Journal Article: Library Terms that Users (Don’t) Understand

The journal College & Research Libraries has published an article entitled Library Terms that Users (Don’t) Understand: A Review of the Literature from 2012-2021:

"This paper compares website usability—specifically library users’ understanding of library terms—for fifty-one original research studies between 2012-2021, with the findings of John Kupersmith’s 2011 white paper 'Library Terms That Users Understand. Studies reported approximately twice as many terms that users didn’t understand than terms users did understand, with some terms appearing in both categories. Analysis of the findings suggests a majority of Kupersmith’s guidelines remain applicable to today’s online environment, with some adjustments related to technology advances (...)"

"John Kupersmith iteratively revised and published a white paper summarizing best practices for using library terms, originally gleaned from findings of library usability research published between 1997 to 2008. He later included studies published from 2009 to 2011. His paper presented seven best practices:

1. Test to see what users do and don’t understand and what terms they most strongly relate to.
2. Avoid—or use with caution—terms that users often misunderstand.
3. Use natural language equivalents on top-level pages.
4. Enhance or explain potentially confusing terms.
5. Provide intermediate choices when a top-level menu choice presents ambiguities that can’t be resolved in the space available.
6. Provide alternative paths where users are likely to make predictable “wrong” choices.
7. Be consistent to reduce cognitive dissonance and encourage learning through repetition."

"Acknowledging the enduring usefulness of Kupersmith’s white paper, as well as the significant changes in both user interfaces and user expectations since 2011, we wished to provide updated results for library practitioners and library web developers, including a review of whether Kupersmith’s summary findings still hold true. In this paper we present an analysis of original research studies conducted between 2012-2021 with findings related to library users’ understanding of library terms, and compared these findings with Kupersmith’s work." 

Law Society of Ireland Article on Plain Language

The Law Society of Ireland Gazette recently published an article called Mind your language that discusses the advantages of drafting legal documents using accessible, understandable terminology, or what is described as "plain language"

The practice has been spreading gradually in many fields including law, and the International Standards Organisation is even expected to produce a standard for plain language this year.

The article offers examples of plain language from a number of countries, like the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and of course Ireland.

Australian Law Reform Commission on User-Friendly Legislation

The Australian Law Reform Commission has published an article on User-friendly legislation: Why we need it, and how to achieve it:

"In our view, the design, drafting, and publication of legislation in Australia needs a fundamental re-think based on ‘user-experience’. This would promote legislation that is more coherent, navigable, and which communicates its message as simply and clearly as possible."

"After discussing the need for user-friendly legislation, this article outlines three potential means by which this could be achieved: 

• first, by drafting legislation that is simpler and more intuitive in its expression and structure;
• second, by helping users of legislation navigate and comprehend it by providing ‘knowledge tools’; and
• third, by improving the law-making process generally, including by soliciting and integrating user feedback, and through undertaking more regular reviews."

 

 

Forthcoming Article on Plain Language Laws in the United States

The SSRN research platform has published an article on The Rise of Plain Language Laws that will be published in a  forthcoming issue of the University of Miami Law Review. The author is Michael Blasie (Pennsylvania State University):

"When lawmakers enacted 778 plain language laws across the United States, no one noticed. Apart from a handful, these laws went untracked and unstudied. Without study, large questions remain about these laws’ effects and utility, and about how they inform the adoption or rejection of plain language."

"This Article creates a conceptual framework for plain language laws to set the stage for future empirical research and normative discussions on the value of plain language. It unveils the first nationwide empirical survey of plain language laws to reveal their locations, coverages, and standards. In doing so, the Article creates a systematic method to find these laws. Then it coins categories and terminology to describe their coverage and standards, thus creating a timely launchpad for future scholarship on domestic and international plain language laws. Along the way, the Article exposes the previously unknown scope of these laws—from election ballots and insurance contracts to veterans housing and consumer contracts to regulatory drafting and governor reports. That scope underscores the pervasive influence of plain language across public and private sectors, and over lawyers and non-lawyers alike. More, the survey reveals significant intrastate and interstate variations and trends in coverages and standards. With this knowledge, for the first-time empirical research can more precisely measure the benefits and costs of plain language laws while controlling for variables." [from the abstract]

It is easy to sign up for an account to gain access to hundreds of thousands of articles in dozens of disciplines including law.

