Alan Siegel: Let's simplify legal jargon!

[madass888]

The reason why people don't want to use clear language is that they don't want to be clear.

[mrbenderson005]

Thank god someone is finally voicing this in a public audience. With any luck, we'll have most legal documentation simplified by 2050, after the beaurocrats have sorted it all out.

[LandWarriorSoldier]

haha

[nownowq]

If there was one thing I could get behind, this would be it. How much money would America, both the citizens and the government save if we simplified jargon so that we didn't need as many lawyers?

[Melki]

@nownowq I say people would hire even more lawyers as they could understand the law better :)

[micpei]

This is what we need in Germany!

[derman077]

here here .see, simple.

[Peterlisinski]

Appendix to the questionnaire.

Feel free to answer more than one alternative if you think the words meaning differs dependent on the context. Do you think that people in general agree on these contextual differences? Yes or no?

[Peterlisinski]

Hello, I am conducting some research for a small linguistic essay concerning the meaning of the internet word LOL. I would be very grateful if you would quickly answer the questions below about how you use and interpret the word.

Does it mean?

A: To actually laugh out loud.

B: To express mild amusement.

C: To express large amusement.

D: To express appreciation.

E: None of the above (if so please specify the actual meaning).

[VarykGerai]

@Peterlisinski milds amusement

[fractionalreserve]

What is the difference between LAW and LEGAL?

Ignorence of the LAW is no defence .. as there are only three parts to it. Life, Liberty, Property. This is LEGAL, statutes, acts, rules ... 1000's of pages of nonsence, that is pretty much irrelevant to anyone who knows what LAW is ... :0)

[0Krusnik0]

I think lawyers and politicans should first off be paid way less. People are doing these jobs for money, not because they want to. Therefore, when they can cheat you out of money, they will because they don't care about you.

[Elusefelier]

Epic idea. The more simple and focused we keep the communication between the government and the people, the less confusion there will be.

The way I see it, such confusion can often be a means of manipulating and frightening people into doing unwise things. This is not only an irrational approach to running a country, but also immoral on a fundamental level.

Fantastic video.

[Contradiction11]

The only reason this is accepted is because it was slowly titrated into the commercial world over a hundred years. The economic infrastructure supports millions of people with useless jobs. No one should NEED a lawyer. If you can't defend yourself in plain language, you need a doctor. Keeping people's jobs is not reason enough to waste countless hours and dollars on garbage. EVOLVE ALREADY PEOPLE! Life should support life.

[nilbud]

Good

[seanankerr]

Yes yes of course but egad, eradicate incomprehensible jargon and you wipe out 50% of the professions in one fell swoop, there's a reason why an average person might look at a painting and call it colourful whilst a fine art graduate would call it "spectrally dynamic" usually all a college education bestows is an understanding of and license to converse in the language of the trade, if ordinary people understood the law who'd need an accountant or solicitor?

[HellBeast66]

i think this guy makes a really good point. there are so many documents out there that dont need to be so long. and get rid of fine print to. if i'm dealing with a company i want them to be direct and honest with me.

[TAHK15]

so true lol

[bornearth]

Fantastic. I agree but as he alludes in his speech, many industries will be resistant b/c it is not in their favor to have informed customers/clients/business partners. This would be a battle...but well worth it!

[SoCal521]

thank god!!!!

[myindigoessence]

I feel the same way about the scientific community, (as a biology grad trying to understand research papers in college). Although they sort of have an excuse, b/c nature is complexed (and we didn't create it), there is still room for simplifying the jargon, and the text (no need to go into 25 pages of Drosophila reproduction)

[Waranoa]

The reading on drosophila is also to get you acquainted with reading large amounts, and coping with going to extensive amounts of knowledge to find the important bits; it's a classical scientific skill. I find the jargon in science to be quite easy as well; yes, it is extensive, and sometimes confusing, but the terms are usually clearly defined (in the natural sciences) and definitions are easily accesible.

