英文法律文件的翻译

legal writing: an overview

2003-1-20 法律英语学习网

legal writing: an overview

法律文章:一篇总述

In many legal settings specialized forms of written communication are required. In many others, writing is the medium in which a lawyer must express their analysis of an issue and seek to persuade others on their clients' behalf. Any legal document must be concise, clear, and conform to the objective standards that have evolved in the legal profession.

在许多法律环境中要求特别的写作沟通形式。其他情形下，写作是律师表述对问题的分析以及代表客户努力说服他人的方法。任何法律文件必须简练、清晰，及符合法律行业演变出的客观标准。

There are generally two types of legal writing. The first type requires a balanced analysis of a legal problem or issue. Examples of the first type are inter-office memoranda and letters to clients. To be effective in this form of writing, the lawyer must be sensitive to the needs, level of interest and background of the parties to whom it is addressed. A memorandum to a partner in the same firm that details definitions of basic legal concepts would be inefficient and an annoyance. In contrast, their absence from a letter to a client with no legal background could serve to confuse and complicate a simple situation.

通常有两类法律文章。第一类要求分析权衡一个法律问题或争端。这类的例子是办公室内部的备忘录和客户信函。为使这种写作形式有效力，律师必须对他所服务的当事人的需要、兴趣程度及背景非常敏感。给同一事务所的合伙人的备忘录，如果对基本法律概念作详细解释不但没有效果并且令人厌烦。相比较而言，如果在客户信中没有这样的法律背景就会令人迷惑并且使简单的事情复杂化。

The second type of legal writing is persuasive. Examples of this type are appellate briefs and negotiation letters written on a clients behalf. The lawyer must persuade his or her audience without provoking a hostile response through disrespect or by wasting the recipient's time with unnecessary information. In presenting documents to a court or administrative agency he or she must conform to the required document style.

第二类法律文章是说服性的。这类文章的例子有上诉事实摘要及代表客户写的谈判信件。律师必须说服他或她的听众,而不能因为无理而激起对方的敌意或者用多余的信息来浪费对方的时间。在提交文件给法庭或行政机构时，他或她必须遵照要求的文件格式。

The drafting of legal documents, such as contracts and wills, is yet another type of legal writing. Guides are available to aid a lawyer in preparing the documents but a unique application of the "form" to the facts of the situation is often required. Poor drafting can lead to unnecessary litigation and otherwise injure the interests of a client.

起草法律文件，例如合同和遗嘱，是另一种类型的法律文章。在准备文件中律师可以得到指导性的帮助，但是经常要求根据事实情形采取独特的“格式”。糟糕的写作可以导致不必要的诉讼并且也损害当事人的利益。

The legal profession has its own unique system of citation. While it serves to provide the experienced reader with enough information to evaluate and retrieve the cited authorities, it may, at first, seem daunting to the lay reader. Court rules generally specify the citation format required of all memoranda or briefs filed with the court. These rules have not kept up with the changing technology of legal research. Within recent years, online and disk-based law collections have become primary research tools for many lawyers and judges. Because of these changes, there has been growing pressure on those ultimately responsible for citation norms, namely the courts, to establish new rules that no longer presuppose thata publisher's print volume (created over a year after a decision is handed down) is the key reference. Several jurisdictions have responded and many more are sure to follow.

法律行业有其独特的引用体系。虽然它为有经验的读者提供充足的信息去评估和找到权威引用，但是似乎对一般读者来讲却很困难。法庭规则通常对递交的所有备忘录和事实摘要的引用格式都有具体要求。这些规则没有随着法律研究技术的变换而改变。近些年，在线和磁盘法律收集已经成为许多律师和法官的基本研究工具。由于这些变化，对于那些对引用格式最终负责的法庭逐渐产生了压力。法庭必须建立新的规则,即不再要求将出版商的案件汇编(通常产生于判决裁定一年后)作为关键参考。几个法院已经有了回应并且更多的将会追随。