 

Geek in Review Podcast - Episode on Plain Language

The most recent episode of the Geek in Review Podcast by US law librarian Greg Lambert (and others) is available.

Lambert is a former president of the American Association of Law Libraries.

The podcast features guests who are prominent in the field of plain language in legal writing:

• Neil Guthrie – Director, Professional Development, Research, and Knowledge Management, at Aird & Berlis LLP in Toronto and author of Guthrie’s Guide to Better Legal Writing.
• Chris Trudeau – Law and Medical Professor at the University of Arkansas/ Little Rock and author of The Public Speaks: An Empirical Study of Legal Communication. 
• Jesse Katz – Litigation Editor at O’Melveny and Myers, as well as a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist before taking on his editing role.
• Sara Harris – editor for the American Lawyer’s Young Lawyer Editorial Board.

Supreme Court of Canada Publishes Its First Annual Year in Review

Last Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada released its first ever Year in Review, an annual document describing the Court’s activities in the preceding year.

In his introductory message, the Chief Justice of the Court, the Rt. Hon. Richard Wagner, writes:

"Our first judges could never have imagined how technologies like cable news, social media, and smartphones would change our world. Today, these are the media through which many Canadians learn about and interact with their public institutions, including the Court."

"The Supreme Court, its judges, and staff are dedicated to finding ways to better serve you. We’re leveraging technology and new media to better communicate with you, wherever you live, in both of Canada’s official languages."

"This document is part of that. We’ve also become more active on social media (Facebook and Twitter); please follow us! And we’ve started publishing Cases in Brief that explain our decisions in plain language, so everyone can understand them."

International Plain Language Conference in Montreal in October

Clarity, an international professional association that promotes the use of plain legal language, is holding its 2018 conference in Montreal from October 25 to 27.

Membership includes judges, lawyers, government representatives, legislative drafters, writing instructors, NGOs and business people.

Speakers will tackle topics such as reader-centered communications, approaches to teaching plain language, accessibility in the digital age, etc.

The Chief Justice of Canada, The Right Honourable Richard Wagner, will be the guest of honour and speaker at the opening reception.

Tomorrow the Supreme Court of Canada Will Start Publishing Plain Language Case Summaries

Starting tomorrow, the Supreme Court of Canada will publish Cases in Brief on the Court website, and on its Facebook and Twitter accounts. These are short, plain-language summaries of Supreme Court decisions.

The first such Case in Brief will be made available tomorrow at noon in the case of Carson v. The Queen.

In a statement released today to Court staff, Chief Justice Richard Wagner writes:

"We’re doing this because we want to be more transparent and accessible to Canadians—but we’re also doing it because we must. The reality is that there are fewer journalists covering the Court than ever, and those who remain are pulled in many different directions. This is an attempt to fill the gap."

"This initiative has been in the works for some time, beginning under former Chief Justice McLachlin. Because many people are involved, we have been developing the process over the last few months to find the best method and format. I personally want to thank all the staff who have helped with this, particularly the jurilinguists, law clerks, and legal counsel (...)"

"The work this Court does is important, and I strongly believe this initiative is necessary. The Court has always strived to be transparent and accessible to the Canadian public, and that’s exactly what we’re doing."

England's Lord Chief Justice Asked to Ditch Wigs, Gowns and Legalese

According to Solicitors Journal, a group called the Criminal Justice Alliance is calling on the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, the head of the British judiciary, to review the use of wigs, gowns, and legalese in the Crown Court.

The Crown Court is a criminal court of original and appellate jurisdiction in England and Wales.

The article explains that a recent reported done at Birkbeck University of London found that many court users often felt marginalized by the delays, chaos and scheduling problems.

The wigs and gowns worn by legal professionals were also alienating asd they created a sense of "other-worldliness".

The Birkbeck report is entitled Structured mayhem:Personal experiences of the Crown Court.

