"It behooves us," William Safire wrote, "to avoid archaisms.  Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do."

Safire (1929-2009) was an American author, New York Times columnist, and presidential speechwriter.

His advice is critical for law students.  Especially new law students writing essay exams.  Zip to the bottom of this page and click on "disclaimer" for a fine example of what to avoid.  When I grade first-year students' exams and read something that sounds like it could have been written in the nineteenth century, it reminds me of the long distance between the first day of law school and the last. 

Mark Twain, a journalist and author paid (at times) by the word, made the economy of simple speech plain when he wrote, "I never write 'metropolis' for seven cents when I can write 'city' and get paid the same."  

Don't confuse bombastic, high-falutin', or archaic language with "the language of the law." Expressions such as "promissory estoppel," "standard of care is the degree of prudence and caution...," and "depraved heart" are terms of art associated with the "language of the law." Legal terms you learn in law school have often been plucked from foundational court opinions, and thus carry with them the precise meaning ascribed by the original case and (often) many cases that have refined its meaning.

One of the many things you will be learning in law school is to write (and speak) in the “language of the law.”  In order to be able to communicate with your colleagues as the years go by, it is important to lay a foundation for writing this way—whenever possible, use the specialized language of the law.

Good legal writing is precise. It is [ought to be] concise as well.

"A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subject only in outline, but that every word tell." William Strunk and E. B. White