The work of translationusing common, everyday words avoid jargon avoid acronyms. Rocket lawyer is committed to making the law simpler, more affordable, and available to everyone. Document drafting handbook august 2018 edition revision 1. The a to z guide to legal phrases plain english campaign. In his book writing for dollars, writing to please. Directives may never be written in the plainest of plain language, but they should at least be understandable to reasonably literate, motivated people who are prepared to make an effort. Below is a list of common compound constructions and their simple counterparts. Plain language family law court forms in washington state charles r. The idea that lawyers can and should write in plain language is not new. Sep 18, 2019 director at the florida state university center for the advancement of human rights, files this brief in his capacity as a private citizen and is joined by the florida association of criminal defense lawyers facdl for purposes of raising a significant and otherwise elusive issue for the courts consideration within the context of these matters. Tony maher general manager of the plain english campaign and rudolf flesch readability expert about using readability indices. The book now covers the significant developments in plain language and the law.
Writing in plain english and legal writing have the same goal. Plain language organizations and linguistics departments could also offer programs to help law students and attorneys build plain language competency. Plain language is not easyboiling down complex laws written in formal and bureaucratic or legal language to ordinary, everyday language is. This book contains an extensive section on how to write in plain language, a clear description of the administrative justice system, and a glossary of some 200 legal terms defined in plain language. F a compliance guide for lawyers federal trade commission.
The guides are provided in adobe acrobat pdf format. Freight claims in plain english our transportation law expert provides shippers with a refresher course in the basic legal principles relating to claims for cargo loss and damage. Help with writing in plain language, readability of. Writing in plain english and legal writing have the same. Naturally, in certain types of binding documents in private law such as wills the.
Sandeep dave provides advice to legal writers in plain language in law. If new laws are to have broad public acceptance and enhance the quality of the statute book, they must. If you offer mortgage assistance relief services or work with companies that do its wise to know about the provisions of the mortgage assistance relief services mars rule. Peggy bivens, implementing plain language into legal documents. English a boon for lawyers, the second draft legal writing institute, oct.
Have objected to the obscurity of lawyers language for many centuries. Many institutions and organizations have important roles to play in encouraging already. The court of appeal reversed, holding that the exact language. Need for foreign language and plain english translation tools in legal services translation of legal documents into other languages requires a person who is skilled at general plain language translation, fluent in both languages, and familiar with legal conventions. Ftc facts for business f or t he c onsumer 1877ftchelp ftc. In that time plain language has taken off in leaps and bounds. Its a collection of over a thousand common legal terms defined in simple, everyday language. As part of the departments continuing effort to spread the word about the fmla and make the fmla more accessible, whd is releasing an employee guide to the fmla, a 16page, plain language booklet designed to answer common fmla questions and clarify who can take fmla leave and what protections the fmla provides. Plain english for lawyers carolina academic press pdf. But there are still legal phrases that baffle non lawyers. Support for plainwriting is growing in the legal professions, which bring us some. Lawyers tend to use compound constructions rather than plain english, which is a mistake. Again it is the lawyers, the lawyers who advise and direct every.
Michele m asprey has comprehensively revised and updated plain language for lawyers for this 3rd edition. Plain english using plain language in law firms by edward kerr m allesons stephen jaques has had a plain language policy since 1986. Wayne schiess teaches legal writing, legal drafting, and plain english and speaks frequently on those subjects. Christopher williams, legal language and plain language. If you do, make sure you explain it if your audience does not have legal knowledge. Plain language is a regular feature of the michigan bar journal, edited by joseph kimble for the state bars plain english committee. He writes a monthly column on legal writing for austin lawyer magazine, and he has written five books on practical legalwriting skills, including legal writing nerd.
In the spirit of this goal, weve created the plain language legal dictionary. Good lawyers use plain english and avoid jargon and legalese. Buy plain language legal writing by cheryl stephens ebook online at lulu. Simple language and detailed structure makes it easy for employees to find the information they are looking for in the manual. The column is the longestrunning legalwriting column in any journal. The institute has over 1,300 members representing all of the abaaccredited law schools in the united states. It should be borne in mind that the latin used by the legal profession was adapted to the needs of english law and that it eventually 112 legal english and plain language. Future use an evaluation existing translation technology. Practical tips for courts research shows that when litigants believe the court process is fair, they are more likely to comply with court orders and the law generally. The assistant editor is george hathaway, chair of the committee.
