What documents should be drafted in plain English?
Not every transactional document needs to be drafted in plain English—there, I said it. Large transactions between knowledgeable parties who have lawyers do not need to be drafted in plain English. Yes, many plain-English principles would work well in those documents, and we do need to improve the general state of drafted language in our transactions, but true plain English might not be right or cost effective for every transactional document.
Here’s a short list of the kinds of documents that should be drafted in plain English:
- Apartment leases
- Basic contracts
- Consumer regulations
- Credit-card agreements
- Employee manuals and handbooks
- Homeowners’ association bylaws
- Consumer insurance policies
- Jury instructions
- Opinion or advice letters
- Public notices
- Releases
- Software licenses and user agreements
- Website disclaimers
- Wills
For example, you wouldn’t write a brief to a federal judge in the same style you’d use for a report of the case to the nonlawyer client, would you? Likewise, you don’t need to use the same style for a $150 million credit agreement and a $150 contract.