Help Needed Please

[Baker, John]

        I question the premises of your project.  First, it's far from
clear to me, as a lawyer, that I have an elevated status in society.
The case could as well be made that lawyers as a group are particularly
disdained.  I certainly don't know of any other profession that is the
brunt of so many jokes.  To the extent that individual lawyers have
status, it's arguably from their education and income, rather than
because they are lawyers.

        Second, if there is an unequal power relationship (and there
is), it favors the client (which is what I assume you mean by "Patron"),
and not the lawyer.  I've worked all night many times for clients, but I
can't think of a single client who has ever done that for me.  The power
relationship may favor the lawyer on some occasions, such as pro bono
representation of criminal defendants or contingency fee representation
of individual tort plaintiffs.  These power relationships have nothing
to do with how the lawyer talks and a great deal to do with the lawyer's
fees.

        Third, it's contrary to my experience that lawyers use jargon to
maintain elevated status either in general or in their relationships
with their clients.  To the extent that the lawyer's speech is used to
gain status, it's because of the substantive information contained, not
the wording used.  For example, the lawyer might say "You can't do that,
that would violate Rule 10b-5."  It doesn't matter whether the lawyer
calls it Rule 10b-5, or the antifraud rule, or some other name.  It's
the information being conveyed that gives the status.

        Lawyers do use jargon, of course.  Every group needs jargon in
order to convey concepts that are of particular interest to that group.
But I would argue that jargon is primarily for in-group use.


John Baker



-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
Of Jamie Landers
Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 5:03 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Help Needed Please

Hello,

My name is Jamie Landers and I am a senior at Kennesaw State University
in Georgia.  I have a project to due that I am hoping someone can help
me with.  The project is for my Linguistics class and it is over unequal
power relationships.  My group is focusing on Lawyer/Patron
relationships and mainly how Lawyers use jargon in order to maintain
their elevated status in society.  If anyone can help me out, or has
research that may prove beneficial, please email me back at
jme1283 at gmail.com.  Thank you so much!

I appreciate all your help in this matter!

Yours truly,

Jamie Landers
Student

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