The Law Firm Literacy Audit

This literacy audit is designed to help you and your firm open up discussions on how to afford your clients a better opportunity for clear and effective communications. You decide how in-depth this audit will be. Take it yourself in just a few minutes, set up a meeting with your colleagues and go through it in about 30 minutes or have a lunch meeting and spend an hour creating your firm's own plan of action.
Get involved
Get your associates involved
Get your staff involved
The audit is divided into four sections. These sections are chosen to help you ensure that the literacy needs of your clients are considered throughout your firm. The sections each contain several questions that are designed to help you evaluate how well everyone in your firm is doing with the processes and documents you employ. Your answers will improve your skills in dealing with clients of varying literacy levels.

Processes and Procedures

Circle the response that best represents how you view what happens in your firm.

Our firm uses more than just print media to promote our services	.	Never	Sometimes	Usually
We offer non-print help for our clients (such as Dial-A-Law, audio and video tapes)	.	Never	Sometimes	Usually
We use audio or video presentations to supplement other ways of providing information to our clients	.	Never	Sometimes	Usually
We use visuals and graphics in communications material for our clients	.	Never	Sometimes	Usually
Any graphics or illustrations we use are clear	.	Never	Sometimes	Usually
We ask every client if they need help in completing forms or other types of paperwork while still in our office	.	Never	Sometimes	Usually
We create an atmosphere that makes clients feel they can ask for help or clarification	.	Never	Sometimes	Usually

Written Material

Our firm materials and precedents are easy for our clients to read and use	.	Never	Sometimes	Usually
We follow plain language guidelines in written communications	.	Never	Sometimes	Usually
We produce precedents in plain language	.	Never	Sometimes	Usually
We define technical and legal terms in the text of the material	.	Never	Sometimes	Usually
We use everyday words in their everyday meanings	.	Never	Sometimes	Usually
We use only forms that are necessary, when necessary	.	Never	Sometimes	Usually
We include ample white space in print material	.	Never	Sometimes	Usually
We review our written material to ensure it follows modern communications standards	.	Never	Sometimes	Usually
We go over all written material with our clients verbally, using plain language and checking for understanding	.	Never	Sometimes	Usually

Client Relations

Our firm asks our clients for feedback on how well we are meeting their needs . Never Sometimes Usually

We avoid jargon or we define legalese when communicating with clients . Never Sometimes Usually

We explain things in appropriate detail for each client, asking for confirmation of understanding as we go along . Never Sometimes Usually

We offer all clients the same assistance to avoid giving low literacy clients special and potentially embarrassing treatment . Never Sometimes Usually

We provide opportunities for clients to ask questions . Never Sometimes Usually

We are open to clues our clients provide about their literacy level . Never Sometimes Usually

Literacy and the Law

We try to inform ourselves about literacy	.	Never	Sometimes	Usually
We support literacy groups within the community	.	Never	Sometimes	Usually
We advertise our services so that low literacy adults have an equal opportunity of learning about them	.	Never	Sometimes	Usually

Literacy is the ability to draw conclusions from words that are understood and then to use those conclusions to make decisions and to take action.