30 Best Fonts for Legal Documents, Ranked

Legal documents should be straight to the point, so the fonts used to draft them need to be legible, distinctive, and professional. Unfortunately, not all fonts have that.

In law, first impressions matter, and how you present your documents could make or break your case. You could draft the perfect legal document only to use the wrong font, which could throw your case away.

In this post, I’ll explore the best fonts for legal documents that every law practitioner should know. So read on to find out more.

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Best Fonts for Legal Documents

1. Addington CF

Addington CF is a serif family font that pays attention to details, and you can see that very well in the way letters with extended tails like “g” and “y” are easy to point out. This is very important for legal documents as it means everything is legible, even when smaller fonts are used.

The font comes with seven weights that include Roman and italic sets, and it was designed by a foundry called the Connary Fagen Type Design in 2016.

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2. Argent CF

This is another Connary Fagen foundry font with very gentle curves, making it ideal for legal content and law firm websites. It comes with different weights that are just as stylish, and all can be used for official legal business.

A unique thing about this font is that the tails on letters like “y,” “j,” and “g” aren’t as pronounced as in other regular fonts, but you can still tell what these letters are with a single look. There’s support for multiple languages, with new ones getting added occasionally.

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3. Arial

Arial is among the most recognized fonts for people familiar with writing platforms like Word or Google Docs. It’s perfect for drafting legal documents because every letter stands apart, even in long paragraphs or tiny fonts.

This sans-serif font has been around since 1982 and was designed by Robin Nicholas and Patricia Saunders for IBM before being adopted for mainstream use.

The font may be ideal for significant design work or logos, but it can be used as secondary text on websites related to law.

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4. Artifex

This is yet another Connary Fagen font with smooth edges that give it a very appealing appearance that would work very well with legal documents.

Despite its stylish design that could also work well for logo designs and website interfaces, Artifex maintains its professional allure across all weights and font sizes.

This font has been around since 2020, and it keeps getting better updates that refine it further. Try it out and see how your documents turn out.

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5. Avenir Next

This is another excellent font that could do well for official legal matters. It’s a sans-serif font designed by Adrian Frutiger and released in 1988.

Over the years, the font has undergone many changes. Still, it has always maintained that unique typeface that is easily read when used on physical court documents and court-related websites.

It comes in 52 styles and ten weights that include varying Italic styles.

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6. Baskerville

This is one of the oldest fonts on this list, as it has been around since the mid-1700s. It’s a serif typeface designed by John Baskerville in Birmingham, England.

Despite being a very old font, Baskerville has survived through the times, all thanks to its simple design that makes it perfect for long-form legal content.

It comes with different weights that can be used interchangeably for any court document’s body text and headings without losing any legibility.

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7. Book Antiqua

Book Antiqua is a Roman typeface based on pen-drawn letters from the Italian Renaissance era. It’s mainly artistic but professional enough to appear on legal documents for headings and body text.

The font is also quite old, having been around since 1991, a design by the Monotype Corporation. Most of the letters are straight, including tailed letters, which come with a slight curve at the bottom to set them apart.

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8. Cambria

Cambria is an adaptable font that has become more popular, notably in the world of law, where it’s widely used. The font was initially commissioned by Microsoft and released in 2004 as a part of the ClearType Font Collection.

Excellent legibility is one of the distinguishing qualities of Cambria. Each character is visible even at smaller sizes, thanks to the meticulously crafted letterforms of the typeface.

So you can have it printed on legal papers for court proceedings or use it on a computer screen without issues.

9. Bookman Old Style

The Bookman Old Style font was created in 1869 based on an old-style antique design by an unknown person. It has a bolder typeface that’s noticeable even when you use the regular format.

At the same time, it comes in different weights, making it ideal for all kinds of legal texts or law firm websites. While the original creator is unknown, other designers have picked the font and refined it to what it is today.

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10. Calibri

Calibri features stems and corners that are subtly rounded and very visible even when used in small font sizes. It borrows heavily from Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Cyrillic scripts and has been used for official work since 2007.

This sans-serif font works incredibly well for large body texts with long paragraphs because the letters are already evenly spaced from each other. This makes legibility easy for both small and capital letters.

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11. Century Gothic

Century Gothic was created by Monotype Imaging and released in 1991. This sans-serif font was created as a modern replacement for the traditional sans-serif typefaces commonly used in the 90s.

It has a straightforward, simple, and appealing visual style. Due to this, the font gives legal papers an air of expertise and clarity.

The Century Gothic font family also includes the weights regular, italic, bold, and bold italic, giving users multiple options.

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12. Century Schoolbook

This is another Century family font developed by Morris Fuller Brenton in the 1920s to provide readable text for school books.

Thanks to its deep historical roots in education, Century Schoolbook lends an air of dependability and authority to legal papers. Its classic style has weathered the test of time and is still a preferred option in legal typography.

Each character is distinct and readable, even at smaller sizes, thanks to the precisely constructed letterforms of the font.

13. Constantia

Constantia was created in 2006 by Microsoft to offer a fresh take on conventional serif fonts, balancing classical elegance with modern readability. The main aim was to make a font that was aesthetically beautiful and highly legible for digital devices.

Constantia is a superb typeface for legal documents because of its excellent legibility, which is one of its best qualities.

Like most other options on this list, the carefully designed letterforms of the font ensure that each character is distinct and readable. Sufficient spacing and a moderate stroke contrast make everything stand out.

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14. Futura

Paul Renner designed the Futura font in 1927 based on geometric shapes making it one of the most well-balanced fonts on this list.

Futura has various characteristics that make it an appropriate font choice for legal copies. It has outstanding legibility thanks to its core foundation’s unique geometric letterforms.