[myindigoessence]

@Waranoa I do understand now (reluctantly) and know why we have to study fruit flies, I was more concerned about everyday people being able to extract that pertinent information. I guess we have mags like Scientific American that helps to put things in more readable text, and really, the priority for understanding credit card agreement is much higher than primary articles in PNAS. I'm just saying there's a GAP in scientific literacy.

[Waranoa]

@myindigoessence Yes there is a kind of communications gap between science and the general public; I don't think it's the jargon, but just the fact that science is a very specialised field (like jurisdiction). I myself would love to improve this communication, working for a newspaper or magazine or something. But laypeople that are interested in science, can pick up a popsci mag like American Scientist or whatever, whereas such thing exists about legalities etc. Anyway, I think we agree ;)

[wodahsking]

Awesome!

[finowa]

4:15 hmm hm hmhm m'yea hmhmhm

[mohansen11]

finowa,

unfortunately, i think that was his realization that he had just tripped up in his closing words. rather than saying "clarity, transparency and empathy" (which he had, from the beginning of his presentation, identified as the 3 factors that make up "simplicity") ... he had just said "clarity, transparency and simplicity" (rather than saying "empathy" as his last word).

[fornello123]

lawyers write the law to be complicated, then bill you by the hour to interpret it

[Mawfu]

Short, smart, and to the point. Go over the health bill please.

[Hrel88]

yes, absolutely, PLEASE go through the health bill. I tried to read it, didn't realize it was SO long.

[stealth260785]

Simple, but brilliant. National priority!

[8legsFreak]

awesome idea.

every time im forced to talk business in legalese, im tempted to quote Jules from Pulp Fiction: "...English motherfucker, do you speak it?!..."

[graveyardpc]

And I love how the presentation was short and sweet.

[dumfree254]

People have made a fortune off of books like "whatever" for dummies. This is a opportunity to exploit this situation too.

Since smart people know that scaring & confusing the dumb people with big old long words, they sorta win. Now dumb people can scan documents into the " simplifier",

which will tell them why they are getting fucked over.

[rich0319726]

His presentation was short and to the point, perhaps demonstrating the idea.

My recent paperless credit card statement (pdf format), was 7 pages long and consisted of 5 transactions.

[ACANOFSODA]

This man is 100% correct. It could be amazingly more simple...Who knows, maybe they just want to sneak some bullshit in Lol. But honestly..Look up some Einstein quotes. Truly, any moron or incompetent fool can make something complex, it takes a genius to make it simple.

[purpleprinc3]

Legal doesn't mean moral. Think why.

[nerdyharry]

@purpleprinc3 that should be a bumper sticker

[DrQuijano]

Good talk that wonderfully exemplifies his message: short, simple, transparent, and to the point. I love his exit. "thank you thank you whatever grumph"

[S0chan]

Why do TED talks have to be so short? He barely started.

[greyed]

TED talks can be 20m. He clocked in under 5m by his choice. Given the topic of his talk I think that was the point.

[branboom]

i think different speakers get different amounts of time. Different time slots.

[Sondre7]

I like lawyers. But I hate complex laws. I certainly agree wit this guy. How is it that almost any journalist can sum up the health reform in a few sentences while they use over 2000 pages. They are still human, it is bound to containa lot of mistakes and unneccesary regulation when built like that...

[chikotube]

does mr siegel have a published pdf of the enacted health care bill?

[recabarrennahuel]

Wow, short and awesome. Ha! the reverse-irony! of what he said.

Suerte!

[jasonlajoie]

I was able to 5 start this one on the title alone.

[Tgreenfi08]

I have always believed this! I am glad that someone is on the case.

[planetdarwin]

PART A. In whereas this website experience (hereforth referred to as "Video"[1]) is regarded in affected partie(s) and/or user(s) (hereforth referred to as "Viewing Party") thusly stated in context (described in Part B of this document), it is noted but not formally announced that the Viewing Party enacted a numerical response higher than (or equal to), but not limited to, four (4) stars.

PART B: The preceeding Video statements are solely of the user and do not represent the views of YouTube.

