Legalwriting.net Blog by Wayne Schiess

Witnesseth, Controversial, Long-Lived Archaism The word witnesseth, a legal term used in deeds, contracts, and other formal documents, passed away Monday after a decades-long decline and what some say were well-deserved attacks. Those close to the word said it died in a legal form pulled up on a smart phone in Little Rock, Arkansas. It [...]

Filed under: Plain English, Usage | 1 Comment »

I’ve just learned that the Texas Pattern Jury Charges Plain Language Project will receive a ClearMark award from the Center for Plain Language at an awards ceremony in Washington D.C. on April 28. I was the writing consultant on the project, which began in 2005 and culminated in final approval of the revised jury charges [...]

Filed under: Plain English | 1 Comment »