Earlier Library Boy posts about British legal fashion oddities include:

• More Court Changes in the UK (April 7, 2006): "The Judiciary of England and Wales has launched a new website that includes current court rulings, judges' speeches, court reports on legal issues, information on what UK judges do, and quizzes to educate the public on how the UK court system works... And yes, the website even has lots of materials on why UK magistrates have to wear those funny looking wigs."
• Oh No: UK Judges To Lose Their Wigs! (October 3, 2006): "Apparently, according to The Times, there is lots of pressure from different quarters to get rid of the headgear that goes back to the Restoration Era of the late 17th-century. I say: No, No, No! ... The role of the Brits on this planet is to preserve silly old traditions. Give up the wigs? What's next? Driving on the right side of the road? The tabloids becoming respectable? Edible cuisine? Republicanism? 
• UK Judges Throw Off Their Wigs (January 6, 2007): "Yesterday, The Guardian reported in an article entitled Civil court judges prepare to cast aside their wigs after 300 years that a consensus seems to have emerged that civil court judges will abandon their head coverings. However, wigs will remain de rigueur fashion in the criminal courts, at least for now ..."

New Study Supports the Wikibook Model of Public Legal Education

This is an update to the Library Boy post of October 19, 2015 entitled New Guide for Self-Representing Litigants in British Columbia.

That post referred to a new wikibook on legal research for the general public launched by Courthouse Libraries BC. Wikibooks are e-books created using the same platform as the collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia.

Courthouse Libraries BC has a public legal education website called Clicklaw that produces its collection of wikibooks.

The Clicklaw blog last week posted an article about a recent evaluation of one of its wikibooks, JP Boyd on Family Law:

"During the five-month data collection period, an estimated 63,000 users accessed the wikibook. Our evaluation showed that users consider the wikibook to be a highly informative resource. It is used both by members of the public and legal professionals, and many users had accessed the site on more than one occasion. Most users said that the wikibook is easy to use, they knew more after visiting the wikibook than they had before, and they would recommend the wikibook to others. Almost all users found the wikibook useful, agreed that they were able to find the information they needed quickly and easily, and were able to understand that information."

"When asked what they liked best about the wikibook, the most common responses were that the website is easy to navigate, easy to understand, and very informative. When asked what they liked least about the wikibook, the most common comments were that, despite the significant breadth of the resource, it did not have the information they were looking for or the information they found was not presented in sufficient depth."

"Interestingly, only one-third of users who said that they were currently dealing with a legal problem said that they had a lawyer. Most users with a legal problem said that the information in the wikibook helped them to deal with their problem and that the information would help them in the future.  Further, our findings suggest that the wikibook is being used by a large number self-represented litigants, as well as residents in smaller communities where access to legal information may be limited."

Upcoming Toronto Meeting on Librarian and Justice Partnerships

This is a follow-up to the Library Boy post of September 5, 2015 entitled Access to Justice Initiatives at Local Libraries.

The Community Advocacy & Legal Centre is organizing a meeting on Thursday, October 29 at the offices of the Law Society of Upper Canada on Queen St. in downtown Toronto to discuss how justice partners and librarians can together enhance access to legal services in Ontario's rural and remote communities.

The meeting will go from 10 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon. Registration is free but places are limited. The deadline for registering is September 30.

Organizers want to:

• Raise awareness about the prevalence of common legal problems with significant impacts if left unresolved
• Learn about the need for credible and plain language legal information caused by a growing access to justice crisis in Canada.
• Learn about interesting initiatives in Ontario and across Canada and in other countries like Australia and the U.S. and hear from B.C. Courthouse Librarian Janet Freeman about their innovative Law Matters program, Wikibooks, and ClickLaw website initiatives.
• To provide fodder and inspiration for potential new projects and new prototypes to make a real difference in our communities.
• Help you take action with new partners.

Public Legal Education Association of Canada Conference in Vancouver

The next national conference of the Public Legal Education Association of Canada (PLEAC) is taking place in Vancouver on October 9-10, 2013.

PLEAC is a nation-wide, non-profit organization that promotes public legal education.

Here are a few of the sessions at the conference:

• Legal Education for Everyone (keynote address by Sarah McCoubrey, Executive Director, Ontario Justice Education Network)
• Legal Capability a Shared Responsibility
• What’s in your information rack? (panel discussion on legal triage and referral services)
• Advancing Legal Education (How do we build legal literacy skills amongst diverse community groups)?

