GOOD PRACTICE

Risk management

Making legalese simple

Lawyers use 'legalese' because it is the language in which they have been trained and also which at times best describes the work they are undertaking.

However, it is important to remember that legalese can lead to clients misunderstanding what you are doing for them, which in turn can become a cause for a claim of negligence against a practice.

Clients, more often than not, do not understand the legal system and the language it converses in.

The fact is, the majority of your clients won't even completely understand the technicalities and intricacies of the job for which they have employed your services, whether it be writing a will, buying a property or sorting out their tax issues.

Therefore, it is important, when taking on any work for a client, to explain fully in laymen's terms exactly what you are going to do for them.

You should also make sure that any retainer letters or correspondence you send to the client detailing work to be undertaken is clear and concise and free of too much legal terminology.

Clients also need to have the likely outcome of their case fully clarified.

Too much legal language can confuse clients and can result in them having different expectations.

Clients want to be kept up to date with what is happening on their behalf.

Again, complicated legal jargon will more often than not leave clients confused, so give them a brief update once a week or fortnight, but keep it simple.

They also need a realistic timeframe in which the work will be completed, so do not bamboozle them with too much information.

Give them a simple time frame, and explain that if it does take longer why this will be.

It is important to realise the frustration which clients experience if they do not fully understand what is being done on their behalf.

To avoid the wrath of such perplexed clients, keep all language simple, to the point and realistic.

l In the previous column (see [2003] Gazette, 20 March, 38) we stated in the last paragraph that should you have any suspicions that a client may be laundering money you should contact your governing body, namely the Financial Services Authority or the Law Society.

This was incorrect; the National Criminal Intelligence Service should be the first point of contact.

We apologise for the error.

This column was prepared by Alexander Forbes Risk Services UK