Within Legalese
Do Plain Language Contracts Work Just as Well?
Research suggests simpler contract wording can improve understanding without reducing perceived enforceability.
On this page
- What the MIT contract studies found
- Which legalese features are easiest to remove
- Why drafting habits persist despite the evidence
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Introduction
For readers interested in increasing reading speed, contracts provide a revealing test case. The central question is whether plain-language contracts can deliver the same legal effect as traditional legalese while being faster and easier to read. Recent evidence suggests that, in many situations, the answer is yes. Studies comparing conventional contract language with simplified versions have found that both lawyers and non-lawyers understand the plain-language versions better, remember them more accurately, and often prefer them. Importantly, lawyers in these studies did not view the simplified contracts as less enforceable. [PNAS]pnas.orgEven lawyers do not like legalese30 May 2023 — In contrast, the fact that lawyers in our studies rated plain-English contracts as hig…
This finding challenges a long-standing assumption that dense legal wording is necessary to achieve legal precision. Instead, the evidence suggests that many features of traditional legal drafting impose reading costs without providing corresponding legal benefits. For anyone concerned with comprehension and reading efficiency, plain-language contracts offer a practical example of how clearer writing can reduce cognitive effort without necessarily sacrificing legal effectiveness.
Do Plain-Language Contracts Work Just as Well?
The strongest recent evidence comes from research by linguists and cognitive scientists at MIT, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2023. The researchers compared traditional legal contract passages with rewritten versions that expressed the same legal content in clearer language. They then tested both comprehension and attitudes toward the documents. [PNAS]pnas.orgEven lawyers do not like legalese30 May 2023 — In contrast, the fact that lawyers in our studies rated plain-English contracts as hig…
The results were striking. Lawyers understood the simplified contracts better than the traditional versions. They also rated the plain-language documents as higher quality, more likely to be accepted by clients, and just as enforceable as the legalese versions. Non-lawyers benefited even more from the simplification, but the advantage was not limited to lay readers. [PNAS+2MIT News]pnas.orgEven lawyers do not like legaleseby E Martínez · 2023 · Cited by 21 — Experiment 2 revealed that lawyers rated simplified contracts a…
From a reading-speed perspective, this matters because it suggests that many delays in contract reading arise from the presentation of information rather than the underlying legal concepts. When the same obligations and conditions are expressed more directly, readers can process them more quickly and retain them more effectively. [Scientific American]scientificamerican.comeven lawyers dont understand legalese new study showsScientific AmericanEven Lawyers Don't Understand Legalese, New Study…10 Jul 2023 — While the attorneys outperformed laypeople overall…
The findings also weaken the argument that legalese persists because lawyers uniquely benefit from it. According to the MIT research, lawyers were not disproportionately better at interpreting legalese than they were at interpreting plain-language equivalents. The simplified versions improved performance for experts as well as non-experts. [PNAS]pnas.orgwhy legalese persistsWhy legalese persists | Science Sessions17 Jul 2023 — We did not find evidence that lawyers were disproportionately better than laype…
What the MIT Contract Studies Found
The studies focused on a specific question: if legal content remains constant, does traditional legal drafting provide measurable advantages?
The evidence pointed in the opposite direction.
Researchers found that: [gizmodo.com]gizmodo.comlawyers better reading plain english not legal jargon 1850488365Lawyers Hate Legal Jargon, Too30 May 2023 — A new study has found that lawyers have an easier time remembering legal documents wri…
- Lawyers comprehended simplified contract language more accurately than legalese. [bigthink.com]bigthink.comlawyers dislike legaleseEven lawyers hate "legalese"10 Jun 2023 — Lawyers also rated contracts in plain English as higher quality and just as legally enforceable… * Lawyers rated plain-language contracts as equally enforceable. [pnas.org]pnas.orgEven lawyers do not like legalese30 May 2023 — In contrast, the fact that lawyers in our studies rated plain-English contracts as hig… * Lawyers viewed simplified contracts as higher quality. [pnas.org]pnas.orgEven lawyers do not like legalese30 May 2023 — In contrast, the fact that lawyers in our studies rated plain-English contracts as hig…
- Lawyers reported being more willing to sign or recommend the plain-language versions.
