Choosing the right font

By Linda Julian

Poor selection of fonts and point sizes can make legal documents heavy-going, especially for your clients. 

Serif vs sans serif
Research indicates that the vast majority of Australians find serif fonts (that is, those with "caps" and "tails") easier to process than san serif fonts (that is, those more "modern" or "cleaner" typestyles which are akin to kindergarten printing).

Font size
Do you find this font at this point size clear and readable ? 

Consider how easy (or otherwise) it will be for your clients to handle, especially the over-50s who mostly have some degree of difficulty with, or need correction to, their sight for reading. 

Think about those among your clients who may not be quite as competent in processing print.  Will this be clear and give the impression of being easy to handle, or will the font and point size make the document look hard to read ? 

Think about your own convenience in proof-reading and marking up edits to documents, too.
 
Highlighting fonts
Consider the highlight features of your preferred fonts.  Italics are a useful way to highlight text and far preferable to old-fashioned underlining.  (Underlining was the only highlighting feature readily available on typewriters and early word processing systems).

Similarly, consider how the font appears when emboldened.  Bold type is especially useful for headings.

Formats
Sections and sub-sections can be numbered, bulleted, indented, highlighted by italics, and emboldened  -  each feature has its place.

Think about the impression which fonts convey to the world about your firm:  you are advised to select a font which reinforces the image and profile of your practice.  Some fonts look distinctly old-fashioned, while others look truly "avant garde".

Experiment and get external input to choose the right font for your purpose.