“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” – Albert Einstein

The truth of Einstein’s dictum, to be sure, applies to quantum physics. But equally, it applies to “legal writing.” Yet “legal writing,” so far as I am concerned, is really a misnomer. There’s good writing and bad writing. If the writing sounds “legal,” it’s likely bad writing. And bad writing often occurs, as Einstein’s quote suggests, when the writer doesn’t fully understand the subject, whether it’s the facts or the legal principles applying to the facts.

In my experience, clients and judges welcome simplicity. Yet achieving simplicity in a complicated matter requires hard work. Distilling essential facts and identifying controlling issues in a jungle of irrelevancy take great care. The effort to explain your point simply, as if to the person on the street, requires a deep understanding of just what is at stake in the controversy. But remember simple usually trumps complicated.

And that’s it for this This and That. If you would like to comment on the virtue of simplicity, please call or email Dennis.