Clear, plain language also prevents misinterpretation of information and ensures everyone is on the same page. Skreen, josefina cerrilloramirez, andrew lee, and bill hinsee abstract about 65 percent of family law litigants in washington state come to. The technical communicators role 2008 unpublished m. The case for plain language in business, government, and. We have a series of guides which we provide free of charge on this site. This guide, which represents the views of ftc staff and is not. Siben plain language and simplification cle materials. Wydicks plain english for lawyers now in its fifth edition has been a favorite of law students, legal writing teachers. All books are in clear copy here, and all files are secure so dont worry about it. Apr 15, 2020 the plain language action and information network plain is a community of federal employees dedicated to the idea that citizens deserve clear communications from government. Plain language for lawyers pdf should not or cannot write in plain pdf xchange vs foxit 2011 language. As justice clarence thomas once said, the beauty is not to write a five cent idea in a ten dollar sentence but rather to put a ten dollar idea in a five cent sentence. If your memory is short, keep a card file of slain redundancies.
Read online plain english for lawyers carolina academic press book pdf free download link book now. Not only do they waste space, but they make writing seem dry and boring. As the schoolboy put it, ours is a government of lawyers, not of men. Victoria law foundation plain language and good communication 7 technical terms sometimes you may find it necessary to use a technical or legal term. Plain language in the legal profession plainlanguage. Sarahs published articles in chronological order 1. Plain language legal writing by cheryl stephens ebook lulu. Download plain language state bar of michigan book pdf free download link or read online here in pdf.
Its membership also includes law teachers from other nations, english teachers, and practicing lawyers. In both his article, the language of jury instructions, and his manual. Mysterious in form and expression, it is larded with lawlatin and normanfrench, heavily dependent on the past, and unashamedly archaic. The committee seeks to improve the clarity of legal writing and the public opinion of lawyers by eliminating legalese. Many lawyers are now adopting a plain english style.
This was first seen in the citibank case,where a promissory note was drafted using plain language. Recently, a collaboration among a number of interested parties in british columbia has resulted in a pilot project selfhelp information centre for selfrepresented litigants in. Plain language for the legal assistant preparing enclosure. Plain language state bar of michigan pdf book manual free. The premise behind the plain english movement is that legal documents ought to be. If you use acronyms, be sure to let people know what they stand for. Plain language and good communication victoria law foundation. Legalese versus plain language by peter butt legal english has traditionally been a special variety of english. This concept called procedural justice refers to the. Ten free guides as pdf files, including how to write in plain english, a to z of alternative. In the private sector, plain language has saved time and money for many organizations. At the same time, the process of revising into plain language will often reveal all kinds of necessary detail. It is not the businessmen, no matter how big, who run our economic world. If you cannot read pdf files on your computer, you will need to download adobe reader.
But there are still legal phrases that baffle nonlawyers. This thesis discusses the benefits of using plain language in legal documents and the role. Statement from tony maher general manager of the plain english campaign we always warn people not to rely totally on readability indices. A compliance guide for lawyers m any people who have trouble paying their mortgages seek legal assistance. The plain language action and information network plain is a community of federal employees dedicated to the idea that citizens deserve clear communications from government. Jun 14, 2014 since people couldnt defend themselves in court due to the lack of legal understanding and expensive lawyers,they wanted the law to be made according to their capacity and understanding. Plain english for lawyers passed laws that require documents such as insurance policies and conswner contracts to be written in plain language.
Pdf as a lawyer, you spend much of your time writing so why not do it well. As another example, in law french, the french that the english attorneys. Read online plain language state bar of michigan book pdf free download link book now. Download plain english for lawyers carolina academic press book pdf free download link or read online here in pdf. Pdf plain language for lawyers download full pdf book. There is only a concentration of all government power in the lawyers.