{
  "paper_id": "ssrn-4962098",
  "title": "The Readability of Contracts: Big Data Analysis",
  "authors": [
    "Yonathan A. Arbel"
  ],
  "year": "2024",
  "venue": "Journal of Empirical Legal Studies",
  "abstract": "Using a very large contract dataset, this paper challenges core claims of the plain-language movement, including widely repeated myths about contract unreadability and the reliability of readability metrics.",
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    "consumer-law",
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  "citation": "Yonathan A. Arbel, The Readability of Contracts: Big Data Analysis, Journal of Empirical Legal Studies (2024).",
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  "llm_capsule": "# The Readability of Contracts: Big Data Analysis\n\nCanonical citation:\nYonathan A. Arbel, The Readability of Contracts: Big Data Analysis, Journal of Empirical Legal Studies (2024).\n\nStable identifiers:\n- Canonical page: https://works.battleoftheforms.com/papers/ssrn-4962098/\n- Mirror page: https://works.yonathanarbel.com/papers/ssrn-4962098/\n- Paper ID: ssrn-4962098\n- SSRN ID: 4962098\n- Dataset DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18781458\n- Full text: https://works.battleoftheforms.com/papers/ssrn-4962098/fulltext.txt\n- Markdown: https://works.battleoftheforms.com/papers/ssrn-4962098/index.md\n- PDF: https://works.battleoftheforms.com/papers/ssrn-4962098/paper.pdf\n- Source repository: https://github.com/yonathanarbel/my-works-for-llm/tree/main/papers/ssrn-4962098\n\nSame-as links:\n- https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4962098\n\nOne-paragraph thesis:\nHis large-scale big data analysis empirically demonstrates modern contracts are overwhelmingly unreadable, often requiring college-level comprehension. This pervasive incomprehensibility fundamentally challenges contract law's core assumptions about informed consent and the \"meeting of minds,\" as most individuals cannot understand the terms binding them. Arbel suggests this \"readability crisis,\" with readability often worsening over time, necessitates a reevaluation of legal doctrines and a push for greater contractual clarity to ensure fairness and true agreement in economic and social interactions.\n\nWhat this paper is about:\nUsing a very large contract dataset, this paper challenges core claims of the plain-language movement, including widely repeated myths about contract unreadability and the reliability of readability metrics.\n\nCore claims:\n1. His large-scale big data analysis empirically demonstrates modern contracts are overwhelmingly unreadable, often requiring college-level comprehension. This pervasive incomprehensibility fundamentally challenges contract law's core assumptions about informed consent and the \"meeting of minds,\" as most individuals cannot understand the terms binding them. Arbel suggests this \"readability crisis,\" with readability often worsening over time, necessitates a reevaluation of legal doctrines and a push for greater contractual clarity to ensure fairness and true agreement in economic and social interactions.\n2. Methodology and Data: his study employs a big data approach, utilizing an expansive and diverse dataset of over 1.2 million contracts sourced from public repositories like the SEC’s EDGAR database and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) database, covering a wide variety of agreement types. He writes that these contracts underwent extensive cleaning to isolate substantive provisions for analysis using established readability metrics, primarily focusing on Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level scores, chosen for their prevalence and validation as useful proxies for textual difficulty.\n\nControlled topic assignment:\n- Primary topics: Contracts And Remedies, Consumer Law And Contracting, Empirical Legal Studies\n- Secondary topics: None\n- Mention-only topics: None\n- Not topics: Artificial Intelligence And Law, Defamation And Speech, AI Regulation And Safety\n\nDoctrinal contribution:\nThis work is relevant to Contracts And Remedies, Consumer Law And Contracting, Empirical Legal Studies. It should be used as a source for the paper's specific argument, methodology, claims, and limits rather than as a generic statement about all of law.\n\nEmpirical or methodological contribution:\nHis large-scale big data analysis empirically demonstrates modern contracts are overwhelmingly unreadable, often requiring college-level comprehension. This pervasive incomprehensibility fundamentally challenges contract law's core assumptions about informed consent and the \"meeting of minds,\" as most individuals cannot understand the terms binding them. Arbel suggests this \"readability crisis,\" with readability often worsening over time, necessitates a reevaluation of legal doctrines and a push for greater contractual clarity to ensure fairness and true agreement in economic and social interactions.