More on Plain Language

Thanks to my recent post on Mellinkoff and his book “The Language of the Law,” I’ve had a delighful exchange of emails with Mark Adler, a retired English solicitor and plain-legal-language consultant. He tells me that Mellinkoff’s book was the first law book he read from beginning to end and the first he ever enjoyed. The excerpt from it on “manifest” that was quoted in the Language Log entry reminded him of an incident when he was in practice:

Acting for the proposed tenant of a shop, I received a draft lease from the landlord’s solicitor. It provided (as they so often do) that the decision of the landlord’s surveyor on certain points would bind the tenant, but it omitted the usual “save in the case of manifest error” so I added “unless clearly wrong”. The landlord’s solicitor (who was young enough to know better) accepted the amendment in principle but deleted “unless clearly wrong” and replaced it with “save in the case of manifest error”. When we next spoke I asked what the difference was. She couldn’t answer.

Adler: Then why change it?

LL’s solicitor: There’s some authority.

A: Oh, yes? I’d be interested to read that. Could you give me the reference?

LLS: I don’t know it.

A: Did the court say there was any difference in meaning?

LLS: No.

A: Then why change it?

LLS: It sounds better this way.

Mark also points us to three organizations that might interest those who cares about making legal language clear:

• Clarity is an international association promoting plain legal language, with representatives from 46 countries (66 members from Canada). Clarity publishes a journal, free to members, with some issues available for downloading from their website.
• Scribes, The American Society of Legal Writers

  was founded in 1953 to honor legal writers and encourage a “clear, succinct, and forceful style in legal writing.” We seek to promote better writing across the legal community — in the courthouse, the law office, the publishing house, and the law school. And we hope to spread the growing scorn for legal writing that is archaic, turgid, obscure, and needlessly dull.

  Scribes publishes a journal and a newsletter.

• The Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel.

  CALC’s object is to promote cooperation in matters of professional interest among people in the Commonwealth engaged in legislative drafting or in training people in legislative drafting. CALC has members in most parts of the Commonwealth.

  There are members from each province and territory of Canada (with the exception of Manitoba!).
  CALC, too, publishes an occasional journal and a newsletter.