Avoiding costly mistakes: why you should hire a freelance legal copywriter
Introduction
When it comes to legal copywriting, you need to be sure that your copy is accurate, legally compliant and credible.
Even the smallest inaccuracy or oversight can have significant consequences for you and your business. The last thing you want to do is to expose your clients to regulatory or compliance issues or damage their reputation.
The risks associated with publishing inadequate legal copy, are too important to ignore.
This is why it’s really important to hire a specialist legal copywriter, preferably someone who has relevant professional legal experience. Hiring a freelance legal copywriter has a number of benefits. They have:
access to subject matter expertise;
a deep understanding of legal terminology;
the ability to simplify complex topics and produce engaging copy; and
more time, as they will need less supervision. It also reduces the time you’ll spend briefing them, as they’re already familiar with the subject.
A lot of businesses engage generalist writers, believing that it will keep their costs low. However, just because a specialist’s rate is higher, it doesn’t mean they’ll be more expensive overall:
If they understand the topic, it will reduce the time you need to spend briefing them.
They understand the legal landscape. This means that you can avoid costly mistakes that often happen when writers don’t fully understand the topic.
They can safeguard you from reputational and regulatory risks.
They position your business as an authority: capable of delivering high-quality copy that drives results.
The risks of using an inexperienced legal copywriter
Whilst there are lots of very competent generalist writers who work in the legal industry, it is very important to make sure that they have the requisite skills to protect your business. Choose the wrong writer and you may find that it’s a costly mistake.
Without a good understanding of the subject matter, there is the potential to misuse or misinterpret legal terminology. Particularly when you work in the B2B environment, this could ultimately destroy your credibility as it will be obvious to your clients that you don’t understand the subject. This will have a negative impact on your brand’s reputation and will erode any trust or authority that you’ve built up. Similarly, the writer may use the wrong keywords because the they don’t fully understand the context, which will damage your SEO.
Another risk is that the copy may not be legally compliant. Accuracy is key: even a small mistake or oversight could lead to costly penalties or legal action against you or your client. A freelance legal copywriter who does not have the skills or understanding of the topic, may inadvertently misinterpret legal requirements, exposing your or your client to significant liability.
Even if no legal action is taken, there is still a risk to your client’s reputation, your reputation and your relationship with your client. It’s therefore important that you work with a legal copywriter who has the proper qualifications and experience.
The value of hiring a specialist legal copywriter
Investing in a freelance legal copywriter may mean that you are faced with a higher upfront cost. However, the value and long-term benefits for you and your clients, far outweigh this initial investment. They have a deep understanding of the legal industry, terminology and compliance. This helps you to avoid any costly mistakes that often impact projects handled by writers who don’t have the specialist knowledge.
The advantages of hiring a legal copywriter include:
Unrivalled subject matter expertise
Writers who have a legal background have a strong understanding of the subject matter, of legal terminology and of the relevant regulatory and legislative framework. This means that their copy is accurate, legally sound and authoritative.
Credibility and Trust
If your clients know that you are using an expert to write your copy, it will increase their confidence in your company’s capabilities. This helps you to become a trusted partner that produces high-quality, credible copy that resonates with your target audience.
A quicker process that saves you time
If a writer has specialist knowledge, they’ll need less supervision, less briefing time and fewer rounds of revisions: they know the subject so they can anticipate any potential issues. This frees up your time to do the day job.
Lower risk
If you hire a specialist writer, you’ll have the comfort of knowing that they will deal with regulatory or legislative obligations. This reduces your risk of penalties or legal action, boosts your credibility and authority and strengthens your long-term relationships with clients.
Competitive Advantage
The ability to produce specialist, high-quality legal copy can really set you apart from the competition. Clients will see the value in working with a company that has access to legal experts and in turn, see you as a trusted partner.
How should you integrate a freelance legal copywriter into your workflow?
It’s important that you define roles and responsibilities early in your relationship with a legal writer.
It’s also imperative that you agree the best communication channels to develop a good partnership.
In doing this you should build in quality assurance measures to streamline review processes. You should provide the writer with the necessary resources, guidelines and client information to ensure that they can provide accurate and compliant copy.
Finally, it’s important to create opportunities for the legal copywriter to stay up-to-date with any industry developments relevant to your business or client’s business and to share their expertise with your team.
Conclusion
Legal copywriting carries a whole host of risks with it, simply due to the nature of the subject matter. It’s important that your legal copy is produced by a writer with the relevant skills, knowledge and experience. This not only protects your reputation, but mitigates any legal risks or costly mistakes. By producing accurate, clear and engaging copy, you will quickly develop a good reputation with prospects and existing customers which will ultimately mean that your leads and business opportunities increase dramatically.
