External-Speaker Training Series: Christopher Williams on 'Recent trends in plain legal English'

The EULETA External-Speaker Training Series features speakers who are experts in their fields and external to EULETA. The talks are on topics which are connected to our work as legal English teachers and which help our continued professional development. 

Our next external speaker training event will be on Thursday 14th March 2024 5.30pm - 7pm CET.

Christopher Williams will be speaking about Recent Trends in Plain Legal English.

About Christopher Williams’ talk

Christopher Williams will give a brief history of how plain language has developed in the English-speaking world since the 1970s and to what extent it has impacted on written legal English in the UK: the language of legislation, the language of court decisions, and the language of online terms and conditions. He will also look to the future, with particular reference to how design and visualisation are starting to become increasingly important when drafting legal documents.
You will be able to ask questions during the presentation and discuss the latest trends in plain English writing.

More about Christopher Williams

Christopher Williams retired in 2018 as Full Professor of English at the Law Department of the University of Foggia after a university career of 44 years. His research has focused mainly on legal English, particularly with reference to plain language. He is the representative for Italy of Clarity, the international plain language organization promoting plain legal English and legal design. He is chief editor of the journal ESP Across Cultures. His latest book, The Impact of Plain Language on Legal English in the United Kingdom (2023), is published by Routledge.

Registration is free and closes on 13th March.

Please register here. After you register you will receive a confirmation email (check your spam). If you do not receive this, it means you are not registered correctly and you should contact us.

We will send out a Zoom link on the day of the event.

If you have any questions about this event or any suggestions for potential speakers, who are not EULETA members, please let us know at: internal@euleta.org.