Arce & Partners Law Firm

Style Guide
Pref ace

This style guide is intended for all users that produce documents from our law firm. The

idea is to have a consistent look. It is important that all the documents we produce are

written in a clear, concise and consistent style.

Purpose.

The main purpose is to have the same standards and consistency for all documents

belonging to this law firm.

Target Audience

The documents produced by this law firm are directed to varied stakeholders. In some cases it will

be directed to our clients which can be any person that requires our services and also in some

cases we will need to direct ourselves to government agencies.

Policy Statement

All staff are required to use and comply with the attached style guide when preparing any

written work. This will help ensure that our documents are written clearly and effectively,

and we provide consistent high quality services to all our stakeholders.

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Contents
Section I. Corporate Visual Identity-----------------------------------3
I.I Using the adequate template--------------------------------------------------3
I.II Stationery -------------------------------------------------------------------------3
I.III Layout specifications-----------------------------------------------------------3

Section II. Writing documents -----------------------------------------4

II.I The writing process-------------------------------------------------------------4
II.II Referring to ourselves and others------------------------------------------5
II.III Upper or lower case ----------------------------------------------------------5
II.VI Writing for a diverse audience--------------------------------------------5
II. VII Using inclusive language-------------------------------------------------5
II.VIII Sexist language-------------------------------------------------------------6
II.IX Referring legislation---------------------------------------------------------6

Section III. Using Plain English----------------------------------------7

III.I Write in a professional and positive way---------------------------------7
III.II Limit each paragraph to a main idea------------------------------------7

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SECTION1: CORPORATE VISUAL IDENTITY
The way in which the law firm presents itself to the public and to other agencies through letters,
reports, emails, brochures and other publications influence the image and opinion that people
form of us. Our aim is to create a single, consistent, and clear corporate visual identity that
projects a professional agency in our day to day correspondence, such as letters, reports and
emails. Setting and maintaining standards is essential for providing consistency to ensure that
both internal and external documents are professional.

I.I Using the adequate template

There are corporate templates for some of the main types of documents we write, including:

Letters, facsimiles, memoranda, meeting, minutes, PowerPoint slide presentations, discussion/issues

papers, special reports to Parliament, other reports. They are stored in the company’s system. To use them,
double click on the relevant template, complete the details and save it as a new document. Please use these
to create your documents as it will make your job easier and ensure consistency of style across the office.

I.II Stationery
Letterhead. -
The Firm’s letterhead should be used for all official correspondence. The letterhead has
our logo on the top right hand corner with contact details directly below. Plain white paper
should be used as consecutive pages if your letter is longer than one page.
Media releases. -The Firm’s media release letterhead is used for communications with
the media. The project officer, community relations is responsible for media releases
(media releases must be approved by Office Directors).
Envelopes. - Use the standard DL envelopes that are loaded into the printers for most
correspondence. Use a larger envelope if your document or report would fit more
comfortably and print out an address label rather than addressing by hand.

I.III Layout Specifications

If for any reason you find you need to create a document from scratch, you still need to
keep in mind the layout specifications of the template documents as follows:
Margins.- Margins should be [2cm on all sides]
Font.- The office approved font is Arial 12pt which is a serif font and easy to read.
Generally speaking, this should be the font you use for all correspondence. Remember to
take into account your audience. Put the text in a larger if you know, or reasonably
believe that the recipient of the letter has poor eyesight or would find your letter easier to
read.
Paragraph alignment.-All paragraphs should be ‘left aligned’, not ‘justified.
Contact details and reference number.- All outgoing correspondence should have your
contact details and a reference number in the top left hand corner of the first page. The
reference number should include the context container number and the record number,
this will help you and others find the document in the future.
Contact: Amanda Bloome Telephone: 02 9286 1000
Our reference: C/2004/1234, 2004/123456 Your reference: XX/7981

