CONCLUSION

Support from the top

There is a long way to go for plain English drafting and good writing skills in Sparke Helmore. But the seeds have been sown. With a little help from Miss Spelt, creativity and humour are wearing down legalese and pompous writing. I don’t apologise for the triteness of Miss Spelt and her bouquets for good and brickbats for bad drafting. Hopefully she is demystifying the law and helping Sparke Helmore lawyers critically reflect on the presentation and content of their written communication; and realise when they write, they are trying to communicate their messages to non-lawyers.

I’m also fortunate Sparke Helmore partners support plain English.

Support from the firms’ top helps embed writing training into the firm’s culture.⁵³

The joys of writing

They’ve allowed me to indulge my sense of humour and creativity in spreading the joys of writing. What better way than by entertaining staff with lively and engaging writing. Miss Spelt allows me to do that. And what better place to do it than in a law firm where the partners are happy for the staff to dress them up as the Village People. Pity they can’t sing and dance – but I’ll concentrate on their writing.