Advancing the legal profession with typography.

• Author: Hurley, Suzanne Suarez
• Position: ADMINISTRATIVE LAW

When a lawyer writes and uses a PC, he or she is not only using text to speak to a judge or an audience, but is also demonstrating a certain level of professionalism by the way the document is created. Presentation is extremely important and sends important messages to the reader. Now that we as lawyers are deeply entrenched in the use of computers and electronics, it is time to recognize our responsibility as professionals to increase the quality of documents utilizing typography.

A word of caution: I am not suggesting that counsel should not observe court standards and rules for documents. Some, but not all, of the suggestions in this article can be adopted within court rules. Others cannot.

Though my law school experience a couple of decades ago did not offer classes or training in typography, my nine years prior experience as a professional typesetter made life easier. Law school in the early '90s stressed good legal writing and resisting bad habits that had been passed down in law firms, such as using antiquated, old-school language. But there was no discussion of how to make documents actually look good. (1) Frustration set in as I entered the world of law that was way behind the curve in this regard.

Like most attorneys, I followed the crowd and, of course, the court rules when it came to typesetting standards. But, in 2010, and even earlier, in 2004, unbeknownst to me, other legal professionals began to encourage attorneys and judges to "wake up to trends." (2) Visual presentation, "looking good on paper--literally," is finally being recognized in the legal world as important to persuasive writing. Text alone creates a picture when we utilize typography "like paint on the canvas of the page," says Ruth Anne Robbins, a clinical associate professor at Rutgers School of Law in Camden, New Jersey, who has written for the Journal of the Association of Legal Writing Directors. Attorneys need to catch up with other professional disciplines that are years ahead of us. (3)

Textual effects can give a document emotional appeal. Scientific research has shown that, if the argument is presented in a visually effective manner, the reader is more likely to understand and to retain the material. For that reason alone, principles of document design should not be considered "optional." (4)

In 2010, attorney Matthew Butterick published Typography for Lawyers, Essential Tools for Polished and Persuasive Documents. (5) He explains that good typography is a part of good lawyering. (6) Butterick, who graduated magna cum laude with a visual arts degree from Harvard and, later, from the UCLA College of Law, suggests that we break away from outdated habits of the typewriter era. Our modern law offices have most of the same document-production capabilities as professional print shops.

Unfortunately, says Butterick, what many lawyers consider proper legal typography "is an accumulation of bad habits and urban legends," that should be set aside in favor of professional typographic habits. (7) We write for the benefit of the reader, he says. Good typography captures reader attention and helps engage and persuade. (8) Legal writers who treat reader attention as an unlimited resource are choosing to adopt a riskier model and will likely have a less favorable outcome.

Judges and others read our work as part of their job. They have a lot of writing that needs their attention. (9) With this in mind, and if you believe reader attention is a valuable resource, then tools to help you conserve that resource are likewise valuable. Typography is one of those tools.

Good typography matters in a written document, just like good speaking skills matter during an oral argument. (10) It makes the substance in the text more effective. (11) As lawyers, we are susceptible to what Butterick calls "boilerplate syndrome": the superstitious refusal to deviate from the form or substance of a document that was successfully used by another lawyer 30 or 40 years ago. "It's not surprising that these bad habits get passed down. What's surprising is how tenacious they can be." (12)

Critics will argue against changing the current conventional text design of legal documents, but there is a growing awareness among lawyers of the need for visual persuasion. (13) We have seen this in the explosion of visual techniques utilizing computers during jury trials. And though less focus has been placed to date on visual effectiveness in the text of our documents, there is a notable exception: The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals now encourages proper typography and provides litigants with typography advice at its website. (14)

The Seventh Circuit's typography advice indicates that things are changing. Our retrogressive stance is being chipped away as lawyers recognize that professional typography is a benchmark for quality. It is unnecessary to follow all typographic rules. Even little changes can make a big difference. We are all capable of mastering the essentials of good typography. (15) When we temper Butterick's advice with science, the move toward better typography becomes even more palatable. (16)

If a document is more "readable," it is more likely that the reader will remember the content. (17) In studying adult reading, psychological researchers have found that to understand a word's meaning, the reader must identify and recognize the word simultaneously. (18) This finding gives legibility increased...