Thanks to the generosity of the City Remembrancer’s office in the City of London, I had the unusual privilege of leading a workshop about testing documents at The City Centre, their meeting venue at the Guildhall.
The meeting was one of the regular breakfasts held by Clarity International, an international association promoting plain legal language. We were a mixed group of lawyers, writers, and others working in the area of simplifying legal documents.
I started with an introduction to usability testing, and then we tried ‘Pens of Power’ – a simple technique for evaluating content on a clause from the Modern Commercial Lease.
This quick usability test led to some lively discussion as we considered how people use legal documents, and how we might improve the one we had just tested.
Particular thanks to Daphne Perry, International Secretary and UK Representative, for inviting me to the meeting.