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Do Lawyers Read Anymore?
I fear they do not, as these recent examples of lawyerly prose will suggest:
· bare with me
· you have free rain
· he is a real jem
The clear inference to be drawn from these solecisms is that people hear things but have not seen them in print (or even on a screen).
In a word-based profession, this is distressing (to say the least).
This seems like an unfair characterization of the issue. The same complaint may be laid against those who dare to vocalize Latin terms they may have only read. I wouldn’t ask whether they listen anymore. I’d wonder why they never took the time to learn proper pronunciation.
The issue is probably better resolved by lawyers exercising more restraint before using idiosyncratic phrases they don’t understand.
Besides, even avid readers occasionally get tired and sloppy. They make typos too. Do you no what I mean?
Exposure to lousy writing for television dialogue has bastardized the language. Reliance of spelling and grammar check has not help either. Overall, a laziness is creeping in. For the older, such as myself, much of it is nails on a blackboard. But, since nobody has to write anymore, those are gone now too.