Re: on the edge of the law?

[Jane Credland <circe -at- ULTRANET -dot- CA>]

At 06:54 PM 6/23/98 -0500, A Watkins wrote:
>Is anyone here aware of limits to the size of font and
>tracking for a legal document? I'm updating a contract and
>have to add a paragraph. It won't fit without adding another
>page and redesigning the whole thing, a pageant in which I
>am unable to perform due to the deadline. We're already
>barely readable: Arial 5.5, normal tracking.

I've worked in lots of law firms over the years, and I have yet to meet a
lawyer who would allow a contract to go out in a font that small.

I don't know about US law or requirements.  I can tell you that if a
contract isn't legible because of type that's too small or any other
reason, then one or the other of the parties could use that at a later date
as part of an argument to set the contract aside.  There's no guarantee
that they'd win on that point (and none that they wouldn't if the parties
got a cranky judge who couldn't read the copy of the contract placed into
evidence), but legibility and readability are starting to become sticking
points in contracts these days, especially for contracts with small
companies or individuals who don't have easy access to in-house counsel.

The font sizes and tracking are definite requirements in court documents,
btw.  Again, I don't know the limits in the US, but in my experience in
Canada, anything less than 10pt Arial or 12pt Times New Roman would be
rejected by the court as unacceptable.

Jane Credland
circe -at- ultranet -dot- ca