Considerations for Crafting Accessible and Effective Notices

• Author: Oscar Ramirez
• Pages: 269-296

269

Considerations for Crafting Accessible and Effective

Notices

Oscar Ramirez

: In class actions, notices keep class members apprised of essen-

tial information relating to the proceeding. As a result, notices are instru-

mental for class members seeking to exercise their rights. However, some

class members will face accessibility barriers because the notice is jargon-

filled or because of its formatting. To further accessibility and access to

justice, it is important to have some equitable consideration for the non-

homogenous needs of class members.

This paper posits that perception and digestibility are essential char-

acteristics that should be considered for crafting accessible and effective

notices, which would increase the ability of class members to exercise

their rights. Perception and digestibility considerations empower class

members to appreciate the contents of the notice and meaningfully exer-

cise their rights. This paper deconstructs perception and digestibility into

numerous elements that can assist notice drafters by obtaining guidance

from various cognitive psychology theories and plain language experts.

Figure 1: Arrow pointing to the right with

four dots along the line. The dots from

left to right: incoming information, input

of information by senses and recognition

(perception), storage of information into

memory and its manipulation (digestion),

response output.