Mason Hayes & Curran sponsors Plain English Awards

Dublin firm Mason Hayes & Curran is sponsoring this year’s Plain English Awards, which rewards organisations that communicate clearly and offers free plain English training to those who don’t.

Entries for the awards, organised by the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA), are now open.

NALA is encouraging businesses and organisations from the financial, health, regulatory and public sectors to submit outstanding examples of plain English for judging by a panel of plain English experts, including RTÉ presenter John Murray.

Inez Bailey, CEO of NALA, said: “Plain English is very important for organisations and businesses as they can deliver a better service while saving time and money by not having to clarify misunderstandings with the public. We developed these awards as we want to publicly acknowledge organisations that choose to communicate in plain English.”

Declan Black, managing partner at Mason Hayes & Curran, added: “In Mason Hayes & Curran, our job often involves explaining complex information.

“We seek to do that clearly, using simple and accurate language. This approach applies to the advice we give clients or when we present a client’s position to another party or in court.

“In our view, a good lawyer is always clear, accurate and, where possible, brief. So, we strongly support the use of plain English and are very pleased to sponsor these awards.”

The Awards are free for businesses and organisations to enter on the NALA website before the deadline of 15 November 2016.

The winners will be announced in January 2017 at a ceremony that will also see the launch of NALA’s new Plain English Guide, which includes a preface by Mr Justice Peter Kelly.

The guide features case studies highlighting how organisations could have avoided expensive legal disputes by using clearer communication.