I like finding the right word. Often the right word is a simple word. The mantra of an old English teacher to “prefer the simple word” still echoes in my head as I draft. Yet the English language provides a feast of vocabulary options with subtleties or efficiencies and, in the proper context, I think fancy, precise words are fun and admirable. On the Seventh Circuit, Judge Easterbrook (who is reputed to author his own opinions without initial drafts from law clerks) often offers a delicacy to the reader. I like his work because it never seems as if he is stretching to use a big word. He just chooses a precise word to convey his meaning. This suggests a trenchant mind that has plenty of word choices! Here’s one example (other favorites will follow from a variety of judges regularly).
“And without any prospect of rivals’ exit, there is also no prospect of higher prices later (“recoupment,” in antitrust argot) and no antitrust worry.” Schor v. Abbott Labs., No. 05-3344 (7th Cir. July 26, 2006). [It's a published opinion, but I don't have access to Westlaw or Lexis to get the F.3d cite, alas. I miss my passwords . . . ]
As you may have guessed, argot means a specialized vocabulary or idioms used by a particular group. It’s more formal than “lingo” or “jargon,” befitting a legal opinion, and more efficient and less cumbersome than “in the language of” or some such phrase. I like it.