[SlickCat57]

Amen

10-4

Hell yes

[BallinTrollin]

LEGALIZE CANNABIS

[MrAngee]

thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

[ricefarmer]

simple... destroy the republicans who are destroying any progress in america

they are the same as muslim fundamentalist in my eyes

[2DRonaldo]

It's how Corrupt Lobbies get away with shit.. The Politicians make big laws in Congress and slip in the Pork.

They should have a Limit on how many laws they can pass.

Like this vid.

[briansmobile1]

@2DRonaldo It's legal clutter in which they hide all kinds of paraphernalia.

[2DRonaldo]

@briansmobile1

Yeah, the Bigger the laws the easier it is for law makers to miss something damaging.

Definatly needs a limit to how much you can put in a Bill.

[celshader]

This is fantastic for making the Law more accessable to the public.

Lawyers on the other hand will find it harder to compete and make money if people do all their legal affairs themselves.........GOOD!!!!

[mike6459]

legalese was made to keep us confused and in the dark...I applaud this man's efforts

[DBrownofdc]

awesomeness

[metalshoes]

Byfar one of the best TED talks ever.

[seres420]

I love how he mumbles and walks off stage, not caring about the applause

[mmsayre]

shortest TED talk ever. This guy is a legend.

[AustralianBushman]

Glad to hear this. Makes sense doesn't it?

[1schwererziehbar1]

does he really believe that these institutions have any interest in making their contracts more intelligable for their customers?

[TheReasonWhyGuy]

@1schwererziehbar1 If one institution does, then consumers will be more likely to stay with them, and move over to them... so a pressure to convert would be applied to them, but only after at least one of them switches, which having that advantage might encourage one to see the advantage of converting early :)

[IronicallyVague]

So he's saying K.i.s.s. my ass to wobblin' great piles gobbly gook?

But why not just simply throw all those forms & papers away like everyone else then?

[0Krusnik0]

As a future!lawyer, I definitely won't write like a fucking retard.

[planetdarwin]

@0Krusnik0

Yes you will.

[bamboo4tameshigiri]

The answer to the opening question in the background is that we DON'T run the country on a 16 page document. There are MILLIONS of laws and statutes in this fascist overly litigious country. The system is a juggernaut that is designed to serve itself at the expense of the citizens.

[TheDepreso]

......that was fast

[BuBBaGump014]

If people like Stephen Hawking, Michio Kaku or Brian Greene can explain the nature of the entire fucking universe to laypeople, then you'd think a bank or a government branch can tell people what the fucking is going on with their money.

[madnessdexter]

@BuBBaGump014 because hawking makes money from you understanding the rules and the banks makes money on you not understanding the rules

[hiphopsocnroc]

Good man...

[qui3tude]

The legal stuff only applies to 'your' legal name, not you. Though if you identify yourself with that 'name', which represents a legal person, you become liable as surety...

[MisterScrutinizer]

In Belgium you can setup your own bussiness in just one day.

[planetdarwin]

@MisterScrutinizer

It only takes 1 day in America too if you want.

[iSOBigD]

Very nice and to the point. I think it really helped get his point across.

[dubaipete]

Siegal is a hero

[no1saphead]

Did thid really get done ?

[globalbankfraud]

Well said!

Look how simple & good The Constitution is.

[generationalist]

Apply the scientific method to legislation. If a lawyer has no scientific background and is unable to publish peer reviewed documents on scientifically measurable or testable legislation, documents or contracts then they should not be allowed to practice law. Also abolish the Ryder bill. If you want simple legislation you have to abolish the Ryder. Any politician that preaches simplicity but will not address abolition of the Ryder bill is full of it.

[generationalist]

Apply the scientific method to legislation. If a lawyer has no scientific background and is unable to publish peer reviewed documents on scientifically measurable or testable legislation, documents or contracts then they should not be allowed to practice law. Also abolish the Ryder bill. If you want simple legislation you have to abolish the Ryder. Any politician that preaches simplicity but will not address abolition of the Ryder bill is full of it.

