Legal Writing in Plain English

1. Clarity of Thought is Paramount in Legal Writing

What’s your biggest challenge as a writer? It’s figuring out, from the mass of possibilities, exactly what your points are—and then stating them coherently, with adequate reasoning and support.

Thinking Straight. Good legal writing begins with clear thinking. Before putting pen to paper, a lawyer must identify the core message and supporting arguments. A mushy, aimless style results from a lack of clarity. Even with a well-defined point, delaying its presentation diminishes its impact.

Law School Training. Law school exposes students to diffuse writing, requiring them to extract key points from lengthy cases and articles. While this develops analytical skills, it can also accustom students to accept and produce opaque prose. Effective legal writers must resist this tendency, prioritizing clarity and directness.

Reader-Centric Approach. The goal is to ensure that the reader never struggles to grasp the writer's meaning. This requires a focused mind that discards extraneous information and swiftly communicates ideas. The ability to penetrate obscurity as a reader must be matched by the ability to avoid it as a writer.

2. Planning Maximizes Efficiency in Writing

Fast writers never bring in the Judge that early in the writing process; this enables them to use the process to discover what they have to say.

Four-Step Process. Effective writing involves a four-step process: generating ideas (Madman), organizing them (Architect), drafting the text (Carpenter), and editing (Judge). Each step requires a distinct mindset and should be approached sequentially for optimal results. Resisting the urge to edit prematurely allows for a more fluid and creative writing process.

Nonlinear Outlining. A whirlybird, a nonlinear outlining technique, encourages brainstorming and free-form categorization. It helps writers discover key points and interconnections between ideas. By jotting down ideas without worrying about order, writers can tap into their creativity and avoid writer's block.

Benefits of Planning. Planning, especially using nonlinear methods, enhances creativity, facilitates categorization, and reduces stress. It allows writers to discover key points, distill thoughts, and confidently select the lead. A well-structured plan makes drafting easier and enables editors to focus on style and form.

3. Logical Sequencing Enhances Comprehension

Order your material in a logical sequence. Present facts chronologically. Keep related material together.

Chronological Order. Presenting facts in chronological order is crucial for clarity. Disruptions in the timeline can confuse readers and obscure the narrative. Starting a narrative in the middle of the story or with later events can make it difficult for readers to follow the sequence of events.

Logical Organization. Material should be organized logically, with related information grouped together. Avoid odd conventions like alphabetized organization in contracts, which can sacrifice clarity for the sake of tradition. Instead, prioritize the logic and chronology of the subject matter.

Before-and-After Example. The impact of logical sequencing can be seen in before-and-after examples. Revisions that emphasize historical perspective, transitional words, and clear connections between ideas significantly improve comprehension and engagement. The goal is to make the argument easy to track and dramatically compelling.

4. Strategic Division Improves Readability

Divide the document into sections, and sections into subparts as needed. Use informative headings.

Importance of Headings. Dividing a document into discrete, recognizable parts enhances readability. Headings help organize thoughts, provide readers with bearings, add visual variety, make the text skimmable, and signal transitions. They also facilitate the creation of a table of contents.

Paragraph Headings. Adding headings to paragraphs, even in transactional documents, improves clarity. Headings should be informative and descriptive, allowing readers to quickly grasp the content of each section. This practice can reveal organizational deficiencies and ensure that each paragraph fits logically within the overall structure.

Point Headings in Briefs. Judges emphasize the importance of point headings in briefs. Effective point headings are complete sentences, concise, capitalized normally, and contain both a conclusion and a reason. They help judges keep their bearings, see the organization, and focus on key points.

5. Conciseness Strengthens Impact

Omit needless words.

Benefits of Conciseness. Combating verbosity makes writing faster to read, crystallizes thoughts, and enhances impact. Both writers and readers benefit from streamlined prose. Cutting unnecessary words improves clarity and vigor.

Identifying Needless Words. The English language has vast potential for verbosity. Writers often lengthen sentences subconsciously. Reversing this process requires a critical sense and a willingness to delete words without sacrificing naturalness or idiomatic expression.

