Draft Different: 90% of laywers won’t spot the mistake

We asked 180 lawyers about their proofreading habits. Despite all the efforts lawyers put into proofreading, we found that 90% of ‘proofread’ documents contained errors.

Drafting occupies as much as 60% of a lawyer’s time. One of the most important elements in drafting is proofreading and document review – because crossing the Ts and dotting the Is can make the difference between a negligence claim or complaint or not, or a client who wins a piece of litigation, or loses.

Almost two-thirds of fee earners say that they could complete more work if they used tools to help with proofreading.

This research, mainly around business services leaders’ attitudes to more efficient and risk-managed document drafting, has uncovered a number of key themes that show why and how law firms are failing their clients around drafting: a reluctance to and fear of change, a lack of understanding and knowledge of the tools available to support proofreading improvements, and a lack of clarity around who should drive improvements.

Read the full report [PDF] or find out more at draftdifferent.co.uk