[flyhead2]

The IRS is an unlawful entity.

[cat00012000]

When you're trying to trick people use small print.

[austpom333]

Very good, If you want to develope a career that will help people this is one of them. Minimal and understandable. Then there won't be a devil in the detail.

[sugarkang]

i'm glad you all think that this is a no brainer. only, there's already an institute (American Law Institute) to do this. the problem is the courts disagree about what the law means between the states. Therefore, all those pages in the law is an effort to be more precise. Think about when you try to clarify what you mean: do you use more or less words?

[ebird97]

Minimillistic view is necessary

[spongebathe]

legal documents that have jabberwock purposefully placed inside? gasp!

[300073605]

ummmmmm with this new youtube....how do you rate five stars?

[TheHolySpirit]

The idea of the Law Society is to produce documents that "normal" people cannot comprehend. Look at Blacks Law Dictionary and you'll soon see that many of the words they use don't mean what they do at all.

For example. Are you a Person?

Simple question. In the eyes of the legal system a Person is a legal fiction. You are NOT a Person, you are a Human Being. Your Person is used to dupe you, the Human, into consenting to be ruled, when otherwise there would be NO authority over you!

[MesiabLabs]

This is an obvious no brainer.. Simplicity is always better! Im glad someone is putting time and effort into making these things a reality.

[Frey12]

No he isn't. This is TED unless you hear about this on regular news guess what, hes not accomplishing anything.

[MesiabLabs]

He is already working with the IRS and various corporations like IBM? No its not mainstream but he is making steps towards a better system.. everything starts somewhere.

[CAlex6977]

Simple, to the point and smart. I like this guy.

[chouzan]

Aside from the credit agreements which are the result of using industry-accepted form agreements, it's the legislatures that are the culprits of this poor use of legalese; legalese as it is can be fine, but legislatures use it as a tool of security for themselves. It's a sword they don't know how to wield.

Since the early 2000's many courts, mostly Federal, have made an effort to be more restrictive in using legalese, which in my opinion is a great thing for both the lawyer and the individual.

[OmnicideX]

What do you call a thousand lawyers chained together at the bottom of the ocean?

[sciencemile]

A good start?

[KimbleyComputer]

Shame he was not given more time to talk.

[Mrmoc7]

How about making biology textbooks simpler? There's so much rhetorical jargon in some of these books that one would think the authors were insecure in their scientific expertise.

[briansmobile1]

Complexity is how intellectual dishonest people cheat the masses in broad day light.

[gromgromeson]

its funny how short and simple and good his talk was

[LarcheOsborne]

When communicating with consumers, legal terms of art should be avoided, and all obligations should be explained in language easily understandable by and collage graduate. When writing documents such as the healthcare bill or the Constitution, the document would be twice as long if legal language were discarded. We understand that scientists and engineers must use words of art to keep writing brief -- the same is true of lawyers.

[doloppost]

off topic remark: can you define TED as a seperate media channel? It's clearly not the standard watching a youtube movie (although I do dig ninja cats)

[moulingalette]

This should be done with all type of "professional" language.

It is amazing the amount of jargon in different fields, most of the information could easily be translated to ordinary language. The reasons are pretty clear and obvious why the various "professional" fields do not do this.

Some of the reasons are valid, but most of them are to purposely set up a system that forces people to spend money to use their services or to obscure the intended meaning from people not educated in that field.

[LeopardFrogPilboxhat]

The stuff is often intentionally hard to read especially when dealing with corporations

[Joshbuckler]

I'm glad this video is short. It would have been ironic if it was one of those twenty-minute ones.

[joelito101]

I can only imagine that this will all be automatic when we are able to communicate telepathically. We will know each other intents without words.

[d3v07]

To the damn point, this guy is awesome.

[papafox]

All the legalese keeps the lawyers in BMW's.

[QuasistellarQuark]

But I was building a Legalese translation app!

What will I do now...maybe something productive!

Thank-you for this excellent discussion; simplifying language, terms etc. will reduce the cost of transactions and should increase efficiency.

