Speak clearly and your clients will listen

Latin was the original language of law, and centuries later it’s still a defining feature of legal writing. Of course, every lawyer worth their salt knows what ‘locus in quo’ and ‘nota bene’ mean. But can the same be said of the average client?

It’s not just the Latin phrases that are the bugbears, either. It’s also the use of jargon and long, winding sentences that seem to talk around issues and appear deliberately obscure.

The irony is that a large number of lawyers actually prefer ‘plain English’. US law professor Joseph Kimble invited 1,500 lawyers and judges to state whether they preferred paragraphs written in plain English or traditional legal style, and more than 80% said they preferred the plain English versions.

The fact is that legal documents don’t have to be written in a language that is difficult for the average person to understand, as some top law firms are beginning to acknowledge. Nabarro is simplifying the way it writes, for example, after recently launching a high-profile ‘clarity matters’ campaign. The firm is currently working towards writing all its contracts in plain English. And other firms such as SJ Berwin, DLA Piper and CMS Cameron McKenna have commissioned specialist writing training programmes.

Bridging the gap between your writing and your clients doesn’t have to be hard. Nor do you have to dumb down in order to write more clearly. You can still use technical terms and clarify your points – just with more focus on the reader. This means creating a logical structure and using techniques to enhance readability.

Doing this is good for business too, and can be a good career move. Firms are downsizing and existing employees have to prove their worth. Providing clear, well-drafted advice for your clients makes them more likely to call on you again. Writing in a clear way creates a sense of trust, as the readers know exactly where they stand.

It can also save you time and money. Poorly written documents mean that you may waste time explaining their contents. UK businesses lose an estimated £6bn a year because of badly written letters. There is also a greater margin for error, especially if you’re writing a form for clients to complete.

Managing your writing skills clearly makes good business sense. As the legal profession becomes a tougher place, the lawyers who will thrive are the ones who can best communicate with their clients.

The dos and don’ts of legal writing
Complex legal principles aren’t always easy to communicate, but learning some techniques and strategies can make the process much simpler.

Do focus on your reader: avoid a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. Whether you’re writing for a lawyer or not, think about whether the reader would be able to instantly understand what you mean. If you’re certain your reader understands jargon, by all means include it. But ensure you clarify any technical terms that may cause confusion.

Don’t use verbosity or flowery phrases: wordy writing can make clients suspicious. Make sure you cut out any long-winded phrases and avoid clichés. If you have a complaint to make, get to the heart of the issue in clear language. For instance, don’t write: ‘Pursuant to the recent communication of the improper proposal that the information be falsified.’ Instead, write: ‘The claim that the information was falsified is wrong.’ It’s clearly better.

Do cut out unnecessary words such as therein, herein, forthwith and aforesaid. Archaic terms are simply unnecessary. There’s no need to use ‘herein’ and ‘aforesaid’ in the following sentence: ‘I herein enclose the contract for the aforesaid book, as requested.’ And never reach for a thesaurus when you’re unsure of what to write because you’re more likely to pick a difficult word that will confuse your reader.

Don’t use nouns when you can use verbs: verbs create action in a sentence, which moves the pace along and helps keep the readers’ interest. So write: ‘We are creating a new department’ instead of ‘The creation of a new department is planned.’
Which leads straight to: do use active language. Using the passive voice too much can make your writing seem impersonal and bureaucratic. Writing in the active voice may feel dangerous, as it forces you to be more specific (and say who or what is doing something). But it’s likely that your clients will see it as refreshing. So write: ‘We suggest implementing a new financial structure’, rather than ‘A new financial structure should be implemented’.

Don’t use long, complex sentences and paragraphs: long sentences are often the result of fuzzy thinking. Consider the main subject areas you want to cover. Then ask the questions: ‘what?’, ‘where?’, ‘when?’, ‘how?’, ‘why?’ and ‘who?’. Use these headings to brainstorm all the points related to that subject. Knowing what you want to say before you write gives you a fighting chance of building a logical structure.

Rob Ashton is chief executive of Emphasis, specialist business-writing trainers

Emphasis are offering Gazette online readers the opportunity to download the company’s writing guide ‘The Write Stuff’ for free. Go to Emphasis’s website's contact page, select "style guide" as what you’re interested in, and put "Gazette" into the comments box. Emphasis will then email you a free copy of the guide. Rupert White, Gazette