The Party of the First Part is a gem of a book: bright, lucid, and compelling. I found myself laughing out loud, and wondering why lawyers can't just eat their torts and go home.
—Cameron Stracher, author of Double Billing
	Freedman, who 'translates' legal jargon into English for an investment bank and writes the 'Legal Lingo' column for the New York Law Journal, offers a cornucopia of hilarious, offbeat and downright bizarre examples of simple concepts contorted into words that defy understanding, often retaining centuries-old lingo like "Further affiant sayeth naught" (which means: this is the end of the affidavit). Freedman is as much reformer as humorist, and he ably demonstrates that legal documents can be written in understandable prose. . . . [T]his lighthearted farrago of the follies of the law is sure to amuse and to convince readers that legal language can be made plain.
—Publishers Weekly
	Illustrating the history of our Anglo-American legal vocabulary with humor, Freedman shows the importance of using legal language that the average person can understand without frustration. . . . Even with quotes from the Marx Brothers, Freedman's underlying message is deadly serious.
—New York Law Journal
	The Party of the First Part is a terrific achievement—a hugely entertaining book about a subject that is normally anything but. Against all odds, it makes legal language come to life. It's the kind of book I wish I'd read before law school, and the perfect read for non-lawyers who wonder what they're missing.
—Jeremy Blachman, author of Anonymous Lawyer
	If you ever wanted to go to law school but thought it would be painful and dull, you were right. Fortunately, Adam Freedman's wit and insight will give you in an afternoon what you need to navigate a lawyered-up world--and more laughs than you'd find in class, too.
—Kermit Roosevelt, Professor of Law, author of The Myth of Judicial Activism
	In The Party of the First Part, Adam Freedman takes a fresh look at traditional legal language, bringing the subject to life using real case histories, and explaining why it still persists in the culture—despite the efforts of organisations like ours. This is the first time we've come across a book on legalese that had us laughing from cover to cover. We are delighted to recommend it.
—Plain English Campaign UK