[HiAdrian]

Very good, i hate paper work and i consider myself quite smart. On the web where there is consumer pressure and easy modification of systems, things take intuitive shape much quicker (well, except for Youtube :P)

[defect530]

i get steamed when a letter turns into a huge mumbo jombo alien document.

hope this guy gets through to politicians.

[faxanidu]

It's funny how short and simple his talk was

[Jeitek]

@faxanidu the clip could be cut. You can see the on-stage clock at 18 minutes when he walks out

[Wormtail81]

How refreshing.

[ErikNikolai]

He must have simplified it.

[awesomeSkins]

@faxanidu Whats the opposite of irony? Because that was it. Appropriate the opposite of irony?? meh...

[ThaTyger]

It's not funny, it's amazing and very much in touch with what he promotes ;)

[Hamesjayward]

Think that was the whole point of his lecture lol.

He had clear results, it worked, not much more to say.

[bigtarrose]

Man in the bar says "all lawyers are assholes" Man at the end of bar says " I take objection to that remark" To which the other man says "Why, you a scumbag lawyer?" He receives the reply, "No, i`m an asshole!"

[VitriolicAC]

Hahaha.

[loucious22]

Yes finally! Maybe one day I won't need my Lawyer-to-English dictionary anymore

[neil73]

Kill all the Lawyers, as Shakesphere once wrote...

[Rikotistic]

The complexity of bills and legal documents was designed around the very same principle of ancient religious documents. I remember this from anthropology. The complex relationship between gods and humans could only be discerned by religious men (god kings, etc...) so that kept commoners dependent upon them; same with lawyers. The legalize jargon makes us dependent on them. The vernacular is highly outdated for the 21st century. Excellent talk!!!!!

[GorgonLuvs8008135]

Exactly

[NwZ2]

I agree with you.

[Valstein0]

Maybe if we can get our bills written in this fashion, you won't have idiots saying that the Health Care bill funds abortion and will kill old people.

[sbtech01]

@Valstein0 so true ha ha

[khaderach19]

sorry meant to give this a +1

[DrQuijano]

They will still say it.

[zbigniewzapora]

Lets liquidate legal jargon! Or at least make it volountary. Why should I obey laws by politicians I didn't elect and don't agree with?

[theburninator88]

isn't that the main point of democracy? lol

[zbigniewzapora]

@theburninator88

What if I don't want to take part in democracy but want to be left alone? Will you shoot me for living peacefully outside of your social system?

[theburninator88]

@zbigniewzapora no need for shooting and I don't know where that came from but what I was trying to say was that in order to live in a society there must be certain limitations to individual freedoms (killing, stealing, etc). But if you wish to go live on your own and not care about the amazing technological advancements humans are making, go for it, I for one want to stay along for the ride and see where this takes us

[zbigniewzapora]

@theburninator88

I agree that there must be limitations, but I don't agree that democracy is best way to achieve that. As for second part I don't know what you are talking about. I just don't want to be forcefully part of any social organization (ever tried to secede from government? I guess they don't even give you that possibility and if you try to stop paying taxes then at some point shooting or inprisonment will start).

[zbigniewzapora]

@theburninator88

As long as you give consent to a system in which shooting me due to disagreement is possibility it doesnt matter whether you shoot or police enforcing laws written by politicians you elect do - effect is the same and you are part of this. Even if you don't vote for politicians that are in office or make such laws you still are supporting system which says - he who has most votes makes laws that everyone must obey under threat of death should they choose to oppose.

[crudhousefull]

@zbigniewzapora No...but you will be deported

[TKDWolf]

For the same reason someone who wants to be a serial murderer should follow laws against murder made by politicians they didn't elect and didn't agree with - it's the law.

[barkulator]

Language, whether written or spoken, is a weapon. These people write contracts so that they can change the content of the contract whenever they want. America was founded on Indian giving and lying, but nobody is better off for it. Some freedom.

[alexshemesh]

v pyaterke i ne*bet!