The ‘Law and Language Friction’: Overcoming the Barriers of Discourse in Supervision

Abstract

The relationship between law and language requires continuous attention in legal education, specifically supervision. In the journey of every law student, the discipline will demand that they interpret legal texts, write legal opinions, and prepare research reports and theses, which require the use of language. Clear and practical legal language makes a legal argument whole, compelling, and persuasive. However, the language challenges law students because the discourse in legal terminology creates a law and language friction. This friction presents a double-edged sword when students attempt to express themselves using legal language in their research projects, depending on whether they know the limitations and opportunities that the language presents in legal reasoning. The main argument of this paper is that we need to acknowledge the friction in the relationship between the law and language and seek opportunities to confront and overcome this friction through our supervision models and approaches. The research focus of this paper addresses the academic literacy obstacles in the context of postgraduate supervision in legal education. It presents the law and language friction as a positive and a negative factor that law students should confront to communicate effectively in legal writing and for their supervisors to teach effective legal writing.