# Plain English Translator

> This skill translates complex legal language into plain English at an 8th-grade reading level while preserving legal meaning. Use when non-legal stakeholders need to understand contract terms, when creating customer-facing contract summaries, or when a business team asks what a clause actually means. Suggest when business team forwards a contract with questions about specific terms.

- Skill: `mittuled/plain-english-translator` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 3 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add mittuled/plain-english-translator`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/mittuled/plain-english-translator/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: mittuled (https://skillmd.com/u/mittuled)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/mittuled/plain-english-translator

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# plain-english-translator

## Agent: Corporate Counsel

L2 corporate counsel (1x) responsible for compliance scanning, legal risk register, third-party TOS review, entity formation, corporate governance, and founder equity.

Department ethos: [ideal-legal.md](../../../../departments/legal/ideal-legal.md)
Tool policy: [allowed-tools.yaml](../../../../allowed-tools.yaml)

## Skill Description

Translates complex legal language into plain English at an 8th-grade reading level while preserving legal meaning and annotating each clause with its legal significance.

## When to Use

- When a non-legal stakeholder (sales, product, executive) needs to understand what specific contract terms mean before making a business decision.
- When creating a customer-facing summary of contract terms that must be accurate but accessible.
- When a business team asks "what does this clause actually mean?" and needs a clear answer without scheduling a meeting with legal.

## Workflow

1. **Identify Legalese Patterns**: Scan the contract text for legalese patterns: defined terms with expanded scope, nested conditionals, double negatives, archaic language (hereinafter, whereas, notwithstanding), and passive voice. Catalog each with its location. Deliverable: annotated pattern inventory. See [framework.md](references/framework.md) for common patterns.

2. **Rewrite in Plain English**: Translate each clause targeting Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level 8 or below. Break long sentences. Replace jargon with everyday equivalents. Preserve legal meaning — flag any clause where simplification would change legal effect and keep the original with an explanatory note. Deliverable: plain-English clause translations.

3. **Annotate Legal Significance**: Tag each translated clause: binding obligation, right, limitation, or risk. Add one-sentence key takeaway per clause. Deliverable: annotated translations with significance flags.

4. **Produce Plain-English Summary**: Assemble output using [plain-english-output-template.md](assets/plain-english-output-template.md). Include contract title, parties, summary table, overall summary, and glossary of terms that could not be simplified without losing meaning. Deliverable: plain-English summary document.

## Anti-Patterns

- **Oversimplification that changes meaning**: Translating "indemnify and hold harmless" as "protect" without conveying the financial obligation. *Why*: a translation that changes legal meaning is worse than none — it creates false confidence.

- **Translating without significance flags**: Providing plain-English text without indicating obligation, right, limitation, or risk. *Why*: a clause that "sounds fine" in plain English may still impose a significant obligation.

- **Ignoring defined terms**: Translating clause text at face value without checking how defined terms expand scope. *Why*: "Confidential Information" may be defined to include all information ever shared, making a narrow clause extremely broad.

## Output

**On success**: Produces a plain-English summary document with a clause-by-clause translation table (original text, plain English version, significance flag, key takeaway), an overall summary, and a glossary. Target Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level 8 or below. Delivered to the requesting business stakeholder.

**On failure**: Report which clauses could not be simplified without changing legal meaning, provide the original text with explanatory notes for those clauses, and recommend a meeting with legal to walk through the complex sections. Every untranslatable clause must include a reason.

## Related Skills

- [`contract-review-orchestrator`](../contract-review-orchestrator/SKILL.md) — Produces review reports that may need plain-English translation for non-legal stakeholders.
- [`contract-risk-analyst`](../contract-risk-analyst/SKILL.md) — Risk findings can be translated into plain English to help business teams understand specific risks.
- [`missing-protections-finder`](../missing-protections-finder/SKILL.md) — Gap analysis results may need plain-English explanation for stakeholders deciding whether to accept the gaps.