It’s finally here! An ISO plain language standard for legal writing

How many of us buy into the myth that plain language cannot handle legal language or complex texts? This false belief has impacted effective communication, and has raised barriers, costs and risk. It has also impacted justice.

While many legal professionals may communicate effectively in their own area of practice, the profession lacks consistent standards to communicate with clients, the public and other professionals.  

In 2025, ISO published part 2 of the ISO 24495 Plain Language Standard which focuses on legal communication. Having an international standard for writing legal documents gives lawyers an objective guide to writing clearly. It also gives examples of sentences and situations where lawyers can combine plain language and legal precision.

Need a reason to start using plain legal language? Try these on for size.

Applying the standard helps all readers of legal documents

When lawyers use the new standard, their legal communications will be more relevant, accessible and understandable. Research tells us that legal information is easier to digest when it’s in plain language. And customers, clients, other lawyers and even judges prefer legal documents in plain language. So what are you waiting for? Eliminate ambiguity, choose familiar and legally accurate words, and always keep in mind the consequences of readers missing important information.

Plain legal language promotes more trust from the reader

Using plain legal language builds trust simply because readers can more easily understand your content. When your words and phrases are meaningful and familiar, you and your organisation comes across as considerate and helpful. And that means you start to earn your readers’ trust.

Removing language barriers promotes justice

Historically, the legal profession’s way of communicating has been a barrier to understanding, which inhibits justice. The new standard helps legal writers increase access to the law without giving up legal precision, accuracy or certainty, or ‘terms of art’. Quite the opposite! You can use ‘in line with’ instead of ‘in accordance with’ and you can say ‘under’ instead of ‘in pursuant to’. The simpler forms carry the same legal weight as seen in rulings from the Federal Court of Australia and the Australian Office of Parliamentary Council.

The standard helps individuals protect their rights

When readers can understand legal content, they can protect their fundamental rights and participate fully in legal processes. Applying the new standard to employment contracts, rental agreements, medical information and financial disclosure statements will help people to:

• understand their rights as an employee
• get safe and affordable housing
• make sound medical and financial decisions.

Clear communications save time and money

Research shows that when legal documents are in plain language, clients and customers save time and money, and so do lawyers. For a start, documents in plain language mean you don’t need to produce supporting explanatory documents or spend time explaining impenetrable text to clients. Plain language contracts take less time to negotiate. And when plain language is used in customer-facing communications, compliance goes up and complaints go down. Best of all, litigation and liability claims drop because the improved accuracy, certainty and precision reduce interpretation issues.

To find out more about the new ISO standard for legal communications, visit the ISO website. And for help implementing it or boosting your plain legal language skills, contact us.