Communicating complicated legal issues to legal aid clients can be tricky. While not all who experience poverty have lower than average literacy levels, research indicates that, where 20% of all American Adults are functionally illiterate, 43% of Texas adults with the lowest literacy skills are currently in poverty as opposed to 4% of those with the highest literacy skills are currently experiencing poverty. Additionally, 54% of American adults read at or below a 6th grade level and the adult literacy rate in Texas is currently only 81%. This can make communicating complicated legal issues hard. It is important to meet the client population of legal aid organizations where they are without talking down to them. While attorneys are regularly encouraged to not use jargon, shorthand, or acronyms when communicating with clients, explaining complex legal issues to those with lower literacy skills can prove difficult and require additional thoughtfulness. This presentation aims to discuss the importance of presenting information to our client populations in ways that are manageable for them, including the ethical implications of using non-legal terms to describe legal concepts; warn of the pitfalls of communicating to those with lower literacy skills; and share strategies for communicating with individuals in simple, easy-to-understand terms.