The PLEAC event is being held in conjunction with the 9th Annual Plain Language Conference.

Library Terms That Users Understand

It's always good to be reminded that library jargon is Gobbledygook to many users.

John Kupersmith, a California-based librarian, has created a webpage called Library Terms That Users Understand:

"This site is intended to help library web developers decide how to label key resources and services in such a way that most users can understand them well enough to make productive choices. It compiles data from usability studies evaluating terminology on library websites, and suggests test methods and best practices for reducing cognitive barriers caused by terminology"

According to Kupersmith, usability studies indicate that oft misunderstood terms include database, interlibrary loan, index, periodical.

[Source: Peter Scott's Library Blog]

Helping Self-Represented Litigants With Literacy Problems

This week's issue of The Lawyers Weekly reports on how Ontario judges are trying to help self-represented litigants with low literacy levels understand court proceedings [Frozen moment of judicial compassion]:

"The growing number of self-represented litigants in family court is alarming. But even more alarming is the fact that a significant percentage of self-represented people lack the basic literacy skills to properly understand their proceedings. Canada-wide, 15 per cent of adults have serious problems dealing with any written materials and a further 27 per cent struggle with anything beyond simple reading tasks (...)"

"The National Judicial Institute has been aware of the literacy problem in the courts for some time and has provided seminars and resources so that judges are sensitive to the issue. Now it’s time for lawyers to become equally aware. Justice [Stanley] Sherr [Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto] recalls one case in which the stakes were high — the Children’s Aid Society was seeking Crown wardship with no access to the parents — and luckily he was advised just before the trial that one of the parties might have problems reading the affidavit evidence of the Children’s Aid. 'I made a ruling that the direct evidence had to go in viva voce instead of by affidavit, and that the party could bring in a support person to help read the materials'."

"The justices are quick to point out that while these accommodations may lengthen the time required for trial, the primary goal of the court system is not efficiency but justice. Nevertheless, it’s important to enable those with low literacy to be fully engaged in their proceedings and to allow justice to be efficiently administered. Justice Sherr advises that low literacy is now acknowledged as an access to justice issue, and in Ontario there are accessibility co-ordinators in each courthouse."

What Judges Learn in Writing School

Today's issue of the Toronto Star has an interesting article about writing courses for judges:

"The culture is shifting."

"Instead of writing with only lawyers or appeal courts in mind, many judges now consider their most important readers to be the public — and the losing party."

"Justice Jeremy Nightingale, who presides in Meadow Lake, Sask. and northern fly-in communities, is an example of how far things have come."

"He often gives copies of his decisions to his neighbour, a farmer, to make sure they’re readable."

" 'I want someone with little or no education to understand what I’m doing,' Nightingale said."

"And that raises an unusual new controversy"

"In a quest to hook their readers, can judges go too far? To some of their colleagues, a few judges are enjoying the writing process a bit too much, turning out prose worthy of a detective novel and crossing a line into bad taste."

Quebec Bar Association Releases Plain Language Guide

The Barreau du Québec (Quebec Bar Association) has published a new guide on the use of plain language in law, Le langage clair : Un outil indispensable à l'avocat (in French).

The guide contains:

• definitions and advantages of plain language
  
• a few rules for using plain language
  
• hints on how to explain legal issues and notions
  
• examples of difficult and confusing legal expressions and turns of phrase

Related Library Boy posts that deal with plain language include:

