Legal Writing

Setting Law Firm Seminar Materials

I don’t know how this happened (though I know Microsoft facilitated it), but — so far as I can tell — the most common way to set type for law firm seminar materials is to use 12-pt Arial for body copy.

That’s a mistake because Arial isn’t for body copy; it’s for headings.

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The other day, I get an e-mail inviting me to a seminar hosted by a well known law firm that — you guessed it — uses 12-pt Arial for the body copy of its seminar materials.

Here’s a portion of the invite:

That portion of the invite is set in Arial (a mistake) and the lines are set too close together (another mistake). The result is that it’s not so easy to read. Readers quickly tire of copy set like this.

Let’s see what we can do to make things better. First, let’s put some space (leading) between the lines:

Note: the additional copy is adapted from the firm’s seminar invite.

That’s an improvement (it’s much less of a strain to read) but it still falls short. The copy needs to be set in a different typeface, one designed for use in body copy:

Compare that to the original (above).

Which would you say is easier to read? Which looks more  professional? Which makes the best impression?

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Now, let’s consider the copy, which isn’t as well written as it might be. Parts of it are fuzzy (e.g., a random increase in violence; unpredictable even though many (many what?) are predicting it; the reference to popular belief), and the whole thing is just too wordy.

Here’s what a skilled and experienced editor might do with it:

Note: the additional copy is adapted from the firm’s invite.

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Well then . . . does that seem like a worthwhile improvement over the original?

Full post as published by Set in Style on August 20, 2009 (boomark / email).