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Ryan Gordon
Megan Keaton
ENC 1101-42
2 November 2013
Lawyers Aren’t That Scary
Lawyers have many generalizations about them that are not the best notions. These tough
stereotypes include things like, they’re all about the money, they only care about themselves, and
they’re overall not fun to be around as people. However in a short experience at a law firm, these
assumptions can be reversed, if one is in the right firm. At the Law Offices of Crews and
Pesquera located at 1137 Edgewater Drive, Orlando, the generalizations can be thrown out of the
window completely.
The firm itself is small building that is no bigger than half of the Suwannee room, with
very limited parking in the rear and a very small entrance that a small car can barely fit through.
Walking in the front door, there is a receptionist on the left and a small waiting area for the
clients. There is a door right in line with the entrance which leads to a hallway containing offices
of the paralegals, lawyers, assistants, two conference rooms and a small kitchen/lounge area.
Each of the offices are full of stacks of seemingly endless papers and a large desk, a work
computer, and any personal belongings which make the 8x8 foot space more comfortable to
work in. Throughout the entire building the central air conditioning unit keeps the space at a
brisk 68 degrees, which is cold enough to grab a jacket that is in the trunk of one’s car.
Around 9 o’clock the receptionist’s phone started to ring constantly and she would
answer with a warm greeting and ask how she can serve the caller. Then she would use a very
professional, basic language containing ‘sir,’ ‘ma’am,’ or ‘Mr. or Mrs. Smith.’ She would then
give kindly the information asked for and always say thank you for calling. She would then write
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down the caller ID, reason for calling and a general message of what was said, on a small sticky
note. This written language was shorthand and the vocabulary ranged from the usage of a first
grader’s ability, to a college graduates. For example, a note could read “called because car
accident, severe trauma to skull.” The convections of writing are very loose for the receptionist,
as she just needs quick notes for the phone calls. After the note was written, and if it contained a
date and time the caller would discuss their situation at the firm, she would put the meeting in the
schedule on the computer. Pending on the amount of times met with the client, the information
would change. If it was a first meeting, under the date and time would include “preliminary
meeting, discuss what actually happened,” however, it could read “pretrial meeting,” which are
very serious. Everyone in the office read the schedule on a regular basis to understand what is
happening that day and what needs to be done.
During the lunch break, everyone got together and went out for lunch, and that day was
Four Rivers. Which is a local hole in the wall with the best barbeque in central Florida. While
here no professional language was used at all, in fact it was like a college student’s lunch. There
was a lot of joking and profanity being thrown around at one another, in good nature. Everyone
joked around like this, and spoke freely, indicating that language here did not reflect any status
points.
After lunch, the serious side swooped back in and the ties were tightened. There was an
office meeting to discuss a case coming to trial soon. The language was very serious with strictly
professional vocabulary about every detail of the case. Each person was already assigned an area
in the case and was well prepared for this meeting with what seemed to be well written notes. If
there was confusion about a certain topic, the fuss would be broken up within a minute by going
into detail about why they chose to do something in a certain way. In here, the written language
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affected the spoken language by using the professional manner incorporated in the note, in verbal
communication. This is more than necessary because at court, in order to defend or fight for the
client effectively, everybody must know every little detail. After this, the secretary collected
typed files from everybody and put together a portfolio for the court date. These files were all
proofread at least five times by everybody in the room, with all professional conventions and
vocabulary which is above the literacy of a non-law school graduate. The portfolio was to be
given to the judge in charge of the trial, and the lawyers in the courtroom.
The vocabulary used has serious depth behind it. If a judge reads a file and finds spelling
mistakes and the vocabulary of a middle school student, he or she is not going to take the lawyer
very seriously, which is a crucial point to the victory of a case. These texts, which are written
partially by the entire firm, cannot be brought about unless there is a higher form of schooling. A
lawyer and the associates all have to have a law degree from an accredited law school. At law
school, they learn such professional language used in documents. This is because the writing
itself plays such a crucial role in the firm and to the entire case. Text documents are read by the
opposing lawyers in the case, the judge and by the whole jury. All of these three parties partially
determine the outcome of the case and whether the plan of winning a case is successful or not. If
any of the three find any blemishes on any form of texts, there is automatically another demerit
against them, which hurts the chances of winning the case.
To be a part of this community, the level of ability to read and to write are through the
roof. The ability to write reports and long documents is decisive in entrance. This is due to the
central necessity of the text document to keep everybody in the process of a case informed at all
times. To do this also involves reading and the ability to analyze and process what was read
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quickly, in order to formulate ideas with the group. After this is done, then talking about such
texts is necessary, in order to formulate ideas amongst the group for the benefit of the client.
These traits and language classically define someone to be an ‘ideal’ member. One who is fluent
in reading, writing, and talking to others is generally a great fit. The person must be able to
determine when the time is appropriate to joke around and when it is time to be serious and
professional.
Overall, the written language directly affects the spoken language in a few aspects. If the
tone of a document is professionally, it will be discussed professionally. If the written language
is part of a note, it could be conversed over with very little thought and maybe even a few jokes.
The language is critical to how actions are deliberated and whether they are important or not.
Since the language is determined by the writing, the writing is indeed a key factor in the
community. Writing can be manipulated for either side of the argument, which can lead to
confusion and help gain a helpful advantage in the slick race to win. However, a problem with
hard copied, written text, is that once it is there it can never be taken back. The writing can
actually be used against you, like the internet. For example if something is worded wrong and is
published, the other party can attack by saying that an answer is changing when really a mistake
was made, which opens a spot of weakness.