Forensic Linguistics in Civil Legal Contexts
I wrote and published a post on Linkedin that is almost identical to this one. As a recent graduate, I am looking for work. Currently, the most appropriate market for my skills is in legal work. Unfortunately, not a lot of recruiters or even lawyers are aware of forensic linguistics or what it can achieve in civil legal work. So, in this post, I explain one way in which forensic linguists can be an advantageous addition to a law firm: legal writing.
Forensic linguistics is the scientific study of language wherever it intersects with the law. The term "forensic" may inspire the assumption that the field is strictly about criminal justice or investigation; however, the term "forensic" simply means "of the forum," such as the forum of a courtroom. While it is true that forensic linguists are trained in analyzing language evidence using techniques such as authorship analysis, demographic profiling, appraisal analysis, corpus analysis, and more, the investigation of criminal cases makes up only a part of what forensic linguistics studies.
As linguists trained in the scientific study of language, forensic language analysts have additional, extensive training in matters of the law and how language is used and presented in courts of law. This means that forensic linguists examine language evidence within a frame of legal context. In addition to analyzing language, forensic linguists analyze language as it applies to legal matters and the law.
To date, forensic linguists have been consulted and testified in civil cases regarding business contract disputes, trademarks, deceptive trade practices, discrimination, product liability, plagiarism, and more. Civil cases have been fought and lost over seemingly insignificant pieces of language that undermine or contradict entire contracts. Linguists are often consulted during disputes to analyze such language features, but astute legal teams hire linguists to prevent their legal documents from becoming language evidence.
A skilled forensic linguist is a valuable addition to the drafting process of any kind of legal document, including contracts, briefs, legislation, and the like. There is an obvious advantage in consulting an expert in the analysis of language that is potentially deceptive, vague, or manipulative. Consulting a forensic language expert in the legal writing process can prevent the inclusion of the ambiguity, obscurity, and other linguistic flaws that are often manipulated in disputes.
Furthermore, forensic linguists can be incredibly beneficial when negotiating or disputing legal documents in other contexts. In the same way that they would analyze controversial language while consulting on a drafted document, they can identify potentially problematic language in legal documents written by other parties. The addition of a forensic linguist greatly improves a team's approach to legal writing and the assessment of legal documents.
There are many reasons for legal teams to include an expert in forensic language. As it stands now, however, not many do, largely because they are unaware of forensic linguistics as a science or its potential application to civil matters. Linguistics is an established science, and forensic linguistic techniques have been used in criminal and civil cases for decades. As a formal field of study, however, forensic linguistics is relatively new, with only a few universities in the world offering degree programs. For now, forensic linguistics is a niche field of study, but its potential applications are as extensive as the legal system.
In any case, if evidence concerns language, it can be examined with forensic linguistics.
Forensic linguistics is the scientific study of language wherever it intersects with the law. The term "forensic" may inspire the assumption that the field is strictly about criminal justice or investigation; however, the term "forensic" simply means "of the forum," such as the forum of a courtroom. While it is true that forensic linguists are trained in analyzing language evidence using techniques such as authorship analysis, demographic profiling, appraisal analysis, corpus analysis, and more, the investigation of criminal cases makes up only a part of what forensic linguistics studies.
As linguists trained in the scientific study of language, forensic language analysts have additional, extensive training in matters of the law and how language is used and presented in courts of law. This means that forensic linguists examine language evidence within a frame of legal context. In addition to analyzing language, forensic linguists analyze language as it applies to legal matters and the law.
To date, forensic linguists have been consulted and testified in civil cases regarding business contract disputes, trademarks, deceptive trade practices, discrimination, product liability, plagiarism, and more. Civil cases have been fought and lost over seemingly insignificant pieces of language that undermine or contradict entire contracts. Linguists are often consulted during disputes to analyze such language features, but astute legal teams hire linguists to prevent their legal documents from becoming language evidence.
A skilled forensic linguist is a valuable addition to the drafting process of any kind of legal document, including contracts, briefs, legislation, and the like. There is an obvious advantage in consulting an expert in the analysis of language that is potentially deceptive, vague, or manipulative. Consulting a forensic language expert in the legal writing process can prevent the inclusion of the ambiguity, obscurity, and other linguistic flaws that are often manipulated in disputes.
Furthermore, forensic linguists can be incredibly beneficial when negotiating or disputing legal documents in other contexts. In the same way that they would analyze controversial language while consulting on a drafted document, they can identify potentially problematic language in legal documents written by other parties. The addition of a forensic linguist greatly improves a team's approach to legal writing and the assessment of legal documents.
There are many reasons for legal teams to include an expert in forensic language. As it stands now, however, not many do, largely because they are unaware of forensic linguistics as a science or its potential application to civil matters. Linguistics is an established science, and forensic linguistic techniques have been used in criminal and civil cases for decades. As a formal field of study, however, forensic linguistics is relatively new, with only a few universities in the world offering degree programs. For now, forensic linguistics is a niche field of study, but its potential applications are as extensive as the legal system.
In any case, if evidence concerns language, it can be examined with forensic linguistics.
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