Nabarro
Legal documents don’t have to be full of jargon and difficult to follow. Emphasis showed over 500 fee-earners at leading commercial law firm Nabarro how to write in plain English – without compromising their advice or their reputation.
Hear Jo McKay, Head of Development at Nabarro LLP, speak about the quality of our training. Listen here.
The problem
With feedback from clients stating they valued simple, clear, concise advice above all else, Nabarro re-branded in 2007 with new strapline ‘Clarity Matters’.
“We wanted to live up to that brand promise. Law is a very complex world and I believe that it is our responsibility to translate that into understandable and accessible terms for our clients,” explains Jo McKay, Head of Development at Nabarro.
Nabarro researched a variety of training providers to train the firm in clear writing skills. “Emphasis were head and shoulders above the rest. They totally understood our brand,” confirms Jo.
The Emphasis treatment
Emphasis ran a high-impact business-writing course for fee earners covering plain English techniques they could apply to letters of advice, proposals, reports and executive summaries. The trainers quickly gained ‘buy-in’ from fee earners sceptical about adopting a style of legal writing that didn’t contain jargon – or unnecessarily complicated language – by showing them that good writing is good writing, no matter what field you’re in. Most were able to appreciate, through practical targeted exercises, that effective writing not only helps them achieve more, but actually helps them think more clearly.
“Emphasis challenged us to write more simply and not hide behind jargon and gobbledegook. We ran around 50 sessions in all, and I don’t think one session went through without at least one or two objections from lawyers …the Emphasis trainers were robust and able to push through those objections,” explains Jo.
Emphasis initially trained 510 fee earners over six weeks, following this up with a tailored course for all support staff in HR, marketing and business development.
The benefits
The training has helped the firm to demystify the law for its clients. Nabarro has applied the writing-skills training in all its communication, including its website.
“We’re stripping out the hyperbole and waffle that is synonymous with the legal sector,” says Christian Ball, Head of Internal Communications at Nabarro. “You don’t have to overcomplicate your message and you don’t have to be complex. You can just say that clarity matters, cut to the chase and give clients what they want.”
The training has also differentiated the firm from others. “It’s released some of the lawyers from the bind of having to adhere to the old-fashioned, traditional legal language that they’ve been taught in the past,” explains Jo. “Emphasis showed us that it is good business practice to write in simple terms that your clients understand, and feel enabled and empowered by.”
The lasting effects
After a successful re-brand, the firm is making sure that it keeps its foot on the accelerator. “It’s important that we push through to bigger, bolder, better, greener times, where our clients realise the benefits of having had that concise, clear service delivery in legal expertise,” says Christian. “Hopefully they are already feeling the benefits in terms of how the hours are being billed, because the more concise we are, the more we strip out unnecessary work for all parties.”