Legalese

Much of my time spent copy editing is weeding through the legalese. A large number of the news releases that funnel through and eventually appear in some altered form in Stockwatch are riddled with ambiguous terms and virtually unreadable legal-type language. As a copy editor it is my job to turn this headache-inducing text into prose that is informative and helpful, if not always exactly a pleasure to read.

What do I mean by legalese? I'll give you an example. Immediately below is a sample of unedited text from a news release. Admittedly, its main fault is wordiness, so it's not the best example of legalese.

In accordance with the provisions of letters of transmittal previously provided to shareholders of the Company, share certificates for Post-Reorganization shares of G____ are now issuable to shareholders against exchange of their certificates representing Pre-Reorganization shares of G____ with C________ at its principal transfer agency in Toronto. The exchange ratios for each of the classes and series of shares of G____ which were reclassified pursuant to the Reorganization are set forth in the Company's Management Information Circular dated January 21, 2008 (the "Circular").

Guh? I know. I had to edit the above text, which is virtually unreadable, to the text below, which is moderately more readable. I'm still not entirely satisfied with it.

In accordance with provisions in letters of transmittal already provided to company shareholders, certificates for post-reorganization G____ shares are now issuable to shareholders against exchange of their pre-reorganization share certificates with C________ in Toronto. The exchange ratios for each of the classes and series of shares of G____ which were reclassified according to the reorganization are set forth in the company's management information circular dated January 21, 2008.

And even now I realize that I forgot to abbreviate "January" to "Jan." according to the Globe and Mail style. Oh well.

Anyway, I deal with this kind of text all day. You might say that, as a copy editor, I'm on the front line of a war against user-unfriendly language. Every word I strike down is a bullet that doesn't make it through to strike some poor innocent reader.

...

OK, now I'm stretching things a bit. And that's my cue to exit.