An Easement in Gross

We have a friend who has just finished taking her Maryland Bar Exam (congratulations, Nina!), which really more significantly she's finished studying for and worrying about taking the Maryland Bar Exam. Among her list of interesting and amusing take aways from the experience, she lists this item:

I could [sic] care less about the difference between an easement in gross and a license. Because they have the same effect.

As her husband will realize, I look forward to the chance at a party (to happen tomorrow) celebrating the occasion to interrogate her on what exactly the operational differences are between a "license" and "an easement in gross".

If there is absolutely none, of course I'd use "easement in gross" in preference to "license" just because it sounds more provocative and less scrutable.

Posted on August 1, 2008 at 19.37 by jns · Permalink
In: All, The Art of Conversation

2 Responses

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  1. Written by James P. Howard, II
    on Saturday, 2 August 2008 at 10.26
    Permalink

    Scrutability is a great concern. We were talking about the drug-busting turtle yesterday[1], and I didn't understand a word she said.

    1. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/31/AR2008073101540.html

  2. Written by S.W. Anderson
    on Tuesday, 5 August 2008 at 00.17
    Permalink

    The professions all seem to have their own special jargon, some of it archaic and quaint, that provides for interesting banter among students, and sometimes a certain mystique in the public mind. I suspect "easement in gross" is an example from the legal set.

    Physicians, BTW, carry things a step farther with their inscrutable writing. I'm told it's actually a second-year course in medical school, Physician Handwriting 201 — They Can't Prove Anything From What They Can't Read. This course is described as a melange of cubism, Egyptian Hieroglyphics and intensive work with a modern Chinese reference, The Encyclopedia of Fortune Cookie Predictions, in the original Chinese, of course.

    Fortunately, where prescriptions are concerned, I'm told pharmacist students all take a first-year course, Reading Physician Handwriting 101. This is followed up with an unpublicized second-year required course, Rx Cryptography, which is subtitled, "Winging It When You Know What the Practitioner Means Anyway."

    It should come as no great surprise that attorneys are aware of the above, and for reasons of their own make no effort to publicize it. (Grin)

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