Candice is a plain language lawyer. In her 17 years of practice, she has focused on making legal content easier to understand and more relevant to readers.
Candice started out as an attorney in general practice, drafting contracts and conducting litigation. She was admitted as an attorney of the High Court of South Africa in 1997.
It was while working at a London law firm in the late 1990s, that Candice had an experience that would shape her career. After holding a lengthy consultation with a client explaining the terms of a will and trust, the client asked her, “Did all those words mean that everything is going to my daughter?” Candice questioned her role as a legal practitioner. What was the point of using a language that most clients did not understand?
Candice began to explore alternatives to drafting contracts and other legal documents in impenetrable legalese. In 2002, she completed a certificate course run by Mark Adler (an ex-President of Clarity) for the Law Society of England and Wales. Shortly afterwards, in 2004, Candice became the South African representative of Clarity, a post she has held for 10 years. In 2010, Candice was elected President of Clarity and served in this position until 2013.
In 2005 after joining forces with communication and content strategist Frances Gordon, Simplified was founded.
Candice has consulted with leading companies in South Africa, including Discovery, Alexander Forbes, Hollard, Allan Gray and Tracker. She has also trained over 200 courses in plain language principles. Her clients include Webber Wentzel, Bowman Gilfillan, ENS, SA Law Reform Commission, CCMA, Bidvest, and Investment Solutions.
In 2010, Candice co-founded the Plain Language Group of South Africa, a lobbying forum for effective plain language laws in South Africa. The Group was invited to give submissions to the Department of Trade and Industry on the guidelines for plain language under the Consumer Protection Act.
Candice is regularly invited to speak at conferences both locally and internationally. She often focuses on how clarity and precision are not mutually exclusive concepts: that legal texts can be simplified without losing the legal integrity of the document.