Maintaining Idiomatic Expression. While tightening prose, it's crucial to maintain a natural and idiomatic style. Avoid deleting articles or words whose omission would cause misreadings. The goal is to eliminate unnecessary words while preserving clarity and flow.

6. Strategic Sentence Structure Aids Understanding

Keep the subject, the verb, and the object together—toward the beginning of the sentence.

Subject-Verb Proximity. Sentences should be structured to keep related words together, especially the subject, verb, and object. Separating these vital elements with qualifiers or conditions can complicate understanding. Putting the subject and predicate near the beginning helps readers quickly identify the action.

Prioritizing Clarity. While chronological order is important, it can sometimes be secondary to keeping related words together. Prioritizing clarity may require reordering elements to ensure that the subject and predicate are easily identifiable. This approach enhances comprehension and reduces mental effort for the reader.

Listing Conditions Separately. When sentences contain numerous qualifiers or conditions, it can be helpful to list them separately. This technique breaks down complex information into manageable parts, making the sentence easier to understand. The goal is to present information in a way that matches the reader's natural expectations.

7. Precise Word Choice Eliminates Ambiguity

Learn to detest simplifiable jargon.

Avoiding Unnecessary Jargon. Every profession has its own jargon, but unnecessary jargon should be avoided. Legalisms, or legal jargon that has an everyday English equivalent, should be part of a lawyer's reading vocabulary, not writing vocabulary. Using plain English enhances clarity and precision.

Common Legalisms. Common legalisms like "as to," "herein," and "pursuant to" can be replaced with simpler, more direct words. While these legalisms might seem precise, they often add unnecessary complexity and do not lend additional clarity to the discussion.

Impact of Plain Language. Using plain language makes legal writing more accessible and understandable. It conveys a different impression, suggesting competence and respect for the reader. The goal is to communicate effectively, not to sound lawyerlike.

8. Active Voice and Positive Language Improve Clarity

Prefer the active voice over the passive.

Advantages of Active Voice. The active voice typically requires fewer words, better reflects chronological order, aligns with reader expectations, and makes writing more vigorous and lively. It saves words, says directly who does what, and makes for better, more interesting prose.

Identifying Passive Voice. Passive voice constructions can be identified by the presence of a be-verb (is, are, was, were) followed by a past-tense verb. Learning to spot and convert passive voice constructions is a valuable skill for improving writing clarity.

Using Positive Language. Recasting negative statements as positive ones saves readers from needless mental work. Positive language is more concise, direct, and emphatic. Avoiding multiple negatives enhances clarity and reduces confusion.

9. Strategic Use of Design Elements Enhances Readability

Use a readable typeface.

Importance of Typography. Document design, including typeface and page layout, is critical to readability. Readable typography enhances the overall appearance and makes the document more inviting. Strategic use of design elements improves the retrieval of information.

Readable Typeface. Use a readable serifed typeface that resembles what is commonly seen in magazines and books. Avoid typefaces like Courier, which are blocklike and crude-looking. A well-chosen typeface enhances the reading experience.

White Space. Create ample white space to break up dense passages. Techniques like section headings, frequent paragraphing, footnoted citations, set-off lists, and bullets contribute to white space. Meaningful use of white space makes the page look inviting and roomy.

10. Continuous Improvement is Essential for Effective Legal Writing

Remember that good writing makes the reader’s job easy; bad writing makes it hard.

Embracing Constructive Criticism. Writers must embrace constructive criticism to improve their skills. Seeking feedback from experienced editors and nonprofessional readers provides valuable insights. Testing legal documents on ordinary readers can reveal areas for improvement.

Systematic Self-Editing. The LawProse Editing Method provides a systematic approach to self-editing. It involves multiple passes, focusing on basic edits, refining edits, and structural edits. This method helps writers identify and correct errors they might otherwise overlook.

Lifelong Learning. Effective legal writing is a continuous journey. By cultivating empathy for readers, monitoring readerly likes and dislikes, and seeking ongoing improvement, writers can achieve clarity, precision, and impact in their prose. The goal is to make the reader's job easy, not hard.

Last updated: April 11, 2025