Search Results for: legal writing

Published in The Clarity Journal 62 – 2009 Dr Robert Eagleson Down the centuries, lawyers have regularly been the butt of criticism and cruel jokes be- cause of the convoluted way they write. From certain perspectives these unfavourable judgements are appropriate and fair; yet, in over 30 years experience working closely with lawyers, I have […]

Author : Joseph Kimble “This book is unique. No other American book combines the strong evidence and myth-busting arguments for plain legal language with so much practical advice and so many useful examples. And no other book is more likely to open lawyers’ eyes to the emptiness of legalese—the style that has afflicted legal writing […]

Tialda Sikkema works in the law department of the University of Applied Sciences in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Since 2009, part of her work is to train judicial officers in document quality and legal writing. For ten years she was a member of an appeal commission in labour cases. In 2018, she will finish her PhD […]

A not-for-profit academic organization focused on reforming legal writing. It organizes the Burton Awards which reward lawyers and law students for distinguished, clear, and concise legal writing.

Clarity is the world’s largest organization focused on promoting plain legal language and design. Why People don’t read legal documents.  They’re too complex. Whether it’s a 30-year mortgage or a life-changing employment contract, most people have the same reaction. Faced with an impenetrable wall of text, they simply sigh and sign on the dotted line. […]

Published in The Clarity Journal 73 – 2015 There is an ever-increasing need and demand from the public for information that is accessible, transparent, and easy to understand. When we view contracts as working documents—binding guides to action rather than legal records, we write to engage people to read and understand them, improve commercial relationships, […]

In this issue : Helping legal writers embrace their inner Salieri: Re-vision is just “seeing again”, Plain-language writing-training course: A challenge, an ambition, and a method in five steps, Strategies for clarity in legal writing, “Plain language”: Practical tips for how to make it not so plain, “Plain language”: Practical tips for how to make […]

In this issue : Opening speech at the conference for the launch of New Zealand’s WriteMark plain English awards Judicial attitudes to plain language and the law Clarity member receives the Burton Award Lord David Renton Introductory editorial for the seminar in print Linguistic nasties and niceties: Who should we pander to? Or to whom […]

Published in The Clarity Journal 54 – 2005 Introduction As part of the conference on “Clarity and Obscurity in Legal Language” in Boulogne, we organized two panels of expert drafters — two master classes. We thought it would be interesting and instructive to see how different experts approached the same drafting assignment. In this issue, […]