April 6, 2006

Cooley Professor Testifies Before Congress

Professor Joesph Kimble

Cooley Professor Joseph Kimble testified before Congress recently, urging lawmakers to approve legislation that would require the use of plain language in federal regulations.

Professor Kimble spoke to members of the U.S. House Government Reform Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs.

Although there has been movement toward plain language by U.S. presidents in recent years, the Committee on Government Reform notes that federal regulatory agencies by and large tend to ignore these initiatives.

Professor Kimble told legislators that using plain language in regulations and other public documents could bring about great savings. “I believe that the cost of poor communication is the great hidden waste in government,” he said.

The cost to the government is not just in dollars and cents, but in public relations. “Think of the ill-will created by unclear public information — the confusion and anger and frustration that it causes people who have to make phone calls, who can’t fill out a form, who don’t understand their rights or benefits, who make mistakes in trying to follow procedures.”
Cost savings, good will, and even improved compliance with regulations are all benefits of using plain language, Kimble said.

“There is now compelling evidence that plain language saves money — enormous amounts of money — and pleases readers. It is much more likely to be read and understood and heeded — in much less time. I think it could even help to restore faith in public institutions,” he added.

Professor Kimble has taught legal writing and drafting at Cooley for 21 years. He is the executive director of Scribes, the American Society of Writers on Legal Subjects; editor in chief of The Scribes Journal of Legal Writing; president of the international plain-language group, Clarity; editor of the “Plain Language” column in the Michigan Bar Journal for 18 years; and a founding director of the new Center for Plain Language, in Washington, D.C.

In addition, Professor Kimble worked on plain-language jury instructions for the Sixth Circuit and for the State Bar of Michigan, and recently led the redrafting of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. He is the author of Lifting the Fog of Legalese: Essays on Plain Language, published in 2006.

Founded in 1972, Cooley Law School is the largest law school in the country. Cooley has three campuses across Michigan: its campus in downtown Lansing, its downtown Grand Rapids campus in west Michigan and its Rochester/Oakland University campus in southeast Michigan. In addition to the juris doctor program, students at Cooley can also pursue a master of laws degree in tax or intellectual property. Find out more about Cooley Law School by visiting the Cooley Web site at www.cooley.edu.