Legal Research

The case for short legal communications

By Dan Michaluk

This is a reminder that we should be brief in making our point.

We know this, but often can’t resist saying more than we should. Our tendency to ramble is partly a function of ego. We’re smart, we know things and we want others to know we know things whether helpful or not. It’s also a function of fear. When we don’t trust our argument we layer on lesser alternatives that can harm more than help. Finally, it can be because we’re lazy or time pressed. Long and rambling is easy while focused is hard.

The “case for short” is not hard to make.

Have you ever heard a judge say, “I wish lawyers would write more lengthy facta?” Or a client say, “Please provide a more lengthy description of the law in you draft opinion?” Our audience members, like us, live in fast times. We know judges admire focus in argument. We know clients love us for giving clear answers with reasoning only as necessary. We should face up to what we know.

And don’t think that contracts are immune from the rule. This is especially the case in domains like employment law, in which employer advocates always face the challenge of winning cases despite a recognized imbalance of power. Why emphasize the imbalance by using gobs of legalese in employment contracts and policies?

Renegade American employment lawyer Jay Shepherd understands. He’s argued for a two word corporate blogging policy: “be professional.” Shepherd says, “If you’re concerned that your employees won’t understand what you mean by ‘be professional,’ then you have a management problem or an employee problem. Or both.” This tongue and cheek prescription for employment lawyers makes a great and more general point. We should only use as many words as our clients’ needs demand.

We’re lucky to be paid to communicate views to which others will listen. We should honour the privilege and respect our audiences by continuously striving for brevity in our practice.

Related reading

• Prospects for Change, Ken Adams
• Forget the windup and make the pitch, John Laskin J.A.
• Strategic Legal Writing: Preparing Persuasive Documents, Eugene Meehan
• The Power of Brevity: Adopt Abraham Lincoln’s Habits, Julie A. Oseid
• A two word corporate blogging policy, Jay Shepherd

Full post as published by Slaw.ca on September 02, 2009 (boomark / email).