Located in Portland, Michigan (U.S.), Julie Clement is a legal-writing and plain-language consultant. She helps attorneys, government, non-profits and businesses improve communication through editing, writing and training services. She has taught legal writing using plain language principles for 25 years.
Julie was a singer before she made the midlife decision to pursue law. That decision led to her career as a law professor; she is a distinguished professor emerita of Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, where she taught legal research, writing and drafting. In addition to her consulting practice and teaching for SFU, she is the deputy clerk with the Michigan Supreme Court.
Julie is the president of Clarity, Inc., and is on the Center for Plain Language and the International Plain Language Federation boards. She served for 16 years as editor in chief of The Clarity Journal, the international journal promoting plain legal language. She is on the working group that created the first international standard for plain language (ISO 24495-1) and is the project manager for part two of that standard, which focuses on plain legal communication.
She and her husband (a portrait artist and musician) enjoy travelling, volunteering in their community and spending time with their grandchildren.