Legal Gobbledygook

I am a student of law.

I actually first studied law in 2001 for just a year and continued only in 2008. Now I felt like a freshman all over again, though not the type who is taking studies too seriously. Not to say that I find studying law quite easy that I do not see the need to be serious in my studies. In fact, I find it really hard. It's just that studying frustrates me a bit because law books are so difficult to read and digest.

Mind you I love reading. It's my most favorite past-time next to writing and singing (hehe). I read newspapers, magazine, novels, non-fiction, trivia bits, even product labels and billboard signs. But law books, I have to force myself to read them. I usually feel the urge only when I'm due for recitation or it's near the exam period.

I tried to find a good reason why I am not very much interested in reading law books. They are too text-heavy. They are voluminous. They are monotonous. These reasons simply won't stand as arguments in the classroom, much more in court.

Then I realized what makes reading law books unappealing for me is the syntax - particularly on sentence structure. The law has its own language and it is not plain English. Strunk & White surely will have a hell of a time editing codal provisions, jurisprudence, and legal textbooks if they try to make them as reader-friendly as any mainstream publications. Legal speak ignores rules on the use of a comma or simple sentence construction or sometimes grammar. That is also why it is open to so many interpretations.

Should I blame the authors then if I mess up during recitation or if I fail my exams? Or should I call for a reform in the way legal resources are written. (Maybe a good proposition.)

Nah, am just trying to justify my laziness here. I should know I'm in for difficult times when I decided to enrol in law school.

Excuses denied.