Le Mot Juste: Clear language as a “systemic” value, and the role of the lawyer

The present chapter addresses the issue of linguistic clarity in lawyers’ pleadings by presenting clarity not only as a specific obligation for the lawyer, imposed by the Code of Administrative Procedure, but as a “systemic” value of the entire Italian legal system, which reflects a social value deriving from the rational and dialogical nature of the human person him/herself. Starting from these observations, the chapter then focuses on the particular role played by the lawyer in implementing the value of linguistic clarity. Talking about concrete experiences, it proposes a possible approach for research about linguistic clarity, between the use of “courtesy” towards interlocutors of the proceedings and the attempt to pursue the “advantage” of victory in the trial and, consequentially, of the necessary protection of the assisted party.