Plain English Legal Writing for Lawyers in 7 Simple Steps

Plain English legal writing is clear and understandable legal information a reader can read, understand, and act upon in one reading. Legal writing in plain English is part of legal design. Legal design is a process for lawyers to deliver complex legal information to users, taking a human-centered, user-first approach. Legal design empowers legal consumers.

Lawyers writing in plain English follow these steps.

• Define the reader and understand the audience.
• Identify the key message the document is delivering.
• Know what action the reader must take after reading the document.
• Ensure the language is simple, direct, and understandable after one reading.
• Use conversational and active voice.
• Erase all non-essential words and legal jargon.
• Ask a friend to read the document to confirm understanding.

Plain English legal writing makes the law accessible and saves users time, headaches, and money. Governments are mandating plain language in legal documents in several countries, including the United States and the European Union. Plain English for lawyers gives lawyers the freedom to deliver legal services in ways their clients understand. Happy legal clients mean more business for lawyers.

What is Plain English

Plain English is clear, straightforward, and written for everyday people to understand.  Plain English is written for readers to comprehend the subject regardless of the reader’s knowledge of the topic. Plain English is part of plain language and information design. Plain language writing ensures the reader understands quickly, easily, and completely. Plain English and clear language documents avoid jargon and verbosity and are easy to read, use, and act upon.

What is Plain English Legal Writing

Plain English legal writing removes legalese and complex legal jargon and conveys legal information the reader can understand readily and concisely. Plain English legal writing allows readers to act upon the information in one reading.  Clear, simple legal writing is understandable without asking for clarification or consulting a dictionary.  

Legal writing in plain English is part of legal design. Legal design presents complex legal information to legal consumers in the most user-friendly, understandable, and empowering way.

7 Steps to Writing Legal Documents in Plain English

1. Define the Audience

Decide who is reading or using the legal content and why. Non-lawyers have different needs, expectations, and comprehension of legal topics. Identify the key message the reader must understand and the action they need to take and decide which communication method is best suited for achieving the outcome. 

Involve your users in the process. Understand the challenges and ask about preferred communication methods. The best lawyers define complex concepts in plain language and refine the document to capture the key message and action required. Lawyers communicate effectively when they understand the audience and give them information they are able to consume, understand, and act upon. 

Lawyers who fill legal documents with every possible scenario overwhelm clients with unnecessary information.

2. Identify the Key Message

Identifying the key message allows lawyers to organize the content in the way the user wants to consume it. Lawyers drafting in plain English present the content with the user front of mind. Give the user the information required at the beginning of the document. Traditional legal documents are written in chronological order and contain unnecessary information, and the user is unable to find the information they want. Empower the reader by giving them the information they want fast.

• Get straight to the point.
• Place the important information at the beginning of the text. 
• Headings and a clear table of contents help the user to find relevant information. Use long-tail headings to detail the sections for easy navigation to sections the user is interested in.
• Use simple language, short sentences, and bullet points.
• Place the legal explanations in the document by the user’s priority. (My experience shows users rarely want legal justification. Users want the answer.)

3. Identify the next steps

• Outline the next steps clearly. Make the steps obvious and put them at the top of the document. The legal environment and user situation are intimidating and the user wants answers. Empathy underpins all plain English communication and design thinking.
• I know this is tough stuff, and you’ll get way out of your comfort zone plenty of times, and I promise it will be worth it.

4. Ensure the reader understands after one reading

The aim of writing legal documents in plain English is for the reader to understand the document after one reading. Presenting the reader with concise, simple documents is the beginning. The layout of the document, using large fonts, signposts, and other visual law cues, entices the reader to read the document – and understand it after one reading.

• Use words that help your reader understand the message and delete everything else. 
• Be concise. Deliver your information comprehensively and precisely. Every word adds value to your message. Direct and simple is always best. 
• Never use the first draft. Check every sentence and paragraph and make it as short as possible while conveying the necessary information the reader needs. 
• Make extra information available with an external link. 
• Use short sentences, active voice, and direct word order. Use sentences with less than 15 words.

5. Write using a conversational tone of voice

A conversational tone of voice is a one-on-one conversation with you and your reader. Conversational writing makes it easier for users to comprehend information. Use easy-to-understand words that are simple and concise.

• Ask questions.
• Use common words relevant to the topic.
• Use “you” and “we.” 
• Provide options. 
• Ensure the words flow as you answer the questions. 
• Write the document the same way you explain the issue to a friend over coffee.

6. Erase all non-essential words and legal jargon

Delete all words that don’t help the user understand the message.  Edit the first draft and remove one-third of the words. Ask whether the document is understandable after one read. Legal documents that require the reader to ask questions need more editing.  Always look for the simplest word by using synonyms. Use the shortest and least complex synonyms. 

Legal writing in plain English requires legal words. Provide a brief, user-friendly definition rather than using complex explanations with legal terms only lawyers understand. User-friendly language means simple language and enriching the content with explanations of the legal terms in simple ways. 

Remove all legal jargon or legalese, or add short explanations. Legal jargon and legalese include words like “herein,” “indemnify and hold harmless,” “wherein,” “force majeure,” and “in witness whereof.”

7. Ask a friend to read the document to confirm understanding

Asking a friend to read the document is a valuable way to test the plain language. Lawyers are taught to write and present legal information in a specific way. Unlearning takes practice. Getting a non-lawyer colleague to read the document and tell you what it says is a powerful way to improve plain English legal writing skills.

Can I use plain English if my firm uses precedent documents?

Yes, you can use plain English if your firm uses precedent documents. Create plain English summaries your end-user reads to understand and act upon. Law firms and in-house protocols demand heavy, legal, cumbersome communication. Presenting a first page that is a light, easy-to-understand summary of the situation written in plain English, your end-user will be delighted. 

I’ve seen it.

Friend. No law requires you to hold on to the old ways of doing things. You have permission (and an obligation) to improve access to the law. Plain English writing is a very easy place to start.

Take a document you use and read it. Read it and think about what you could change about it so it could be understood with one reading. It’s a challenge and isn’t as simple as you think.

I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.

Mark Twain

Why is Plain English Legal Writing Essential for Lawyers

• Plain English makes sense. Why are legal documents so complicated it takes the eloquence of lawyers to argue about what they mean?
• Clients expect it. Simple.
• Plain English legal writing empowers your customers because when they understand their options, rights, and opportunities, they can make informed decisions without relying on lawyers to show them the way.
• In the same way, the user can take action to avoid mistakes, manage risk, and increase their compliance.
• Plain English legal writing supports commerce because contracts in plain language mean lawyers argue less about legal words and clauses and close contracts quickly.
• Plain English legal writing saves the user time and money.  Plain language frees lawyers to explore new ways of delivering legal services by working smarter, not harder. (Working smarter, not harder, is the real beauty of legal design thinking in action).
• Plain English legal writing is a legal requirement for companies registering securities under the Securities Act in the United States. The US Plain Writing Act requires all federal agencies to communicate using language that is easy to understand
• The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts mandates plain and intelligible language in the United Kingdom.
• The Plain English Campaign has been campaigning for plain language in the United Kingdom since 1979.
• The General Data Protection Regulation requires companies to use plain language to explain how they use the personal data they collect from European consumers.
• Plain language writing is the future of law.

7 Signs Your Document is Written in Plain English

• You know your reader.
• You deliver the key message.
• The reader knows the next step to take.
• The reader understands the document after reading it once. 
• The tone of voice is conversational, informal, and one-on-one.
• There are no non-essential words or legalese.
• Your friend understands the document after reading it once.