Why are contracts written so poorly?
johnnydollar: Think of Legalese as C++ for the law.  Very powerful, often verbose, and very easy to get into trouble if you don't understand how it works.Many awkward sounding phrases actually refer to a specific case law precedent.  Judges are disinclined to contradict a previous ruling.  By inserting the phrase into a contract and both parties agreeing to the contract you actually save time/money because when it comes time to sue the issue has already been decided by the phrase.  The court just needs to determine if the facts fit the previous case law.Think of these awkward sounding phrases as macros that other people have written over decades and now belong to the common code base called case law.  They might be very difficult to understand at first, but their near universal meaning makes them more valuable than writing your own 'clearer' version.  If your version goes to court the judge will have to interpret your new language instead of referring to prior case law.  Since most judges are very busy and you clearly don't know what you were doing they will probably ignore your language.  Just pray you didn't let the other party insert theirs.What's more each type of law has it's own specific phrases.  A construction law attorney was explaining to me that the specific phrase 'workmanlike performance' can create a warranty that may not be implied by law for the specific services at issue.  But 'does good job' isn't the same thing.