• Plain Language Resources for Law, Business, Government, and Life (August 9, 2005): "Clear language or plain language refers to jargon-free, understandable language. For the past 20 years or more, an international movement has been working to make the language used in law, health information, financial services, commerce and business more accessible. Plain language does NOT mean dumbed down or simplistic vocabulary."
• Move Toward Plain Language in Canadian Court Decisions (November 7, 2005): "Saturday's Globe and Mail contains an article by Richard Blackwell entitled 'Doing the write thing: Judges used to put out decisions that were incomprehensible. Now they are sometimes even eloquent. The writing lessons didn't hurt'... As the article explains, the Supreme Court has been removing Latin words from its rulings and altering the format to make them easier to follow for people reading electronic versions on a website. The clear language push is also being promoted in Canada by such organizations as the National Judicial Institute and the Montreal-based Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, where new judges have their writing critiqued by English professors."
• Plain Language Legal Writing (January 22, 2006): "The Canadian Bar Association's PracticeLink has just published its third in a series of articles on plain language in legal writing: Mastering Modern Legal Correspondence."
• Myths About the Complexity of Legal Language (November 17, 2006): "The Social Science Research Network has published a forthcoming article on Some Myths about Legal Language by Professor Peter Tiersma of the Loyola Law School in Los Angeles (...) Excerpts from the final section of the full-text: (...) 'Thus, the main obstacle to writing the law in plain English is that, unless the law itself is vastly simplified, it will require the use of so many words that there will be nothing plain about it. Most advocates of plain English recognize this problem. Although they continue to agitate for plainer language in legal documents, including statutes, they realize that many parts of the law are too complex to allow them to be fully and comprehensibly explained to ordinary citizens. They therefore advocate that those legal areas in which citizens have particular interest, like criminal law, be officially summarized and explained'."
• George Orwell and Plain Language in Law (June 25, 2007): "Judith D. Fischer, University of Louisville - Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, has an article on the Social Science Research Network entitled Why George Orwell's Ideas About Language Still Matter for Lawyers. The article deals with the use of clear language in legal writing but also analyses the use of deceit in legal and political discourse in the United States ..."
• British Parliamentary Publication on Use and Abuse of Official Language (December 7, 2009): "The Public Administration Committee of the British House of Commons recently published a report entitled Bad Language: The Use and Abuse of Official Language that deals with the damage done by unclear, inaccurate and confusing language in official documents (...)"
• Éducaloi Conference on Plain Language and the Law (September 7, 2010): "Éducaloi, a non-profit organization that specializes in public legal education in Quebec, is organizing a conference in Montreal on October 21st and 22nd on the topic of plain language and the law (...) We hope to win you over with a unique program and the quality of our speakers and panellists, who include several guests from the rest of Canada and abroad. Choose from 17 workshops covering a wide range of topics, including Plain Language and the Art of Drafting Judgments, Revisiting the Language of Contracts, Providing Legal Information Using Social Media and Head to Head: the Journalist and the Expert."
  

Éducaloi Conference on Plain Language and the Law

Éducaloi, a non-profit organization that specializes in public legal education in Quebec, is organizing a conference in Montreal on October 21st and 22nd on the topic of plain language and the law:

"Lawyers, notaries, judges, commissioners, legislative drafters, linguists, journalists and communicators will mull over the many facets of legal plain language. Our challenge? To push forward our thinking and practices in this field!"

"We hope to win you over with a unique program and the quality of our speakers and panellists, who include several guests from the rest of Canada and abroad. Choose from 17 workshops covering a wide range of topics, including Plain Language and the Art of Drafting Judgments, Revisiting the Language of Contracts, Providing Legal Information Using Social Media and Head to Head: the Journalist and the Expert."

Related Library Boy posts that deal with plain language include:

