The Innovative Concept of Legal Writing in Plain English

The legal industry relies upon the writings and communications of lawyers, judges, and lawmakers. For the citizens and clients who are subject to these legal writings, understanding the legalese is painfully frustrating. We were asked by a fan of the show (in full disclosure, it was Greg's sister-in-law Wendy) why lawyers can't write in plain English. We pulled together a panel of four experts on legal communications and asked them just that. It turns out that writing in plain English is not only possible, but it is the preferred method of legal writing.

Our guests on this episode are:

Neil Guthrie - Director, Professional Development, Research, and Knowledge Management, at Aired & Berlis LLP in Toronto. Author of Guthrie’s Guide to Better Legal Writing.

Chris Trudeau – Law and Medical Professor at the University of Arkansas/ Little Rock and author of The Public Speaks: An Empirical Study of Legal Communication. As well as journal articles on plain English writing for lawyers in Healthcare.

Jesse Katz – Litigation Editor at O’Melveny and Myers, as well as a Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist before taking on his editing role.

Sara Harris – Jackson Walker associate who is known for her writing skills, and is an editor for the American Lawyer’s Young Lawyer Editorial Board.

Suggested Reading List

Typography for Lawyers
Plain English for Lawyers
Letting Go of the Words

Information Inspirations

Greg got to drop in on a Houston Young Lawyer Association meeting for First-Generation Lawyers on the topic of lawyer recruiting. The meeting was great, but the biggest impact was made by a question a minority law student was asked on why his experience as a person of color would bring value to the firm. Is that something a firm should even be asking?

Marlene geeks out over Evan Parker's article on How to Talk Data and Influence People, Including Lawyers. This dovetailed nicely with our guests' discussion on presenting the information in a way that tells a story and presents information in a way that is understandable by the reader. Data analytics is just another method of communicating. The trick is communicating in a way that actually makes sense and informs.