Alan Siegel: Let's simplify legal jargon!

http://www.ted.com Tax forms, credit agreements, healthcare legislation: They're crammed with gobbledygook, says Alan Siegel, and incomprehensibly long. He calls for a simple, sensible redesign -- and plain English -- to make legal paperwork intelligible to the rest of us.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate. Watch a highlight reel of the Top 10 TEDTalks at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Alan
• Siegel
• TEDTalks
• TED
• talks
• law
• fine
• print
• legal
• legalese
• document
• business
• government
• communication
• contract
• legislation
• simplicity
• design
• language
• plain
• English

[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?!..."

[purpleprinc3]

Legal doesn't mean moral. Think why.

[crudhousefull]

@zbigniewzapora No...but you will be deported

[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.

[Melki]

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

[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?

[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.

[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).

[nerdyharry]

@purpleprinc3 that should be a bumper sticker

[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