How To Turn Complex Legal Topics Into Client-Friendly Content

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We don’t have to tell you that law firm clients often have an easier time digesting legal topics when they’re explained in simpler terms. One of the reasons you were hired, after all, is because lawsuits are complex. The average person may not understand complex nuances of the law, and they may not understand half of the language that is found in court filings, briefs, and motions. But that doesn’t mean that complex legal topics should remain at arm’s length, held away from clients altogether.

The opposite is true, in fact. By taking the time to explain complex legal topics so your clients understand them and understand every facet of their case, they will gain a greater understanding of what’s going on. The last thing most legal clients want is to feel as though they’re being left in the dark. This applies to written content, like website content, as well. The more they understand about the steps involved in their case, the more they’ll feel at ease about how you’re helping them and how things will resolve. Understanding builds trust. And trust is exactly what matters most to clients.

Here are some ways to help turn complex legal topics into client-friendly content that will help them trust in you and your law firm’s process:

Readability Can Be Relevant

You may have heard the term “readability” before regarding written content. Basically, readability scores are scores that determine how easy to read something is. Two of the most common scoring types are the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level scale and the Flesch Reading Ease scale.

The grade level variant classifies text as readability in terms of U.S. school grade levels. Text is determined by looking at sentence length and syllables per word, so if you’re the type of writer that writes very long sentences, you may find your writing scores higher than they probably should be. For the record, most newspapers aim for around an 8, which is suitable for eighth-grade students. Most text on the internet aims for around seventh-grade level, or middle school age.

The Flesch Reading Ease scale works similarly, but gives scores from 0 to 100. The higher the score, the easier the text is to read. The lower the score, the more difficult or challenging the text is to read. Similar to the Flesch-Kincaid scale, sentence length and syllables per word are the two major factors that determine the score of a given piece of text. Shorter sentences improve readability, as do shorter words. Scores between 60-70 are considered easily readable for most adults. Scores below 50 are often considered more difficult to read or academic in nature.

Now, as you probably know, legal writing is often full of very long sentences, and words for that matter. There’s also the fact that documents with citations will artificially create “extra verbiage”. This needs to be taken into account when looking at readability scores in general. While it makes sense to look at these scores for a general assessment of how a piece of writing looks, don’t feel as though it’s a must-have factor to use for examining your website content, blogs, or any other type of content your clients will have access to. These scores are useful tools, but they’re not the gatekeepers to client understanding and trust. They are simply tools.

Looking at Patterns Instead

One of the most useful ways to look at text with the goal of improving how you write for clients and potential clients is by looking at patterns within the text itself. Look for patterns that may lead to confusion. Look for longer sentences or longer words where there may be other alternatives. Here are some of the most common “problem” patterns that can make legal text more difficult to read:

• Passive voice: Instead of writing “the court filings were submitted by the attorney”, try “the attorney submitted…”
• Nominalization: Try omitting unnecessary complexities like “the judge made a determination.” Instead, try “the judge determined.”
• Very long sentences: Ask yourself if a very long sentence could be broken into two sentences instead. This will make it easier to read.
• Very long paragraphs: Most academic papers used to require 5-6 sentences per paragraph. Those days are long gone. When writing for the internet and for the general population, don’t feel the need to write huge paragraphs. Shorter paragraphs are much easier to read, and are easier to skim when looking for specific info.
• Unnecessary words: Extra words can be the bane of writers. Extra adjectives are very common, and often not needed at all.
• Watch the legalese: When writing for the general public or for the internet, you’ll want to avoid the more archaic “legalese” language that is still spoken occasionally in courtrooms like “pursuant to”, “pro se”, “forthwith”, and “herein”. Use their easier-to-understand alternatives instead. And if you do use a legal term that may seem confusing, start off by defining it the first time it’s used.

We’re all guilty of using all of these patterns in our articles and blogs occasionally. There’s a reason we call them “patterns”, after all.  Most of us writers develop these patterns without even thinking about them. They simply become habit. But by looking out for these patterns and being aware that they may not be necessary, we can work to simplify our writing and make it easier for legal clients and all readers to understand.

Don’t Forget the Human Factor

One other vital thing to consider, especially in today’s era where AI-written content is becoming extremely common, is that we’re writing for humans. Whether we’re writing to inform potential legal clients about issues they may face when speaking to adjusters or writing new web copy to improve our SEO, the human factor is more integral than it has ever been. Google’s algorithms penalize AI-written content and content that looks like it has been written by AI. When we write for humans in mind and with readability in mind, we naturally avoid most of the patterns AI tends to use very regularly (and by very I mean veeeeeeeeery).

When you go to publish a piece of content, ask yourself: “Would I want to read this?” If the answer is yes, that’s a good sign you’re headed in the right direction. With as much information that’s available online these days, the human factor can’t be overlooked.

Here are few other good questions to ask yourself when writing for your law firm’s website:

• Is there information here that’s new or is being explained in a new way that others may benefit from? 
• Is this information useful to potential clients?
• Will it make sense to them? 

If all three questions come back with positive answers, there’s a great chance you’ll well on your way to putting out content that’s all about the human factor and perfect for potential clients.

GAVL Has Your Back

If you’re looking for assistance with your site’s content, look no further than GAVL. Our writing team is 100% human and located in the U.S. We care about producing quality content and ensure our content is always as good as it needs to be, both for clients and search engine/LLM optimization.

Reach out to us to learn how we can help your team.