• Plain Language Resources for Law, Business, Government, and Life (August 9, 2005): "Clear language or plain language refers to jargon-free, understandable language. For the past 20 years or more, an international movement has been working to make the language used in law, health information, financial services, commerce and business more accessible. Plain language does NOT mean dumbed down or simplistic vocabulary."
• Move Toward Plain Language in Canadian Court Decisions (November 7, 2005): "Saturday's Globe and Mail contains an article by Richard Blackwell entitled 'Doing the write thing: Judges used to put out decisions that were incomprehensible. Now they are sometimes even eloquent. The writing lessons didn't hurt'... As the article explains, the Supreme Court has been removing Latin words from its rulings and altering the format to make them easier to follow for people reading electronic versions on a website. The clear language push is also being promoted in Canada by such organizations as the National Judicial Institute and the Montreal-based Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, where new judges have their writing critiqued by English professors."
• Plain Language Legal Writing (January 22, 2006): "The Canadian Bar Association's PracticeLink has just published its third in a series of articles on plain language in legal writing: Mastering Modern Legal Correspondence."
• Myths About the Complexity of Legal Language (November 17, 2006): "The Social Science Research Network has published a forthcoming article on Some Myths about Legal Language by Professor Peter Tiersma of the Loyola Law School in Los Angeles (...) Excerpts from the final section of the full-text: (...) 'Thus, the main obstacle to writing the law in plain English is that, unless the law itself is vastly simplified, it will require the use of so many words that there will be nothing plain about it. Most advocates of plain English recognize this problem. Although they continue to agitate for plainer language in legal documents, including statutes, they realize that many parts of the law are too complex to allow them to be fully and comprehensibly explained to ordinary citizens. They therefore advocate that those legal areas in which citizens have particular interest, like criminal law, be officially summarized and explained'."
• George Orwell and Plain Language in Law (June 25, 2007): "Judith D. Fischer, University of Louisville - Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, has an article on the Social Science Research Network entitled Why George Orwell's Ideas About Language Still Matter for Lawyers. The article deals with the use of clear language in legal writing but also analyses the use of deceit in legal and political discourse in the United States ..."
• British Parliamentary Publication on Use and Abuse of Official Language (December 7, 2009): "The Public Administration Committee of the British House of Commons recently published a report entitled Bad Language: The Use and Abuse of Official Language that deals with the damage done by unclear, inaccurate and confusing language in official documents (...)"

[Source: Slaw.ca]

British Parliamentary Publication on Use and Abuse of Official Language

The Public Administration Committee of the British House of Commons recently published a report entitled Bad Language: The Use and Abuse of Official Language that deals with the damage done by unclear, inaccurate and confusing language in official documents:

"The language used in public life is a frequent target for ridicule, whether by parliamentary sketchwriters making fun of ministers' speeches, or in fictional works such as the television series Yes Minister. Yet the language used by government and public bodies is important because it directly affects people's lives. It needs to enable those in government (and those who want to be in government) to explain clearly what the basis for a policy is, or to provide guidance on getting access to the range of public services. Language therefore determines how politicians and public servants relate to the people they are there to serve."

"We launched our short inquiry into official language to highlight the importance of clear and understandable language in government. In order to evaluate how effectively government uses language, we invited the public and Members of Parliament to submit examples of bad and good official language. Many of these are included in this report to illustrate how government uses (and misuses) language. We also held a public hearing to ask questions of the Plain English Campaign, the academic expert Professor David Crystal, and the political sketchwriters and columnists Matthew Parris and Simon Hoggart."

"The aim of our inquiry was not merely to highlight the worst examples of official language (although such examples have been by turns amusing and exasperating), but to explore why the language used by government matters. We examine the damaging effects that bad official language can have, before concluding on a more hopeful note with some suggestions for making official language clearer and more comprehensible, including a proposed remedy for citizens."

Related Library Boy posts that deal with plain language include:

• Plain Language Resources for Law, Business, Government, and Life (August 9, 2005): "Clear language or plain language refers to jargon-free, understandable language. For the past 20 years or more, an international movement has been working to make the language used in law, health information, financial services, commerce and business more accessible. Plain language does NOT mean dumbed down or simplistic vocabulary."
• Move Toward Plain Language in Canadian Court Decisions (November 7, 2005): "Saturday's Globe and Mail contains an article by Richard Blackwell entitled 'Doing the write thing: Judges used to put out decisions that were incomprehensible. Now they are sometimes even eloquent. The writing lessons didn't hurt'... As the article explains, the Supreme Court has been removing Latin words from its rulings and altering the format to make them easier to follow for people reading electronic versions on a website. The clear language push is also being promoted in Canada by such organizations as the National Judicial Institute and the Montreal-based Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, where new judges have their writing critiqued by English professors."
• Myths About the Complexity of Legal Language (November 17, 2006): "The Social Science Research Network has published a forthcoming article on Some Myths about Legal Language by Professor Peter Tiersma of the Loyola Law School in Los Angeles (...) Excerpts from the final section of the full-text: (...) 'Thus, the main obstacle to writing the law in plain English is that, unless the law itself is vastly simplified, it will require the use of so many words that there will be nothing plain about it. Most advocates of plain English recognize this problem. Although they continue to agitate for plainer language in legal documents, including statutes, they realize that many parts of the law are too complex to allow them to be fully and comprehensibly explained to ordinary citizens. They therefore advocate that those legal areas in which citizens have particular interest, like criminal law, be officially summarized and explained'."
• George Orwell and Plain Language in Law (June 25, 2007): "Judith D. Fischer, University of Louisville - Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, has an article on the Social Science Research Network entitled Why George Orwell's Ideas About Language Still Matter for Lawyers. The article deals with the use of clear language in legal writing but also analyses the use of deceit in legal and political discourse in the United States ..."

International Conference on Plain Language

The February 2009 issue of the Journal du Barreau, the monthly publication of the Quebec Bar Association, features an overview of the 3rd international plain language conference held by the organization known as Clarity in late November 2008. The event took place in Mexico City.

Many of the conference presentations are now available online.

According to the Journal du Barreau, there were many Canadian participants:

• Université Laval law professor Lucie Lauzière explained how the consolidation of the statutes of Quebec is seen as an ongoing opportunity to clarify legal terminology. She also described the newly created Louis-Phillippe-Pigeon chair in legal and legislative drafting at the university
  
• Geneviève Fortin, associate director of Educaloi, a non-profit legal education institution in Quebec, was also on hand to share the experiences of her organization
• Nicole-Marie Fernbach, a linguist and translator, discussed the challenges of legal clarity in Canada's bilingual environment
• Christine Mowatt outlined a number of Canadian plain language initiatives, such as British Columbia's small claims forms and the model jury instructions proposed in 2004 by the Canadian Judicial Council
• Communications consultant Cheryl Stevens drew attention to how plain/clear legal language can be essential in ensuring respect for citizens' constitutional rights, for example at the moment of arrest.
  

[Source: Journal du Barreau]

New E-Book on Plain Language

Over at the Vancouver Law Librarian Blog, there was an item yesterday about Plain Legal Language - A New Book & Interview with Cheryl Stephens.

The post contains an interview with Ms. Stephens, the author of the Building Rapport plain language blog and author of a new e-book entitled Plain Language Legal Writing.

Related Library Boy posts that deal with plain language include:

• Plain Language Resources for Law, Business, Government, and Life (August 9, 2005): "Clear language or plain language refers to jargon-free, understandable language. For the past 20 years or more, an international movement has been working to make the language used in law, health information, financial services, commerce and business more accessible. Plain language does NOT mean dumbed down or simplistic vocabulary."
• Move Toward Plain Language in Canadian Court Decisions (November 7, 2005): "Saturday's Globe and Mail contains an article by Richard Blackwell entitled 'Doing the write thing: Judges used to put out decisions that were incomprehensible. Now they are sometimes even eloquent. The writing lessons didn't hurt'... As the article explains, the Supreme Court has been removing Latin words from its rulings and altering the format to make them easier to follow for people reading electronic versions on a website. The clear language push is also being promoted in Canada by such organizations as the National Judicial Institute and the Montreal-based Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, where new judges have their writing critiqued by English professors."
• Myths About the Complexity of Legal Language (November 17, 2006): "The Social Science Research Network has published a forthcoming article on Some Myths about Legal Language by Professor Peter Tiersma of the Loyola Law School in Los Angeles (...) Excerpts from the final section of the full-text: (...) 'Thus, the main obstacle to writing the law in plain English is that, unless the law itself is vastly simplified, it will require the use of so many words that there will be nothing plain about it. Most advocates of plain English recognize this problem. Although they continue to agitate for plainer language in legal documents, including statutes, they realize that many parts of the law are too complex to allow them to be fully and comprehensibly explained to ordinary citizens. They therefore advocate that those legal areas in which citizens have particular interest, like criminal law, be officially summarized and explained'."
• George Orwell and Plain Language in Law (June 25, 2007): "Judith D. Fischer, University of Louisville - Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, has an article on the Social Science Research Network entitled Why George Orwell's Ideas About Language Still Matter for Lawyers. The article deals with the use of clear language in legal writing but also analyses the use of deceit in legal and political discourse in the United States ..."