- Non-lawyers showed even larger comprehension gains when legalese was removed. [PNAS+2EurekAlert!]pnas.orgEven lawyers do not like legaleseby E Martínez · 2023 · Cited by 21 — Experiment 2 revealed that lawyers rated simplified contracts a…
One important aspect of the research was that the simplified contracts were not casual summaries. They were rewritten legal provisions intended to preserve substantive meaning while removing unnecessary complexity. This distinction is crucial because the comparison was not between a contract and a non-contract. It was between two ways of expressing the same legal content. [PNAS]pnas.orgEven lawyers do not like legalese30 May 2023 — In contrast, the fact that lawyers in our studies rated plain-English contracts as hig…
The study therefore provides evidence against a common belief that clearer drafting inevitably reduces legal strength. At least within the materials tested, lawyers themselves did not perceive a trade-off between readability and enforceability. [PNAS]pnas.orgEven lawyers do not like legaleseby E Martínez · 2023 · Cited by 21 — Experiment 2 revealed that lawyers rated simplified contracts a…
Which Legalese Features Are Easiest to Remove?
Not all legal complexity serves the same purpose. Some complexity reflects genuinely difficult legal relationships. Other complexity arises from drafting conventions that can often be replaced with little or no loss of meaning.
Research on legal language repeatedly identifies several features that increase reading difficulty:
Centre-embedded clauses. These are definitions or qualifications inserted into the middle of a sentence, forcing readers to hold unfinished thoughts in memory. MIT researchers have argued that this structure is one of the most distinctive and burdensome features of legal writing. [Phys.org]phys.org2024 08 laws written incomprehensible styleStudy explains why laws are written in an…19 Aug 2024 — In a follow-up study published in 2023, the researchers found that legalese al…
Archaic vocabulary. Terms such as “hereinbefore”, “thereof”, “hereto” and similar expressions often contribute little beyond signalling legal formality. Many can be replaced with ordinary language while preserving meaning. [Gizmodo]gizmodo.comlawyers better reading plain english not legal jargon 1850488365Lawyers Hate Legal Jargon, Too30 May 2023 — A new study has found that lawyers have an easier time remembering legal documents wri…
Redundant doublets and triplets. Traditional phrases such as “null and void” or “terms and conditions” sometimes survive because of drafting habits rather than legal necessity. While some remain embedded in practice, many can be simplified without changing legal effect. [PNAS]pnas.orgEven lawyers do not like legalese30 May 2023 — In contrast, the fact that lawyers in our studies rated plain-English contracts as hig…
Long-distance sentence structures. Readers often encounter a subject at the beginning of a sentence and the key action much later. Reorganising clauses into shorter units can dramatically improve readability. [Phys.org]phys.org2024 08 laws written incomprehensible styleStudy explains why laws are written in an…19 Aug 2024 — In a follow-up study published in 2023, the researchers found that legalese al…
These changes matter because they reduce the mental effort required to decode the text. Faster reading is not achieved by skimming contracts; it is achieved by reducing the obstacles that force rereading and interpretation.
