Lawyer-Client Communication: Harnessing the power of Legal Content Writing

Introduction

Writing is one of the oldest forms of human communication. It dates back as far as ancient civilization. For example, the Egyptians (who are arguably the most documented civilization in ancient Africa) communicated with generations unborn through hieroglyphs. In fact, they were such good writers that we had to create a specific discipline in Universities dedicated to unearthing the mysteries behind their symbols. In those writings, we now understand the belief system of ancient Egypt, their culture and of course, the political drama that was the talk of the day. [1]

Although the ancient Egyptians are no longer with us, their culture has left footprints on the sands of time that could not be erased. This obviously would not have been possible if they did not make a concerted effort to communicate through writing. Unlike speech, which is an art in its own right, writing has the ability to reach thousands of people without the continual support of its author. This essentially means that a writer does not have to continuously keep writing to communicate the same message to his audience.

(An example of an Egyptian Hieroglyph)

Moreover, there are very few religions (if any) that do not have a central piece of writing as their focal point. To put it in a more religious context, historians tell us that the Bible was written well over 3000 years ago (597/587–538 BC).[2] But yet it is still relevant and used today. Just to add a little humor to this, the Bible itself says that those who are saved will have their names written in the Book of Life. It did not say that their names will be stored in a Voice Note or a Video; it particularly says that their names would be written.

Why do we write?

This is a very strange question to ask but nonetheless, it is necessary: Why do we write? Perhaps an even better question would be: Whom do we write for? The answers to both of these questions vary from author to author. This also means that the style and tone of the writing would depend on the particular audience receiving it. Nevertheless, it is generally agreed that, just like any other means of human to human interaction, the objective of writing is to communicate.[3] That is to communicate to a particular audience.

Going back to the previous example, it was noted that the Egyptians wrote their history in the form of hieroglyphs. Hardly anyone today is able to understand those symbols. This is out of the obvious reason that the authors had intended them to be used by a particular audience in mind.?The same rule applies for each profession: Medical writing is normally intended to be used by people in the medical industry; Legal writing (which we are concerned with here) is also intended to be used by Paralegals, Lawyers, Judges and other personnel in the legal industry.

For the most part, Lawyers write legal briefs and other documents with the intent that they would be read by members of the Judiciary. As you can imagine, this is not an easy task. Law Schools strive really hard to teach law students how to write up to industry standards. Owing to the nature of the profession, these skills are essential. ‘IRAC’ for example, which is an acronym for ‘Issue, Rule, Analysis and Conclusion’, is the industry-standard of writing most legal documents.[4] IRAC is crafted after the deductive reasoning model, which is absolutely crucial in resolving legal issues.

Clients and Legal Writing

All of this sounds great, but how does the picture come together? These things are already well-known. Not quite. Actually for the most part, very few people outside of the legal industry understand legal writing, much less legalese. A typical law firm’s clients are lay men in such matters and at times, are completely oblivious to the legal process. It is the duty of the lawyer to decode this process. In theory, this has been successful but in practice, however, it has not been so easy.

In their book, ‘A practical guide to lawyering skills’,[5] the learned authors had the following to say, “Being able to write effectively will not make you a lawyer. But if you cannot write effectively, it will always hamper your progress as a lawyer. Here is the stumbling block: most lawyers in practice believe they write effectively. The trouble is that their clients do not agree. Lawyers have a reputation for communicating very badly with their clients, in the same way that doctors have a reputation for indecipherable handwriting. Both reputations seem to be justified. The Office for the Supervision of Solicitors lists poor communication as a primary cause of consumer dissatisfaction with legal services, and many complaints to the Bar Council about barristers seem to have their roots in poor communication between lawyers and their clients.”

From the statement above, two things could be construed: (i.) Lawyers, more often than not, do write effectively for other lawyers and industry personnel, (ii.) Clients do not agree that lawyers put in enough to make their writing easy for them to understand. One might actually argue that the basis of these findings is faulty because they are referring to an English setting and completely neglect the Zambian context. However, it could be said that the situation is actually exacerbated in Zambia given the fact that some local clients might actually find their native language easier to understand than English.

Communication in the form of writing is an integral part of customer or consumer satisfaction. James D. Gordon III jests in the Yale Law Journal[6] that, “virtually all lawyers write as if they were paid by the word...here is the legal translation that has been offered for the simple, everyday phrase, ‘I give you this orange.’: Know all men by these presents that I hereby give, grant, bargain, sell, release, convey, transfer, and quitclaim all my right, title, interest, benefit, and use whatever in, of, and concerning this chattel, otherwise known as an orange, or citrus orantium, together with all the appurtenances thereto of skin, pulp, pip, rind, seeds, and juice, to have and to hold the said orange together with its skin, pulp, pip, rind, seeds, and juice for his own use and behoof, to himself and his heirs in fee simple forever, free from all liens, encumbrances, easements, limitations, restraints, or conditions whatsoever, now or anywhere made to the contrary notwithstanding, with full power to bite, cut , suck, or otherwise eat the said orange or to give away the same, with or without its skin, pulp, pip, rind, seeds or juice.”

?This is a humorous exaggeration of the problem but the point still remains.

Legal Content Writing and Legal Writing

Now we need to differentiate Legal Writing from Legal Content Writing. These sound the same but they are profoundly different. Legal Writing is the process of writing documents for the purpose of presenting legal arguments before a judge in a court of law. While Legal Content Writing, on the other hand, primarily concerns itself with writing for the web or the internet. With the advent of internet, there is never been a better time for law firms to decode and decipher their world to clients. This is very important, especially given the fact that the world currently is fighting a growing pandemic and most businesses are shifting online. There is a need for law firms in the country to explore the possibility of reaching out to new clients using the internet,( i.e. through legal content writing). Although legal writing is undoubtedly dominant, the same cannot be said for legal content writing. Beyond the noticeable advantages of legal content writing such as increased coverage to meet new clients, this form of writing also helps brand a law firm in a unique way. According to a Google Survey, 90 respondents were asked whether they researched their legal issues online before consulting a law firm physically, about 49 per cent responded with a ‘yes’.[7] This shows that at least half the people who seek legal services first research their legal problem online and by implication, are more likely to find a law firm that best suits their needs. Hence, it is important to have good content online that would encourage these potential clients to settle.

Legal Transcription in Zambia

Transcription is the process of making a written copy of something communicated verbally. Some of the files that may be transcribed include depositions, and court hearings. It is a multi-million dollar industry with Companies such as Verbit.ai claiming a respectable market share in the US (United States). Companies as well as courts essentially submit prerecorded audio and have their sessions transcribed. However, there are hardly any files sent from Zambia to these online transcription companies. Perhaps the reason behind this is the fact that in Zambia, most cases which are presented before the courts of law have to be handwritten by judges verbatim. That means, as counsel proceed with their cases, judges have to literally write word for word what is being said. As you can imagine, this is an extremely arduous process and at most, robs the Judiciary of valuable time. The case of Bernard Lubuto v Zambia Communication[8] particularly shows the need for introducing Legal Transcription by using State-of-the-Art equipment accompanied by Artificial Intelligence. The Lubuto case was about a prisoner who was involved in a robbery and was awaiting execution following a death penalty sentence. He argued that his confession was coerced by the police and that the death sentence leveled against him was inappropriate given the fact that no one had died during the robbery. In response to this, the state party (i.e. the Zambian Government) had this to say: “The state party requests the Committee to take into consideration its situation as a developing country and the problems it encounters in the administration of justice. It is explained that the instant case is not an isolated one and that appeals in both civil and criminal cases take considerable time before they are disposed of by the courts. According to the state party, this is due to the lack of administrative support available to the judiciary. Judges have to write out every word verbatim during the hearings, because of the absence of transcribers. These records are later typed out and have to be proofread by the judges, causing inordinate delays.” The Lubuto case was decided nearly twenty years ago. A lot has happened since then. The internet today presents the Judiciary of Zambia with an inexpensive way to transcribe case audio files with competence. Specialized online companies not only use State-of-the-Art machinery to transcribe the audio files, but also work in dedicated teams that produce transcripts with remarkable accuracy. ?

Final Thoughts

Since the arrival of the internet, there have been massive opportunities afforded to businesses across the world; Law firms and the Judiciary have not been spared. With this in mind, it is obvious that these opportunities should be given the proper attention they deserve. As time unfolds, we could only hope that a more liberal approach will be adopted when it comes to Legal Content Writing and Transcription. Doing this will not only benefit law firms and the Judiciary as a whole, but it will also act as an aid in the quest to find justice in an ever changing world.

[1] G Khan, New Cambridge History of the Bible from Beginnings to 600 ( Cambridge University Press 2013)46

[2] Ibid (4)

[3] F Boyle D Capps & P Plowden, A Practical Guide to Lawyering Skills (2ndedn, Cavendish Publishing ltd 2003)at p.3

[4] N J McBride, Letters to a Law Student: A Guide to Studying Law at University (4thedn, Pearson Education ltd 2018) at p.283

[5] n(3) at p.2-3

[6] Vol. 100 Issue 6/3

[7] See also P Pleasance, How People Understand and Interact with the Law (Pascoe Pleasance ltd Cambridge UK 2015)p.156

[8] (2001) AHRLR 37?