Past events

6 September – Tax effective wills in plain English: can it be done? (London)

James Kessler QC and Mary Ashley of Old Square Tax Chambers will ask whether one can draft a will in plain intelligible English that meets the testator’s wishes and maximises tax relief under the new residential nil-rate band. James is the author of Drafting Trusts & Will Trusts (13th edition, […]

 
 

14 June – How typographic presentation influences the way people read legal information (London)

Dr Jeanne-Louise Moys is a lecturer in Typography & Graphic Communication at the University of Reading. She is a affiliated to the Centre for Information Design Research – a multidisciplinary research centre which explores the design of complex information. Jeanne-Louise will share how typographic presentation influences whether people are motivated […]

 
 

5 April – Plain language in jury instructions (London)

Professor Cheryl Thomas, Professor of Judicial Studies at University College London, will tell us about her research into jurors’ understanding of the instructions judges give them. Her study, ‘Are Juries Fair?‘, found that when judges provide written directions on the law to jurors this helps jurors better understand how […]

 
 

14 February – FCA Handbook: delivering plain language (London)

Clarity member Alan Blanchard is the editorial team leader at the Financial Conduct Authority. He and his team publish the FCA Handbook, a massive work whose contents regulate much of the financial services industry in the UK. The FCA launched a project to make FCA communications more constructive, […]

 
 

26 April: Re-designing the Digital Services framework contract (London)

Warren Smith is Assistant Director and Head of Strategy, Digital Marketplace, for the Government Digital Service and David Kershaw is Procurement Lead for Digital Marketplace at the UK Cabinet Office. Together, they explained how they re-invented the contracting process and contract terms for supplies of digital services to central and […]

 
 

29 June - FCA Handbook: delivering plain language (London)

29 June – FCA Handbook: delivering plain language (London)

Clarity member Alan Blanchard is the editorial team leader at the Financial Conduct Authority. He and his team publish the FCA Handbook, a massive work whose contents regulate much of the financial services industry in the UK. The FCA launched a project to make FCA communications more constructive, […]

 
 

7 September - Visualising tax law (London)

Nick Birks works in the Central Customer Directorate at HM Revenue & Customs. He will show us the software used by government departments in Belgium and the Netherlands, and by HMRC, to reveal the structure of the law, and to identify duplication and inconsistency. The results appear as giant posters […]

 
 

6 October – How well does plain language work? A legislative perspective (London)  

Joint event with the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies. Our speaker is Dr Jeffrey Barnes, Senior Lecturer in law at La Trobe University in Australia. Plain language, and whether it works in legislation, is a special interest of Dr Barnes and was the subject of his PhD thesis. London Clarity […]

 
 

3 to 5 November – Clarity

3 to 5 November – Clarity

The Business of Clarity: A plain language conference for the law, business, and government. The next clarity conference will be held in Wellington, New Zealand.

 
 

8 November - Commercial benefits of plain language (London)

Clarity member Dominiek Braet is Content Delivery & DCX manager at Euroclear – a business providing settlement services for share, bond and fund transactions, holding assets worth 28 trillion Euros, around the world. He continues to work towards making all Euroclear’s daily communications – including its legal documents – support […]