How to Write Less Like a Lawyer (Quote)

Avoid long, confusing parenthetical phrases. Lawyers love to be specific, but it gets in the way of clean writing and reading. Break your sentences in two. And no footnotes.

— Adam Rosman and Steve Lipin in their article, “A Plea for Plain English in Financial Documents,” which appeared in the New York Times’s DealBook. In their article, the authors argue that financial press releases and public filings don’t have to be finely crafted poetry, but could be better written. They offer several pointers for making them easier to read and understand. Rosman is the executive vice president and general counsel at ...