis.) Stare decisis means that we look at past cases to help us interpret the law today.
Because of how specific legal language became, it was impossible to disentangle English law from Latin and French. You would’ve had to create a whole new vocabulary, which lawyers set in their ways weren’t too keen on. Looking at lawyer jargon today, you can clearly see how French and Latin are still in constant use.
English was often used by regular people as the vernacular, but Latin and French were the “prestigious” languages used in the government and the court systems. If you were to attend a trial in the 16th century, you would have heard a combination of Law Latin and Law French.
Defendant — in a trial, the defendant is the person who is being charged in a case. This word was borrowed from French, but can be traced all the way back to Latin. De facto/De jure — these two phrases mean “in fact” and “in law,” respectively.
To use a language example, the official language of England is de jure English, because there’s a national law to make it so. In contrast, the official language of the United States is de facto English because, while it’s not written into law, English is used as any official language would be.
Lawyers basically took these two languages and gave general words very specific meanings; the word tort in French, for example, just means “wrong, ” but it very specifically refers to a kind of law that deals with civil cases in English.
A Brief History Of The Language Of English Law. The phrase “the language of English law” might sound redundant, but it’s not. The “English” here just refers to “of England.”. That’s because for a centuries, English law didn’ t use the English language . Yes, it’s a little confusing.
Jargon is often impenetrable to the people outside a profession. That’s the whole idea behind this series: breaking down what these strange, specific terms mean. If you’re uninitiated, jargon can sound like an entirely different language, and that’s especially true for lawyer jargon. Not only is law already a notoriously complicated field ...
The word "wobbler" might make you think of someone doing the popular line dance at a wedding. In legal contexts, a wobbler is a case that teeters on the edge of being a crime and a misdemeanor.
For most people, recess conjures memories of playing outside in between classes in elementary school. In the legal world, recess refers to a break in a trial or court proceeding.
Tort doesn't refer to a cake made with ground nuts or breadcrumbs and topped with rich frosting — that's a torte.
If someone's an upstanding citizen, they're honorable and respectable. However, in British law, the phrase "be upstanding" is an audience's cue to rise when the judge enters the room.
No, this isn't a misspelled version of "therefore." Without the final e, "therefor" is a fancy way to say "for this" or "for that." Legal Shield gives us the example sentence, " She accepted the delivery and provided payment therefor."
Fluent speakers of legalese often throw around these unusual feminine forms for common words like administrator or prosecutor.
It is often done to give security for money owed or to make sure that something is done as promised.
The language used in law is changing. Many lawyers are now adopting a plain English style. But there are still legal phrases that baffle non-lawyers. This guide is intended to help in two ways: