Legal Writing as Clear Thinking

Legal Writing as Clear Thinking

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How Can Legal Writers Empathize With Their Readers?

If focusing on and empathizing with the needs of readers results in clear thinking and writing, in practice how can lawyers achieve these goals?

First as a commercial litigator, and now as corporate counsel, I’ve tried to focus on and empathize with my readers’ needs by:

1. Writing a brief or corporate document like a newspaper article, with a good lead or introduction, a conversational tone, and short, uncomplicated words and sentences.In fact, when I receive feedback that my writing is “conversational,” “flows well,” or “makes sense,” I know I’ve succeeded in empathizing with my reader’s needs.
2. Reading documents out loud to determine whether the sentences flow smoothly, or if there are ways to cut legalese, verbiage, or my darlings. If I can’t read a document to myself or to another person without repeatedly stumbling over my prose, I know that my readers will have the same difficulty, and that it’s time to revise.
3. Being honest with myself about whether non-lawyers could understand the points I’m making without knowing anything else about the topic. If I conclude that a non-lawyer can digest my presentation without additional explanation or background, then I know I’m serving my reader’s needs, even if the reader is another lawyer.
4. Letting my thoughts distill overnight. I’m amazed at how a good night’s rest clarifies my thoughts about how to make a document read more smoothly. It’s almost as if my brain defragments overnight, allowing me to revise sentences that the night before seemed impenetrably abstruse.
5. Not waiting until 10:00 p.m. the night before a document is due to write a first draft. I know that some lawyers think they do better work late at night. But it’s impossible to empathize with your reader’s needs when you’re rushed and tired. When your body is stressed, you can’t think clearly, much less write clearly. So becoming reader-centric requires adequate planning so that your failure to plan doesn’t become your reader’s emergency. x x x."