Legal Language and Authority: A Social Representations Approach
Why do lawyers write in such a complicated way, and how do we perceive it?
This project examines whether incomprehensible “legalese” serves merely as a barrier to understanding, or whether it also functions as an important symbol of expertise and legitimacy. Efforts to simplify legal texts (the Plain Language movement) assume that clarity automatically increases trust, but reality is more complex. If certain complex expressions help build the authority of institutions in the eyes of both the public and experts, then removing them without careful consideration could paradoxically weaken the perception of law as legitimate and professional.
What questions are we asking?
Which specific textual features create the impression of “legalness,” and how do these elements differ from those that actually reduce comprehensibility?
How do these stylistic signals affect satisfaction and the sense of “correctness” among the general public compared with legal professionals?
In what way does writing style shape the overall persuasiveness and credibility of judicial decisions and legal submissions?
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