Why Drafting Habits Persist Despite the Evidence
If lawyers often prefer plain-language contracts, why does legalese remain so common? [bigthink.com]bigthink.comlawyers dislike legaleseEven lawyers hate "legalese"10 Jun 2023 — Lawyers also rated contracts in plain English as higher quality and just as legally enforceable…
The MIT researchers proposed that institutional habits may be more important than actual preference. Lawyers frequently begin with existing templates that have already been used, negotiated and enforced. Rather than rewriting provisions from scratch, they edit inherited language. Over time, qualifications and exceptions are inserted into existing sentences, gradually producing increasingly complex drafting. [MIT News+2EurekAlert!]news.mit.edunew study lawyers legalese 0529MIT NewsEven lawyers don't like legalese29 May 2023 — Surprisingly, the lawyers rated the plain English documents as being higher quality…
This explanation is sometimes called the “copy-and-edit” hypothesis. Under this view, legalese survives not because lawyers love it but because previously used language feels safer than new wording. A clause that has already survived negotiations or litigation may appear less risky than a clearer alternative, even when the alternative expresses the same idea. [MIT News]news.mit.edunew study lawyers legalese 0529MIT NewsEven lawyers don't like legalese29 May 2023 — Surprisingly, the lawyers rated the plain English documents as being higher quality…
Other researchers have suggested a complementary explanation: legal language can function as a signal of authority and formality. In later studies, people asked to draft official legal texts tended to write in a more convoluted style than when expressing equivalent content in unofficial contexts. This suggests that some legal complexity may arise from expectations about how law is supposed to sound rather than from substantive necessity. [PNAS]pnas.orgEven laypeople use legaleseWe found that people tasked with writing official laws wrote in a more convoluted manner than when tasked…
The persistence of legalese therefore appears to be partly cultural. Lawyers may inherit conventions that no longer serve the goals of comprehension, yet continue using them because they are embedded in professional practice and institutional precedent.
What This Means for Reading Speed
The comparison between plain-language contracts and traditional legalese highlights a broader lesson about reading efficiency. Readers often assume that legal documents are slow because the underlying ideas are difficult. The evidence suggests that the wording itself is frequently responsible for much of the delay. [Scientific American]scientificamerican.comeven lawyers dont understand legalese new study showsScientific AmericanEven Lawyers Don't Understand Legalese, New Study…10 Jul 2023 — While the attorneys outperformed laypeople overall…
When contracts remove unnecessary syntactic complexity, readers spend less time reconstructing sentence structure and more time understanding the actual legal obligations. That does not eliminate the need for careful reading, but it reduces avoidable cognitive load. The result is a rare case in which improved readability appears to benefit experts and non-experts alike without an obvious loss of legal force. [PNAS+2PNAS]pnas.orgEven lawyers do not like legalese30 May 2023 — In contrast, the fact that lawyers in our studies rated plain-English contracts as hig…
For the specific goal of increasing reading speed, the evidence from contract drafting suggests that clarity and precision are not always opposing values. In many cases, clearer contracts are simply easier contracts to read.
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Further Reading
Books and field guides related to Do Plain Language Contracts Work Just as Well?. Use these as the next step if you want deeper reading beyond the article.
Plain English for lawyers
First published 1978. Subjects: Legal composition, English language, dictionaries, Law, dictionaries, Law, terminology, Kf250 .w9 2005.
A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting
First published 2005. Subjects: Contracts, Legal composition, Language, Contracts, united states, Interpretation and construction.
Legal writing in plain English
Directly addresses replacing legalese with clearer language while preserving legal effectiveness and precision.
Clarity for Lawyers: Effective Legal Language
Examines the myths and realities of legalese versus plain language in legal documents.
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Endnotes
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Source: pnas.org
Link: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2302672120Source snippet
Even lawyers do not like legalese30 May 2023 — In contrast, the fact that lawyers in our studies rated plain-English contracts as hig...
Published: May 2023
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Source: pnas.org
Link: https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2302672120Source snippet
Even lawyers do not like legaleseby E Martínez · 2023 · Cited by 21 — Experiment 2 revealed that lawyers rated simplified contracts a...
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Source: news.mit.edu
Title: new study lawyers legalese 0529
Link: https://news.mit.edu/2023/new-study-lawyers-legalese-0529Source snippet
MIT NewsEven lawyers don't like legalese29 May 2023 — Surprisingly, the lawyers rated the plain English documents as being higher quality...
Published: May 2023
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Source: gizmodo.com
Title: lawyers better reading plain english not legal jargon 1850488365
Link: https://gizmodo.com/lawyers-better-reading-plain-english-not-legal-jargon-1850488365Source snippet
Lawyers Hate Legal Jargon, Too30 May 2023 — A new study has found that lawyers have an easier time remembering legal documents wri...
