Researchers Ricardo Jiménez-Yáñez (UIC Barcelona) and Diana Giner (Universidad San Jorge) have published a chapter on the importance of using clear legal language in the book Popularisation as a Method of Knowledge Mediation in Legal Linguistics, by the prestigious publisher LIT Verlag. The work includes papers from university academics from the United States, Norway, Italy, Spain, Denmark and Germany.

This contribution from the two researchers focuses on exploring how leading Spanish law firms improve the writing skills of Spanish lawyers. With this objective, the study surveyed the best ranked law firms in Spain according to Chambers and Partners; Broseta Abogados, Ceca Magán, Cuatrecasas, Ecija Abogados, Fieldfisher Jausàs, Gómez-Acebo & Pombo, Uría Menéndez y Toda and Nel-lo.

“Clear language is essential in court because it can mean the difference between winning and losing a case,” explained Jiménez-Yañez. According to the UIC Barcelona lecturer and lawyer, in the field of procurement, simple language helps to safely navigate documentation and unambiguously define the rights and obligations of the parties. “The main law firms know this and have teams of lawyers and linguists working to make legal language correct, clear and accurate,” said the researcher, who is an advocate of training lawyers and ensuring they practise daily to improve their writing style.

In the Spanish civil service, as well as in the academic world and legal firms, there is a growing interest in updating Spanish legal language, which means going through a process of simplification. “In recent years, numerous studies have explored the level of involvement of public institutions and universities in this regard. However, none of them refers to what the law firms are doing about it, or at least not in the Spanish sphere,” says Jiménez-Yáñez after the publication of the chapter, which aims to help fill this gap. In addition to the surveys, the research also takes into account the teaching experience of the authors in some Spanish law firms. 

The conclusions of the chapter focus on highlighting the importance of updating the writing of Spanish lawyers to increase effective communication in a globalised context where international transactions are increasingly frequent.

This paper is part of the SGR 01336 (RESCAT 2030) research and the CONCONPAN, R+D+i PID2021-124298OB-I00 project.