Legalese in the Age of IM
The Appellate Advocate, a publication of the Texas State Bar Appellate Division, has a humorous article by Roger W. Hughes in its Summer 2006 issue about instant messaging.
Here is an excerpt:
"Our teenage children have developed a literary style of IM’s or text messages over cell phones and WiFi’d laptops. Here are some ingenious acronyms commonly used:
FWIW = for what it’s worth
LOL = laughing out loud (or lots of love)
TTYL = talk to you later
RUUP4IT = are you up for it
AFAIC = as far as I’m concerned
CUL8R = see you later
...
There is every reason to think that today’s law students and young attorneys are communicating in the same
way. Soon a whole generation of lawyers will communicate in the acronyms spawned by cramped fingers
on the tiny keypads of cell phones and laptops. Twenty-first Century briefs and opinions in the 21st Century
will soon be written in “IM.”
Because appellate lawyers are desperate to write the short brief that still “says it all,” here are some
proposed IM acronyms for the brief of tomorrow:
ASSA = assuming arguendo
WADR = with all due respect
MIPC = May it please the Court
THJTC = The Honorable Justices of This Court..."
You can read the entire article at this link.