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Date.- The date on your letters should fall midway between the reference number and the
first line of the address block and be written day/month/year with no commas.
Address block.- The address should be written without punctuation and without
capitalising the suburb (if it is an Australian address). There should be three spaces
between the suburb and the state, and between the state and the postcode.
Ms Maxine Smith 44 Bathurst Street
Menai NSW 2234
Postal addresses. - Use full forms such as Street, Place, Crescent. Do not use shortened
forms such as St (Street), Pl (Place), Cres (Crescent). The only exception is PO (Post
Office) when the address is a post office box number, eg: PO Box 4, GPO Box 321.
Telephone/fax numbers
Tel: 02 9286 1072
Tel: 61 2 9286 1072
Toll Free: 1800 451 524
Mobile: 0411 345 678
Subject heading. - Insert between the salutation and the first line of text of the letter. Set
in bold and left align. Don’t use ‘Re ’ before the subject heading.
Forms of address. - Take the time to find out the correct names and titles for the people,
departments, job designations and organizations that you are writing to or about.
General. - Use the basic forms of address — Mr, Ms — where known eg Dear Ms [name].
Use Doctor, Reverend, Rabbi, Commissions, Councilor etc where known eg Dear Dr
[name].
If a female correspondent does not indicate whether she wishes to be addressed as Ms,
Mrs or Miss, she should be addressed as Ms.
If known, include awards after a person’s surname such as OBE, AM.
Always make sure you spell a person's name exactly as they do. If in doubt, ask them.
Responses to organizations are usually addressed to the individual who signed the letter
or to the title of the office bearer if the letter has not been properly signed eg The
Coordinator.

II. Writing documents

Try to make every document you prepare easy to read and use. This will encourage people
to read it and help them understand what you are saying.

II.I The writing process

Before you start writing, think about your readers and what they need to know. Then, think
about the structure of your document. Prepare an outline or plan with your key headings
and content points. Group related ideas together and put the most important points first.
Organize your material in a way that helps your readers to grasp the important information
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quickly and to navigate through the document easily. Also, make sure you have the correct
template for your document.

II.II Referring to ourselves and others

Government
It is the NSW Government and the Federal, not the Commonwealth, Government.
When government is used adjectivally, or when it doesn’t refer to a specific entity,
use lower case. For example – government control, state government agencies,
federal legislation and local government.
Parliament
Capitalized only in full formal titles ie. Parliament House. Use generically or as an
adjective, use lower case.
Parliamentary Joint Committee
The full title is the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Office of the Ombudsman
and the Police Integrity Commission. Our preferred abbreviation is PJC.

II.III Upper or lower case

Use lower case for sections/divisions/positions within our office eg youth liaison officer,
community services division – except for the Aboriginal unit.
Use upper case for interdepartmental committees eg Corruption Prevention Network.
Job titles should not be capitalized, unless appearing with the person's name as part of a
formal title.
Use initial capitals for states and territories of Australia. The shortened forms are NSW,
Vic, Qld, WA, SA, Tas, NT and ACT. The word ‘state’ is not capitalized when used
adjectivally or when it refers to an abstract entity eg state control, the states of South East
Asia.

II.VI Writing for a diverse audience

It is important for us to be aware of how discrimination through language can operate
intentionally and inadvertently, the harm it can cause, and how we can try to eliminate
such discrimination.
Language use is discriminatory when:
 It makes people invisible – for example, the generic use of the pronoun 'he' or the
noun 'man' to refer to both men and women.
 It focuses on one characteristic of a person to the exclusion of other, often more
relevant ones – for example, the writing award went to Ms Ann Bloggs who is
confined to a wheelchair.
 It stereotypes people – for example, 'All senior managers have wives and children to
support' assumes that all senior managers are male.
 It treats people differently or singles them out – for example, five people, including
one Aboriginal, were picked up for questioning.
 It denigrates or insults people – for example, they carried on in the meeting like a
bunch of old women.

II. VII Using inclusive language

When referring to complainants – in, for example, a case study for our annual report – use a simple
description of the person rather than their name, a pseudonym or Ms A. For example, 'A young man
in a group home complained about .....' or 'A customer complained about the RTA ....'.

