No More Gobbledygook, Use Plain English!  
by Jane Wang (by 2009 Academy participant fromTaiwan)

Legal writing has long been criticized for being too complicated. Just like the word “gobbledygook”, it’s too difficult for a lay person to understand. A campaign of writing in plain English would like to bring lawyers back to the earth. We are lucky to be part of this revolution.

In the three-day “Legal Drafting” course we had with Bryan Garner, we learned critical principles to make things we draft friendly and readable. The basic ones are: (1) framing your thoughts; (2) phrasing your sentences; and (3) choosing your words.

The principles above do not only apply to legal drafting, they apply to ALL written pieces. They are fundamental. If we have something to say, we have to think it through first. Then we have to order it in a logical sequence, making it clear by dividing it into sections, omitting needless words, using simplified phrases, etc. One simple test is: speaking the paragraphs out. If you bite your own tongue or become breathless, revise it.

In addition to the basic principles, practical tips for legal drafting include bearing in mind to draft for an ordinary reader (instead of a mythical judge), deleting every “shall”, replace “and/or”, cutting provisions you don’t understand, etc. I can’t help laughing when Mr. Garner taught these tips. Being a lawyer and having reviewed tons of legal documents, I understand how confused a reader can be. If we don’t even understand the documents we have, how can we expect that the document can be used for important transactions or litigation

Bryan Garner is an evangelist of plain English. Although we don’t have to delete all traditional, elegant words from our legal works, it is a wonderful reminder for us to use plain English in preparing documents. What Garner preached is helpful for lawyers and clients. If we believe a lawyer’s duty is to prevent disputes, we had better make the contracts clear on the paper. If we believe a lawyer’s duty is to solve problems, we had better not create new ones by delivering lengthy legal opinions to our client.

After all, our professionalism is not built on mysterious terms and phrases we use. Rather, it is built on our ability to reach the clients’ needs. This, of course, includes the capability to communicate, to understand, and to be understood. Writing in plain English is a good start. And the achievement will be great.