Typography For Lawyers

What is typography anyway? Should a lawyer pay attention to typography? Matthew Butterick suggests yes and here is why. First, what is typography?

Typography is the art and technique of arranging type, type design, and modifying type glyphs. Type glyphs are created and modified using a variety of illustration techniques. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading (line spacing), adjusting the spaces between groups of letters (tracking) and adjusting the space between pairs of letters (kerning). [Wikipedia]

Matthew Butterick is a civil litigation attorney running a law office, Butterick Law Corporation, out of Los Angeles. As he states,

Even though the legal profession depends heavily on writing, legal typography is often poor. Some blame lies with the strict typographic constraints that control certain legal documents (e.g. court rules regarding the format of pleadings). But the rest of the blame lies with lawyers. To be fair, I assume this is for lack of information, not lack of will. This website tries to fill that void. There are numerous guides on typography for generalists available but none specifically aimed at lawyers. This website is an ongoing work, with pieces being added as I write them.

Butterick addresses what typography is and why is it important and especially why is it important for lawyers? The website features lessons on how to improve typography in legal documents: basic typography, intermediate typography, and advanced typography. Users are welcome to leave comments and ask questions. See for yourself and enjoy!

Pace Law Library

Typography For Lawyers

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