For me, it's this: "You don't sound like a lawyer."
I hear this often. And every time, I take it as a win.
Because when someone says that, what they're really saying is this: you're clear. You're direct. You're understandable. You're not hiding behind jargon, hedging every sentence, or turning a simple idea into a 500-word paragraph.
In other words, you're communicating.
Too many lawyers confuse complexity with intelligence. They write like they're being graded by a law professor instead of read by a business owner. They default to legalese because it feels safe. Precise. Familiar.
It's a massive barrier.
Clients don't hire lawyers to sound like lawyers. They hire us to solve problems, explain risk, and help them make decisions. None of that requires Latin phrases or sentences that run on for half a page.
In fact, the opposite is true. The more complicated the issue, the more valuable plain English becomes.
If your client has to read your email twice to understand it, you've already lost ground.
If they forward it to someone else (or an AI) with "Can you translate this?" you've missed the mark entirely.
Clarity isn't dumbing things down. It's doing the hard work of making the complex accessible. It's knowing your subject well enough to explain it simply.
That's my job.
So no, I don't want to "sound like a lawyer." I want to sound like someone my clients can understand.
Here's what I read this week that you should read, too.
Employment Agency Pushes Discrimination Cases That Match Trump's Agenda — via The New York Times
7 stories about the state of DEI at the federal level — via HR Dive
Claude AI agent's confession after deleting a firm's entire database: 'I violated every principle I was given' — via The Guardian
The AI Layoff Trap — via Brett Hemenway Falk and Gerry Tsoukalas
When FMLA Has Impeccable Timing Around a Holiday, This is What Employers Shouldn’t Do. — via Jeff Nowak's FMLA Insights
Why The Rules Exist — via Improve Your HR by Suzanne Lucas, the Evil HR Lady
What the ADA Requires When a Drug Test Flags a Legally Prescribed Medication — via Eric Meyer's Employer Handbook Blog
HHS seeks employee reassignments to tackle months-long reasonable accommodation backlog — via Federal News Network
Can You Get in Any Legal Trouble by Flipping the Bird to Gaudy Trump-Branded Properties? — via Above the Law
Minocqua Brewing Is Going Viral. Not For Their Beer. — via Beer Street Journal
This Was CBC26: Craft Brewers Conference® & BrewExpo America® Recap — via Brewers Association