Top Legal Terms Of 2016

As we turn the page on the dumpster fire of 2016 and jump head-first into the litterbox supernova of 2017, it’s time to look back and celebrate the evolution of legalese over the past year. Words we’ve lost, words we’ve gained, and words that we’ll be embarrassed we’ve ever used by this time next year.

Ken Bresler compiled this list of the year that was in legal phraseology. Before delving into the top terms of the year, he kicks it off by taking a shot at Black’s Law Dictionary, as every good legal lexicographer must. It’s like beating up the toughest guy in prison on your first day. Gotta establish your cred.

Specifically, Bresler thinks 2016 put a stake through the heart of “affluenza”:

The 10th edition of Black’s Law Dictionary defines “affluenza defense” in part as: “A newfangled legal defense, generally not recognized, that a youthful offender cannot be held responsible for criminal acts because the wealthy environment in which he or she was reared precluded any learning about right vs. wrong.” The definition notes that the term is a portmanteau of “affluence” and “influenza.”

“Newfangled”? “Generally not recognized”? Aren’t those admissions that the term was included prematurely? In a 2014 announcement, Thomson Reuters, the publisher of the 10th edition of Black’s, touted its 7,500 new entries. The announcement specifically named only nine of them – including “affluenza defense.” Oops. Lexicography, the making of dictionaries, is an imprecise art.

I’m going to disagree. It may not be cited as a credible legal argument ever again, but it must live on as a testament to the legal profession. What does it mean to zealously represent a client? Making up this s**t. That’s what it means.

He also thinks we can say goodbye to Scaliaesque:

Scaliaesque. One of the most formidable legal writers of our time, Justice Antonin Scalia, died in February 2016. Eventually, I might delete the definition of “Scaliaesque” from Bresler’s Law Dictionary: “Of or pertaining to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia; his sharp and witty style of speaking, questioning, or writing; forceful and colorful legal writing; or originalist constitutional theory.” With the passing of Justice Scalia, “Scaliesque” might pass on too.

But then how can we describe a new decision from the coming Ted Cruz-dominated Supreme Court? I suppose we can just use the word “racist.” Unless that offends the safe spaces of all the crybaby conservative professors.

Now for the legal phrases Bresler thinks 2016 put on the map:

sextortion. noun. Blackmailing a person into engaging in sexual activity, often by threatening to post on-line nude or pornographic images or videos of a person unless he or she provides more such images or videos. The sextortionist often obtains the original images or videos by hacking into a victim’s computer or webcam. [sex + extortion]

Why didn’t we think of this one back in the 2014 Fappening? There’s really no end to the law’s sexual portmanteau game. Can we rebrand “loss of consortium” as “Sexplevin”? Let’s make legalese great again.

benefit corporation. noun. A for-profit corporation, authorized by a majority of American states, with goals, in addition to profiting its shareholders, of benefiting workers, society, the community, and the environment. Also called “B corp,” “B corporation,” and “public benefit corporation (PBC).”

Intriguing choice, because 2016 was dominated so much more by the “detriment corporation” (see, e.g., these folks).

spoofing. verb, noun. Financial manipulation in which a participant places an offer, order, or bid in a financial market without intending its completion, induces the market to rise, cancels the offer, order, or bid, and profits from the rise, such as from an order on the opposite side of the market. Illegalized by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, specifically 7 U.S.C. §6c(a)(5)(A).

High-frequency trading algorithms take longer to act than the Congress will in killing this.

twibel. noun. Libel by tweet. (A tweet is a message conveyed by Twitter, the social media service). [tw[eet] + [l]ibel)

Twiuth is a twience to twibel. But be on the lookout for Instagrander in 2017.

lawfare. noun. Abuse of law for political or military ends, often in international and human rights forums. [law + [war]fare]

It’s also a great blog.

And the number one legal phrase of the year…

adult children. This phrase jumped into the news before and after Donald Trump’s presidential election victory when people started wondering who would take care of his business interests to avoid legal entanglements. The phrase “adult children” has appeared in legal decisions, e.g., Russ v. Watts, 414 F.3d 783, 787 (7th Cir. 2005), but I have long preferred “adult offspring” or “adult sons and daughters.” Both appeared in U.S. v. Whitfield, 939 F.2d 1071, 1075 (D.C. Cir. 1991).

I’m not sure this is fair. The legal terminology, as used in those decisions, deals with the changing nature of the parental relationship with children as they become independent. The 2016 meaning applies to the Trump rubberstamps tasked with running his cynically labeled blind trust. If anything, the Trump-inspired popularity of the term is the exact opposite of the legal definition that assumes kids who move more than a few inches from the epicenter of their parent’s refracted glory.

Alas, that’s the year in legal lingo. How many of these terms did you use in 2016?

Goodbye ‘Affluenza Defense,’ Hello ‘Sextortion’ [Clear Writing Co.]

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Joe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.