Published: May 2023
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Source: pnas.org
Title: why legalese persists
Link: https://www.pnas.org/post/podcast/why-legalese-persistsSource snippet
Why legalese persists | Science Sessions17 Jul 2023 — We did not [find evidence]({{ 'find-evidence/' | relative_url }}) that lawyers were disproportionately better than laype...
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Source: eurekalert.org
Title: news releases
Link: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/990490Source snippet
Even lawyers don't like legalese29 May 2023 — Surprisingly, the lawyers rated the plain English documents as being higher quality than th...
Published: May 2023
-
Source: phys.org
Title: 2024 08 laws written incomprehensible style
Link: https://phys.org/news/2024-08-laws-written-incomprehensible-style.htmlSource snippet
Study explains why laws are written in an...19 Aug 2024 — In a follow-up study published in 2023, the researchers found that legalese al...
-
Source: pnas.org
Link: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2405564121Source snippet
Even laypeople use legaleseWe found that people tasked with writing official laws wrote in a more convoluted manner than when tasked...
-
Source: scientificamerican.com
Title: even lawyers dont understand legalese new study shows
Link: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/even-lawyers-dont-understand-legalese-new-study-shows/Source snippet
Scientific AmericanEven Lawyers Don't Understand Legalese, New Study...10 Jul 2023 — While the attorneys outperformed laypeople overall...
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Source: bigthink.com
Title: lawyers dislike legalese
Link: https://bigthink.com/high-culture/lawyers-dislike-legalese/Source snippet
Even lawyers hate "legalese"10 Jun 2023 — Lawyers also rated contracts in plain English as higher quality and just as legally enforceable...
Additional References
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Source: reddit.com
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/linguistics/comments/14edh5f/even_lawyers_dont_like_legalese_mit_study/Source snippet
Even Lawyers Don't Like Legalese (MIT Study): r/linguisticsYes, it makes documents harder for lawyers to read, but it renders them basic...
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Source: adamsdrafting.com
Link: https://www.adamsdrafting.com/lawyer-attitudes-to-contracts-legalese-my-critique-of-a-new-study-featured-in-the-economist/Source snippet
Lawyer Attitudes to Contracts Legalese: My Critique of a...Jun 19, 2023 — The net effect is that these extracts make it easy for a lawye...
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Source: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37253008/Source snippet
Even lawyers do not like legaleseby E Martínez · 2023 · Cited by 21 — Experiment 2 revealed that lawyers rated simplified contracts...
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Source: researchgate.net
Title: 383233336 Even laypeople use legalese
Link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/383233336_Even_laypeople_use_legaleseSource snippet
(PDF) Even laypeople use legalese26 Aug 2024 — Here, a corpus analysis (n = 59) million words) first replicated and extended prior work...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: How to write plain language 27: Lease contract (Part 1)
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65JTHtjN1rcSource snippet
"Plain-language contracts" legalese Importance of Plain Language in Legal Drafting Talha Abdul Rahman...
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Source: linkedin.com
Title: Frances Gordon
Link: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/francesgordon_plainlanguage-legalwriting-activity-7421824973704630272-9TRrSource snippet
Lawyers Prefer Plain English in Contracts27 Jan 2026 — Even lawyers don't like legalese. MIT researchers tested how lawyers respond to co...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: Why We Don’t Like Plain English Contracts
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq-scdFR__cSource snippet
Written legal English resources #9: Legalese v Plain English study #LegalEnglish...
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Source: linkedin.com
Title: Ben Clancy
Link: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ben-clancy-36b9a8231_even-lawyers-do-not-like-legalese-pnas-activity-7333183595353677827-46PvSource snippet
Even lawyers don't like legalese.Even lawyers don't like legalese. Lawyers rated contracts written in plain-English as significantly high...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: Writing Contracts in Plain Language (with Milva Finnegan)
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BSxuFWlfSQSource snippet
Why We Don't Like Plain English Contracts...
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Source: youtube.com
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBwrZ_FLKMESource snippet
✍ Legal Writing in Plain English...
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