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Imagine - Legal Writing in Plain English
4/26/99
What lawyers say does not have to be said in legalese. And the State Bar of Michigan can prove it. The State Bar has announced the winners of its eighth annual Clarity Awards for legal documents written in plain English. The Clarity Awards are sponsored by the State Bar’s Plain English Committee. "Our goal is simple," said committee chair George Hathaway. "We promote the use of clear writing by legal professionals. There is no reason why lawyers should write things that can only be read by other lawyers. Our profession is blinded by centuries of poor models. We want to offer some better models." The 1998 winners include private practitioners, state attorneys, city attorneys in Flint, Dearborn, and Sterling Heights, city officials in Grand Rapids and Ferndale, in-house counsel for General Motors, Ford Credit, and Standard Federal Bank, and the executive directors of Legal Aid of Southwest Michigan and Legal Aid of Central Michigan. The winning documents range from city resolutions to lawsuit papers to contracts. A complete list of winners appears in the March issue of the Michigan Bar Journal (a copy of the full article is online next to this release - 1999 Clarity Award Winners). Here are some examples of how plain English compares with typical legalese: Before (a court order): "It is ordered, adjudged, and decreed that Joseph Smith and G. John Smith be, and they are hereby, dismissed without prejudice." After (a court order by attorney Karen Mendelson): "It is ordered that Joseph Smith and G. John Smith are dismissed without prejudice." Before (part of a prospectus): "The Exasperatingly Long-Winded Corporation (hereinafter referred to as "Long-Winded"), for the purpose of enhancing the value of the businesses operated by Long-Winded’s subsidiary Huge Electronics, is proposing three related transactions, consent to which is required in order to accomplish the said transactions. The first transaction is as follows: Long-Winded proposes to spin off, and will upon approval spin off, the defense electronics business (sometimes hereinafter referred to as "Huge Defense") of Huge Electronics to Long-Winded’s common stockholders; and immediately subsequent to the spin-off Huge Defense will effect a merger with the Raygun Company. Based on the recent Raygun stock price, the aforementioned transactions have an indicated value of approximately nine and one half billion dollars ($9,500,000,000.00) . . . ." After (part of a prospectus by Warren Andersen, an attorney for General Motors Corporation): "We are proposing three related transactions to enhance the value of the businesses operated by our Hughes Electronics subsidiary. We need your consent to accomplish these ‘Hughes transactions.’ (1) We propose to spin off the defense electronics business of Hughes Electronics to our common stockholders. We call this business ‘Hughes Defense.’ Immediately after the spin off, Hughes Defense will merge with Raytheon Company. Based on the recent Raytheon stock price, these transactions have an indicated value of about $9.5 billion. . . ." May of 1999 marks the fifteenth anniversary of the "Plain Language" column in the Michigan Bar Journal. The column is edited by Prof. Joseph Kimble of Thomas Cooley Law School, who points to the enormous social costs of poor writing in business, government, and law. According to Kimble, "Using plain language in public documents could save untold millions – and help to restore faith in public institutions. These Clarity Awards prove that legal and official writing can be a lot clearer without sacrificing accuracy or precision. It just takes writers with the will and the skill to do it."
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