8 guidelines for better legal information

Give the name of your organization.

Explain why you’re trustworthy.

Tell people enough about your organization to gain their confidence that the information is reliable. You can do this on your website. For example:

• describe the legal expertise of your staff or your legal reviewers
• tell them about your funders or community partners
• talk about your board of directors and their experience and backgrounds
• tell them about your organization’s history

Include contact information for your organization.

Telling people how to contact your organization increases confidence that you are an accountable and trustworthy organization. Providing contact information also lets people ask questions or give feedback.

Developed by CLEO (Community Legal Education Ontario / Éducation juridique communautaire Ontario) in collaboration with the CLEO Six Languages Advisory Group, made up of 10 member agencies.

For our Discard List, or to order or view our publications online, visit cleo.on.ca. You can reach us by phone at 416-408-4420.

Say that the information applies to Ontario, Canada.

When the information is online, it’s a good practice to say both Ontario and Canada.

Make the jurisdiction easy to see.

Put the jurisdiction where it stands out and is easy to see, for example, on the top of each web page that includes legal content. If the jurisdiction is in the name of your resource, you may not need to say it separately.

This information applies to Ontario, Canada.

This guide contains information about laws and policies in Ontario. The information may not apply to you if you live outside of Ontario.

When needed, say who the information is for.

Try to do this when:

- it’s not clear who the information is for, or
- the information is only for certain people.

They could be people in a certain group, for example, workers in the food service industry or women who are being abused.

Explain how the information is meant to be used.

Some information may explain their legal rights. Other information could say what steps they can take.

Put who or what the information is for where it can be clearly seen.

This could be in the title, subtitle, opening description, or early in the text.

Learn about your intended readers.

Learn about the issues and barriers your readers face. Understand their literacy levels, their preferred language, and their access to the internet. Understand demographics such as race, culture, abilities, age, sexual orientation, or gender. Make sure your information is relevant and accessible to them.

This resource explains how to spot the warning signs of identity theft, how to protect yourself, and what you can do if it happens to you.

This information is for front-line workers and advocates working with women who have experienced family violence and who have questions about their immigration status in Canada.

Put important information first.

Start with your conclusion and work backwards.

Use plain language techniques.

Write in the active voice. Speak directly to your reader, using “you”. Use the present tense and a conversational tone.

Use short sentences and short paragraphs.

Try to write sentences that are not more than 15 words. Write short paragraphs with one idea per paragraph.

Avoid legal jargon.

Use words the reader knows. Define any legal words that your readers need to know.

Review your information based on what you know about your readers

What do your readers need? What is your purpose for developing this content? Make sure that you’re following these 8 guidelines for better legal information.

Involve your readers whenever you can.

Ask them to review drafts and your final product. Are there parts that they do not understand?

Ask for feedback

You can get feedback from your readers in a number of ways. You could do some simple interviews, ask for feedback online, or do more complex usability testing. You can also ask colleagues and others who have relevant experience to review your information and give their feedback.

Clear Language and Design Helps Everyone: a webinar from CLEO

Use white space.

White space on a page or screen is easier on the eyes. Literacy experts recommend including plenty of white space with your text.

Make information easy to scan.

Most people scan, particularly when reading online information. Use techniques that make scanning easier, such as:

• use headings and subheadings
• put key terms in bold
• use bulleted lists
• put key points in highlighted boxes

Present information in a format that works best for the reader.

• online
• booklet
• flowcharts
• tables
• checklists
• infographics
• video

Design your content so it is accessible to people with diverse abilities.

Design elements may include:

• sufficient colour contrast
• a transcript or captions for audio or video resources
• alternative text, or “alt text”, for images, links, and charts
• providing PDFs in an accessible format

Clear Language Design Tips: a tipsheet from CLEO

AccessAbility: A Practical Handbook on Accessible Graphic Design: a guide to accessible design, by the Association of Registered Graphic Designers.

Web accessibility: An editor’s guide: a blog post that gives pointers on making web content, by Editors Toronto.

Tell your readers about free or low-cost services.

You can find information about services under each legal topic on stepstojustice.ca. A Find Services button appears on the right side of each topic and question page.

Give information about the service and who qualifies.

Include financial eligibility or other requirements. Give details like languages offered, hours of operation, and how services are provided, for example:

• in person
• by phone
• online or virtual, such as videoconference

Include design elements that increase accessibility for people of diverse abilities.

Design elements may include:

• sufficient colour contrast
• a transcript or captions for audio or video resources
• alternative text, or “alt text” , for images, links, and charts
• providing PDFs in an accessible format

The Workers’ Action Centre gives workers free information and advice. Visit workersactioncentre.org or call their Workers’ Rights Information Line toll-free at 1-855-531-0778.

Pro Bono Ontario has a legal advice hotline at 1‑855‑255‑7256. You may be able to get up to 30 minutes of free legal advice.

Making referrals for legal services, a tip sheet on giving good referrals by CLEO.

Ask a legal expert to review the information for legal accuracy.

The lawyer, paralegal, or community legal worker who does the review should have recent, practical experience in the area of law.

Have a legal review done regularly and include the most recent review date.

Update the last reviewed date even when a legal review does not change the content.

Make sure the review date is easy to see.

Put the legal review date where it stands out.

Reviewed: [date]. 

Reviewed for legal accuracy on [date].

This information is accurate as of [date]