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Don't use age, cultural background, disability, marital status, nationality, race, religion, gender or
sexuality as a description unless it is relevant. If ethnic or racial information about a person or group
is essential to the meaning of what you are writing, make sure that it is presented in a non-
discriminatory manner and respects any preferences or sensitivities of the person or group.
Generally acceptable phrases include Arabic-speaking Australians, Australians of Chilean descent,
Vietnamese- born Australians and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

II.VIII Sexist language

Don't use 'man' or 'men' or the pronouns he, him and his to refer to both men and women as this
has the effect of rendering women invisible in the language. If you don't know the sex of a person
about whom you are writing, try to use ‘he or she’ rather than always using the male pronoun.
However, this can get repetitive if it is used a lot in a document. This pronoun problem (he/she,
his/her) can be overcome by rewriting the sentence in the plural. It is increasingly acceptable to use
their as if it were singular. For example:

Managers are available for anyone who wants to discuss his or her progress.

Managers are available for people who want to discuss their progress

.Managers are available for any member of staff who wants to discuss their progress.
Use gender neutral terms – such as supervisor rather than foreman, and police officer rather than
policeman.

II.IX Referring legislation

Acts of Parliament
When the word ‘Act’ is used to mean a piece of legislation, it begins with a capital letter. When
an Act is first mentioned, give the full title, use italics and include the date – with no comma
between the name and the date.
 Ombudsman Act 1974
 Community Services (Complaints, Reviews and Monitoring) Act 1993
Put subsequent references to the Act in plain font and remove the date – for example, the
Ombudsman Act.
You can also put a shortened form in plain, non-italic text in brackets after the full title of
the Act. This shortened form can then be used afterwards without the brackets.
 Community Services (Complaints, Reviews and Monitoring) Act 1993 (CS-CRAMA) –
Under CS- CRAMA our responsibilities include …
 Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act) – Under the GIPA Act
agencies are required to …
State, Territory and Commonwealth legislation can be distinguished from NSW legislation
by including the jurisdiction in abbreviated form — in brackets in plain, non-italic text after
the date.
 Copyright Act 1968 (Cth)
 Statute Law Revision Act 1937 (Vic)
Sections, clauses and regulations
Use section and the number for the first time you refer to a section of an Act, and then
use abbreviation which carries a full stop s.46/ss.46-47/ss.20 and 46. Same applies
to clauses and regulations cl.4, r.18. or rr.4-7.
Bills
When the word ‘Bill’ is used to mean a proposed piece of legislation, it begins with a capital
letter. The title is set in plain, non-italic text, with initial capitals and no comma between the
title and the date.
 Surveillance Devices Bill 2007
 Graffiti Control Bill 2008
Regulations
Regulations and other forms of delegated legislation begin with a capital letter. The title is set
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in plain, non-italic text, with initial capitals and no comma between the title and the date.
 Annual Reports (Departments) Regulation 2005
 Public Health (General) Regulation 2002
Court cases and court reports
The name of the case is italicized, and the year is placed in parentheses or brackets,
depending on report series.
 Administrative Decisions Tribunal Panel v Director-General, Department of Commerce & Ors
[2008] NSWCA
140
 Fomiatti v University of Western Sydney (No. 2) [2006] NSWADT 210

Section III. Using Plain English

One of the most important principles of plain English is that documents are developed and written
from the reader's viewpoint. The test of success is not just that a document reads well, but whether
it communicates the message to your reader.

III.I Write in a professional and positive way

Use familiar everyday words unless this is impossible.
Make sure the words you write are direct, unpretentious and familiar to your audience – and use
just enough words to get your message across clearly.
If you mean ‘about’ say ‘about’ – not concerning, regarding or in relation to. Use before and after
rather than prior to and subsequent to, and start and end rather than commence and terminate.

Try not to use unnecessary phrases or jargon

Avoid unnecessary sentence starters such as – accordingly, in the event that, in respect of
and with regards to. They waste reader’s time and make your writing lose its impact.
Make sure you always put the most important part of the sentence or paragraph at the
beginning. Long ‘lead in’ clauses push your key message further and further towards the
end of the sentence. Tighten up your writing – don’t use 15 words when 10 or less would
do.

III.II Limit each paragraph to a main idea

Shorter simpler sentences are easier to read and are more likely to be grammatically
correct. Some sentence tips are:
 Put only one main idea in a sentence and avoid run-on sentences that link ideas
with commas.
 Put the most important part of the sentence first – think about what you want to
emphasise.
 Avoid repetition – delete unnecessary words and information.
 Use a straightforward active sentence structure whenever possible.

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