In the United Kingdom and Australia, the expression is more commonly “the simple English movement”. You can edit your org chart several times before the end of your writing project. So why plan? Because you need to organize your thoughts and document now, not later. If you continue without this initial plan of the final product, you can find yourself in time-consuming and unnecessary tangents. The course is suitable for internal legal and compliance teams in organizations and law firms. So what are the principles for writing in simple language? The following list shows the basics. For a more detailed list, see plainlanguage.gov. Several major law firms in Australia have adopted simple language. They rewrote their precedents in plain language and trained their lawyers in basic language skills. These companies see the clarity of their writing as a differentiator for their business – something that gives them an advantage, something that benefits their customers.
Some of these companies go even further. They offer transcription services in plain language. These companies have had tremendous success with simple language. For example, in Australia, KPMG uses the slogan “It`s time for clarity”. That`s great. However, the company`s primary target audience is not retail consumers. Far from it. And while I`m sure the company is a good corporate citizen, I`m just as sure it hasn`t adopted this slogan in support of the plain language movement. Certainly, KPMG has adopted the slogan “It`s time to clarify” because the large companies it values and seeks out as clients – and the people who work in those organizations – value clear communication. So do all of us. Around the same time, some of the legislative drafting offices in Australia began to move forward on the front lines of plain language. Some of them have done wonderful things, as we will see later in this article.
Progress depends on simple language that recognizes its success and how that success has changed it. But what position should plain language take? While my plain language experience has focused on legal and related documents, the topics covered in this document also apply to all documents used by businesses, governments and consumers. The clear terms of the guarantee constitute conclusive evidence against the arguments of the complainant [the customer]. The guarantee appears to be a standard document. Unlike many traditional banking security documents, it is clear and understandable. (30) We need to reposition clear language in the eyes of policymakers in business, law firms and governments. We need to show these decision-makers that their organization`s documents, using plain language, can satisfy and delight anyone who reads them. This applies whether the reader is a customer, customer, patient, employee, dealer, supplier, regulator, judge, investor, litigant or someone who reads the law. While most people do not fit the old definition of illiteracy, many people are challenged by the task of reading. And they are needlessly challenged by legal language. It is a good practice to write as simply and clearly as possible. And design your page and organize your document well to make it as easy to read as possible.
This will help you communicate effectively with your readers. Plain language can also be perceived positively, for some organizations, plain language is: Talk about the legal problem, repeat yourself. People who cannot read learn compensatory skills. You have well-developed memories and can use mnemonic means – memory tools. They may ask you to repeat something so they can memorize it. You can also help by finding new ways to convey information: use plain language. People with low literacy can only cope with simple, clearly formulated written information in a familiar language and well organized. This training will teach you the basics of writing legal content in plain language. It is important that all parties involved have a common understanding of plain language – otherwise efforts in plain language are usually short-lived and difficult to sustain. Agreements quickly return to their complex versions. Thus, the client loses confidence in the whole process, in the lawyer and in his own ability to function effectively in legal situations.
By using simple language, you reduce your customers` frustration and increase their trust and relationship with you. This will boost your own confidence. In this pre-writing phase, you develop an action plan to convey the information to the reader in a way they can understand. They also visualize the final product. The time you need to do this depends on your experience with the type of writing project in question. However, remember that you have to constantly reinvent the product for each customer and legal situation, because you cannot rely on standard clauses and precedents. This evolution of Australian law firms should be a sign for the future. After all, commercial clients of Australian law firms today are willing to pay for simple legal services. One day, all over the world, clients will refuse to pay for legal services if they are not clear.
Most lawyers would not want to ask a client frankly, “Can you read?” But there are clues a lawyer can pick up if they suspect a client is unable to read the legal documents you want to read and understand. In a government office, you can write legal forms for experienced lobbyists or for people who feel at the mercy of the government. Each requires a different approach. You may not be able to meet the information requirements of both documents in the same document. It seems clear that the so-called plaintext movement is no longer a movement. Nevertheless, many key decision-makers in business and government see plain language as part of the consumer movement. This misunderstanding hinders progress in simple language. For this reason, simple language must be repositioned so that these decision-makers consider clear – and related – legal communication as important to the success of their business. I suggest one way to do that in clause 8. The Federal Judicial Centre has developed plaintext versions of various types of class actions.
After the prospectus was more or less complete, the client company changed its mind and decided that the shares would only be offered to institutional investors. The lawyers therefore rewrote the document in plain language in legal language. The mind fluctuates. Simple legal language is language that is clear and understandable to the intended reader. As the author of simple legal language, your goal is always to be understood. Sometimes you will try to be understood by the normal reader, but not always. Sometimes you know you only need to reach out to those who know the context and understand the terminology. The Law and Justice Foundation of New South Wales, Australia, “seeks to promote justice and equity in the justice system and to improve access to justice, particularly for the socially and economically disadvantaged.” The Foundation considers clear legal drafting to be an essential part of this objective. The website contains information on plain language writing instructions and access to their free bi-weekly plain text newsletter.
This passion for the cause is also evident in articles in the law journal Clarity, which regularly present the social and economic benefits of plain text. The organization Clarity describes itself as “a movement for the simplification of legal language” (5). There is still the word “movement”. Candice is a plaintext lawyer who combines the rigor of legal writing with best practices in communication. She focuses on legal and financial documents. She believes that even the most complex legal contract can and should be made available to her readers. Over the past 20 years, she has become known as an inspirational trainer and an impressive speaker. See CLARITY Legal Review No.
43 (May 1999). It includes plain language articles about practitioners who work as consultants and in-house in law firms, financial services organizations, accounting firms, legislative drafting offices and government agencies. For more information about the Clarity organization, see www.clarity-international.net. Typically, rewriting a document in simple language requires rethinking the entire document (content, language, structure, and design) while constantly focusing on the audience and the purpose of the communication. It is this approach that leads to successful communication. Articles of association and plain language legal documents will not eliminate the need for legal advice. Any statute must be read in conjunction with other statutes and the common law. No matter how clearly a law or legal document is written, a person needs a lawyer to explain the implications in their particular situation.
The legal profession is moving away from the convoluted design styles that were the norm. Pennsylvania`s Plain Language Consumer Contract Act requires contracts to be written in plain language. The purpose of plain language is to produce documents that truly represent a meeting of two parties to the dispute and are so easy to understand that they never need to be challenged in court. Too often, lawyers write for the Court of Appeal when they really only have to create a document that can be used and understood by some clients.
