Drafter

Abstract: Legal languages are inevitably products of the history of the nation or state in which they are used, as well as the peculiar developments of the legal system in question. In terms of features, they tend to be characterized by minor differences in spelling, pronunciation, and orthography; long and complex sentences, often containing conjoined phrases or lists, as well as passive and nominal constructions; and a large and distinct lexicon. The profession has developed distinct traditions on how its language should be interpreted. In terms of style, the language of the law is often archaic, formal, impersonal, and wordy or redundant. And it can be relatively precise, or quite general or vague, depending on the strategic objectives of the drafter.

Abstract: Several years ago, the American Bar Foundation initiated a modest investigation into the feasibility of designing a computer that could automate the assembly of form legal documents such as wills, trusts, complaints, and the like. The investigation has since matured into a major research effort to design an entirely new kind of computational processor. A prototype processor has now been constructed, and it is undergoing field tests to determine whether it truly fulfills the specialized needs of the legal drafter. This article briefly traces the history of the project, explaining the motivation behind it and describing the role of the participants. The article then introduces a new language—the principal result of the research effort—that may be used to draft both form documents and statutes, regulations, and other “instructions” defining how form documents are to be assembled. The new language, a subset of English, is fully comprehensible both to attorneys and to a properly designed computational processor. An attorney or paraprofessional may redraft form legal documents, statutes, and regulations in the new language and then feed them directly into the computer; no conventional programming is required. The computer asks questions couched in language taken from the forms and statutes, performs any necessary computations, and draws any necessary legal conclusions. The computer then returns client-customized legal documents ready for court filing. The article tells how the new processor may be set up to perform even the most complex drafting tasks—even complex tax-return preparation. Particular emphasis is placed on having the computer force the attorney or paraprofessional to proceed in a highly organized fashion with the development of a complex delivery system so that the computer, and not the attorney or paraprofessional, keeps track of the complex linkages between the elements of the system as it evolves. In its concluding section, the article explores the possible impact of this new technology upon the legal profession and the public, and the author expresses his view that centralized systems set up by legal specialists to support the work of numerous nonspecialists may expand the areas in which the generalist may do competent work and may enable the general practitioner to buck the current trend toward specialization.

Abstract: : This is a book of quotations and comments about air power, war, and military matters But it would be a great mistake to simply read the quotes and take them literally Each selection presents a picture that you can look at again and again Taken together, different views of the same subject matter are like a drafter's plans: they can make either an interesting multiple-view description of the subject or a puzzle Even a hundred books couldn't give a complete picture of air power and war What this book attempts to do is present a mosaic a big, grainy picture of military air power that gains value as you step back from it and achieve perspective And like a mosaic, this picture fills in only as you fit each piece with the others

Abstract: Contents: On transferability of legislative solutions: the functionality test, Helen Xanthaki Drawing the line, Stephen Laws Legislative intention, Ian McLeod Legislator's intent: how judges discern it and what they do if they find it, Keith Mason The techniques of gender-neutral drafting, Daniel Greenberg Drafting legislation at the tax law rewrite project, Hayley Rogers Retrospectivity in the drafting and interpretation of legislation, Lydia Clapinska Repealing or amending legislation by non-legislative means, Alec Samuels Pre-legislative scrutiny, Zione Ntaba The role of the legislative drafter in promoting social transformation, Richard C. Nzerem Improving democratic development by better regulation, Ulrich Karpen Drafting principles of existing European contract law, Gerhard Dannemann Drafting of EU acts: a view from the European Commission, William Robinson Drafting to implement EU law: the European arrest warrant in the United Kingdom, Valsamis Mitsilegas Procedures for the approximation of Albanian legislation with the Acquis Communautaire, Alfred E. Kellermann Compromise and clarity in international drafting, Eileen Denza Can legislation rank as literature?, Helen Caldwell Open management of legislative documents, Giovanni Sartor Between policy and implementation: legislative drafting for development, Ann Seidmann and Robert B. Seidmann Drafters, drafting and the policy process, Constantin Stefanou Index.