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Conforming to type
W ords matter. Lawyers
know that clear or
clumsy wording can
By the book
make all the difference in the
world. But do fonts and layout Michael
matter too? Typography for Law-
yers by Matthew Butterick argues
Rappaport
that good typography is part of
good lawyering.
“Typography won’t make the
difference between winning and
losing a case,” Butterick says in an
interview. But just as lawyers take
care with their dress in court and
office décor, Butterick says they
should also take care with the
look and layout of their pleadings,
submissions, correspondences and
other legal documents.
Based in Los Angeles, Butter-
ick, is both a graphic designer and
a practising attorney. He earned a
BA in visual and environmental
studies from Harvard University
and worked at a studio designing
fonts for Apple Inc. and Microsoft
Corp., before attending the Uni-
versity of California, Los Angeles’
(UCLA) law school and becom-
ing a member of the California Title:
Bar in 2007. If you’ve ever used Typography for
Herald Gothic, Wessex or Her- Lawyers
mes Sans Serif, you’ve used But- Essential tools
terick’s handiwork. for polished
Lawyers are often reluctant to & persuasive
fiddle with the layout of legal documents
documents, since the vast major-
ity lack professional graphic AUTHOR:
design experience. But Butterick Matthew Butterick
says that making documents look
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22 | May 6, 2011 The lawyers weekly www.lawyersweekly.ca
business careers
yers commit when laying out docu- printing, paper and PDF files.
ments is capitalizing whole sentences Does typography matter? No one
and paragraphs. “The use of ALL knows which snowflake will trigger an
2
CAPS is a horrible plague on the legal avalanche — just as lawyers do not Divide the page into
profession,” Butterick bemoans. know for certain which line of argu- foreground and
“CAPITALIZED TEXT is harder to ment, piece of evidence or part of testi- background.
read than lower case text. Lawyers Indeed, almost all layout defaults mony will swing a judge or jury their
capitalize entire paragraphs to owe a debt to the now discarded type- way. Good typography might not tip
emphasize to readers the importance writer. “Double spacing, one inch mar- the scales of justice in your favour, but
of the text, but it is self-defeating, gins, 12 point font are all derived from it can’t hurt to have pleadings which
3
since many readers skip over it standard type writing practices,” But- look polished and professional.n Make adjustments with
because it is hard to read.” terick says. He recommends wider the smallest visible
Most other major typographical margins, smaller type — 10 or 11 We want to hear from you! increments.
mistakes are holdovers from the point — and line spacing between 120- Email us at: tlw@lexisnexis.ca
fonts by Butterick
Samples of fonts designed by Matthew Butterick:
4 When in doubt, try it
both ways.
Alix
Canada’s legal champion for a healthy environment.
5
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uOttawa-Ecojustice Environmental Law Clinic. Applicants must Be consistent.
Herald Gothic
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Hermes
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legal responsibilities will be supplemented by communications,
fundraising and pedagogical roles. Bilingualism is an asset. 6 Relate each new element
to existing elements.
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Canada’s environment. Since its inception in 1990, Ecojustice
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Wessex
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7 Keep it simple.
Alberta.
Font for thought
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Matthew Butterick says Times New Roman is a
8
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fine font, below are some good alternatives: Imitate what you like.
Baskerville
IN HOUSE COUNSEL Cambria
Now accepting ad bookings 9 Don’t fear white space.