Plain English Law Advice From Clear Law Solicitors
We have been informed by our clients that one of the qualities they look for in a law firm is the ability to communicate in a language they understand. Unfortunately, too often clients are often baffled by the legal jargon and antiquated language traditionally used by law firms.
The Word Centre
To resolve the language barrier and to prevent confusion Clear Law has been working closely with John Dwyer of the Word Centre to re-word letters sent to clients. The Word Centre is has been working with various organisations since 1996 to improve the way communicate.
We worked with John to re-word a number of documents including our client care letter and the law society’s standard conditional fee agreement. The re-drafted documents are no longer littered with legal jargon and are therefore more modern and accessible.
Plain English Accreditation
Following our work with the Word Centre we have been accredited with the ‘Plain English Approved’ standard awarded by the Word Centre. This is an affirmation by the Word Centre that our standard documents meet the highest standards of clarity.
Results of Clear Law’s embrace of the Plain English Ethos
The response to our re-vamp of our standard documents and our continued commitment to speak in plain English has been overwhelmingly positive.
Response from our clients:
Rachel Watts: “It’s important to me not to have to decipher letters because they are written in too much jargon – I don’t want to have to receive a letter and then make a phone call to have the letter explained to me. All the letters from Clear Law were very clear”.
Deborah Payne: “All the way through from the beginning to the end of my case the documents and everything else I received from Clear Law were easy to understand”.
Tamsin Constable, a professional writer, blogger and plain English campaigner picked up on Clear Law’s commitment to writing in plain English on her blog: http://tamsinconstable.com/?p=867.
Of course, Clear Law’s commitment to Plain English is an ongoing commitment and through working with the Word Centre and using the skills they have provided we hope to continue to communicate with our clients in a language they can understand!
If you would like to find out more about Clear Law’s commitment to Plain English please contact us on 0161 873 2740.