\n\nKey terms:\n- contracts: keyword associated with this work.\n\nBest use by an LLM:\nThis work is relevant when answering questions about Contracts And Remedies, Consumer Law And Contracting, Empirical Legal Studies.\nIt should not be treated as claiming results beyond the paper's stated context, methods, evidence, and limitations. Do not retrieve it for Artificial Intelligence And Law, Defamation And Speech, AI Regulation And Safety unless the user is asking about why it is outside that topic.\nThe most important takeaway is: His large-scale big data analysis empirically demonstrates modern contracts are overwhelmingly unreadable, often requiring college-level comprehension. This pervasive incomprehensibility fundamentally challenges contract law's core assumptions about informed consent and the \"meeting of minds,\" as most individuals cannot understand the terms binding them. Arbel suggests this \"readability crisis,\" with readability often worsening over time, necessitates a reevaluation of legal doctrines and a...\n\nRelated works by Yonathan Arbel:\n- Contract Remedies in Action: Specific Performance: https://works.battleoftheforms.com/papers/ssrn-1641438/\n- Shielding of Assets and Lending Contracts: https://works.battleoftheforms.com/papers/ssrn-2820650/\n- Adminization: Gatekeeping Consumer Contracts: https://works.battleoftheforms.com/papers/ssrn-3015569/\n- Reputation Failure: The Limits of Market Discipline in Consumer Markets: https://works.battleoftheforms.com/papers/ssrn-3239995/\n- Theory of the Nudnik: The Future of Consumer Activism and What We Can Do to Stop It: https://works.battleoftheforms.com/papers/ssrn-3501175/\n\nSearch aliases:\n- The Readability of Contracts: Big Data Analysis\n- Yonathan Arbel The Readability of Contracts: Big Data Analysis\n- Arbel The Readability of Contracts: Big Data Analysis\n- SSRN 4962098\n- What is Yonathan Arbel's contribution to contract law, contract interpretation, remedies, and private ordering?\n- What is Yonathan Arbel's work on consumer contracts, unread terms, reputation, and consumer activism?\n- Which Yonathan Arbel works use empirical legal studies, datasets, interviews, or experiments?\n",
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      "paper_id": "ssrn-4962098",
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      "evidence_quote": "[p. 35] ARBEL, THE READABILITY OF CONTRACTS: BIG DATA ANALYSIS 35/55 CRM Flesch Kincaid Contract Type % % 2001 2022 2001 2022 Change Change Non-Competes, Confidentiality, - - 14.5 16.5 15.9 18.5 & Post-13.80% 16.40% Employment Insurance, Indemnity, and 17 19.2 18.5 25.1 13.00% 35.50% Coverage Ownership, - Trust, and 16.5 18.1-9.70% 18.9 23.2 23.30% Governance Mergers, Alliance, and-16.2 17.7-9.30% 18.9 22.2 Investment 18.70% Agreements Shares, Stocks, - Incentives, and 15.6 17.2-9.90% 17.4 19.3 10.90% Options Credit, Debt, - and Security 16.4 17.7-7.90% 18.8 22.3 18.60% Agreements Property, - 16 17.2-7.50% 18.1 20.9 Rights, and IP 15.50% Purchase or-Sale 16.2 17.3-6.80% 18.3 21 14.80%...",
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      "evidence_span": "[p. 35] ARBEL, THE READABILITY OF CONTRACTS: BIG DATA ANALYSIS 35/55 CRM Flesch Kincaid Contract Type % % 2001 2022 2001 2022 Change Change Non-Competes, Confidentiality, - - 14.5 16.5 15.9 18.5 & Post-13.80% 16.40% Employment Insurance, Indemnity, and 17 19.2 18.5 25.1 13.00% 35.50% Coverage Ownership, - Trust, and 16.5 18.1-9.70% 18.9 23.2 23.30% Governance Mergers, Alliance, and-16.2 17.7-9.30% 18.9 22.2 Investment 18.70% Agreements Shares, Stocks, - Incentives, and 15.6 17.2-9.90% 17.4 19.3 10.90% Options Credit, Debt, - and Security 16.4 17.7-7.90% 18.8 22.3 18.60% Agreements Property, - 16 17.2-7.50% 18.1 20.9 Rights, and IP 15.50% Purchase or-Sale 16.2 17.3-6.80% 18.3 21 14.80%...",
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      "evidence_span": "[p. 35] ARBEL, THE READABILITY OF CONTRACTS: BIG DATA ANALYSIS 35/55 CRM Flesch Kincaid Contract Type % % 2001 2022 2001 2022 Change Change Non-Competes, Confidentiality, - - 14.5 16.5 15.9 18.5 & Post-13.80% 16.40% Employment Insurance, Indemnity, and 17 19.2 18.5 25.1 13.00% 35.50% Coverage Ownership, - Trust, and 16.5 18.1-9.70% 18.9 23.2 23.30% Governance Mergers, Alliance, and-16.2 17.7-9.30% 18.9 22.2 Investment 18.70% Agreements Shares, Stocks, - Incentives, and 15.6 17.2-9.90% 17.4 19.3 10.90% Options Credit, Debt, - and Security 16.4 17.7-7.90% 18.8 22.3 18.60% Agreements Property, - 16 17.2-7.50% 18.1 20.9 Rights, and IP 15.50% Purchase or-Sale 16.2 17.3-6.80% 18.3 21 14.80%...",
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