With this font, there’s no room for ambiguity or confusion regarding court documents.

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15. Garamond

Garamond has a rich history dating back to the 15th century, a creation of Claude Garamond, a French man. But it wasn’t until 1989 that it gained mainstream recognition as a body text font after being refined by Robert Slimbach.

Garamond’s design is rooted in the elegance and refinement of Renaissance typography. It is characterized by its graceful letterforms, balanced proportions, and delicate serifs, which give it a timeless and sophisticated appearance perfect for drafting legal papers.

16. Georgia

Next up is Georgia, a well-known font loved for its legibility and adaptability, making it a popular option for many drafting applications, including legal documents.

The font was created by Matthew Carter and was made available by Microsoft as one of the primary online fonts in 1996.

A unique feature of Georgia font that makes it perfect for legal work is how the lowercase letters are noticeably taller than uppercase characters. This makes the text more readable even at smaller sizes and less tiring on the eyes during extended reading sessions in court.

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17. Guardian Sans

This font was originally designed for The Guardian media house for their physical and online newspapers in 2005. But the design was so good that it was released for mainstream use in 2009.

The font borrows heavily from Egyptian designs and has a high readability score. There’s ample spacing between letters.

Guardian Sans also offers several font weights and styles, such as regular, italic, bold, and bold italic. This makes it easy for lawyers and other legal experts to distinguish headings or create a hierarchy inside texts for improved visual organization and clarity.

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18. Helvetica

Helvetica is a well-known and prominent font renowned for its simple and contemporary design. Helvetica was created in 1957 by Swiss type designers Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann as part of the International Typographic Style movement.

Helvetica’s even and regular strokes make it easier to read and legible, making it perfect for legal texts.

The reader’s eye can move quickly and without interruption over the text, all thanks to the font’s homogeneity, which produces a pleasing aesthetic experience.

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19. Just Sans

This more recent font has some of the best bold weights you’ll ever come across. The curves on the letters are also very smooth and gentle, making it ideal for creating headings and titles on legal documents and books.

Just Sans would also work very well for websites designed for law-related establishments. It has a striking visual appeal, primarily when used on hard-copy documents like affidavits or lawyer statements.

20. Lato

Lato is another popular font that has won praise for its readability and contemporary style. The font was created by Ukasz Dziedzic and was made available for public use in 2010.

There’s generous spacing within the font, which makes reading easy because the text appears to be floating from one sentence to the next without the document feeling overcrowded. The font also comes in various weights that can create a dynamic-looking legal document.

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21. Merriweather

This is hands down one of my favorite fonts, and I use it extensively in my designs and Google Docs articles.

Merriweather was created in 2011 by the great typeface designer Eben Sorkin, and it attracted attention right away for its outstanding features. Despite being made for graphic design work, the font is well-spaced enough for large body texts commonly found in legal papers.

Merriweather’s subtly rounded letterforms exude a sense of reliability and authority, making it visually appealing without compromising its legibility.

22. OnSite

If you’re looking for a font that combines professionalism and aesthetics, then the OnSite font is one of the few on this list that can deliver that for you. It is designed based on the mid-20th-century grotesque with an industrial feel.

The font is the brainchild of the Sociotype foundry and is newer than most of the other fonts on this list. It comes in a family of three with 42 different styles and several weight categories. This font can work magnificently for any type of legal document and website.

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23. Proxima Nova

Before Proxima Nova was released in 2005, it had taken the designer, Mark Simonson, years of trying to find the perfect typeface that could be used for almost everything.

The font’s well-designed letterforms provide maximum clarity and make it simple to distinguish each character. This feature is critical in legal papers where accuracy and precision are required.

Proxima Nova also displays a harmonious fusion of contemporary and traditional design features, making it a visually appealing option for law records.

24. Radian

Radian was released in 2002, and it is a sans-serif font that comes in 16 weights, one of the highest on this list. This means you can use the same font for an entire legal document by interchanging the different weights to break the monotony while reading.

Furthermore, Radian has what it takes to be used as a logo font for websites run by law firms. The capital forms of this font are well-rounded and well-balanced, with space between the letters that ensure anything you write with this font doesn’t appear too constricted or crowded.

Ayca Atalay designed the font.

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25. Raleway

This is one of the most elegant thin fonts you’ll ever see. Executing thin fonts that are legible is not easy, but Matt McInerney pulled it off with Raleway over a decade ago.

Raleway’s letterforms are clear and elegant, which adds to its overall aesthetic appeal. The typeface is visually appealing because of its harmonious design, regular stroke widths, and balanced proportions.

It also comes in different weights, allowing legal experts to make them a little thicker and darker in case the regular thin font doesn’t work.

26. Spartan MB

Spartan MB is a geometric font; you can tell right away just by looking at how proportional each letter is in the entire alphabet. Matthew Bailey created this font with seven weights, with the most commonly used one being regular.

The font is ideal for lawyers who don’t want their documents to look plain for the sake of professionalism but also aesthetic without losing the sophistication or ability to exude authority in court.

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27. Tahoma

Microsoft first released Tahoma in 1994, and it immediately became well-known as a multipurpose typeface appropriate for both print and digital media.

Tahoma was developed by famous type designer Matthew Carter (the same designer behind the Georgia font) to provide the best legibility possible in on-screen settings, making it the perfect option for electronic legal records and websites.

Even when displayed in smaller sizes or on poor-quality devices, Tahoma’s clear and distinct lines guarantee that each character is identifiable and straightforward to read.

Thanks to this regularity, every letter is guaranteed to keep its integrity, which makes it simple for readers to assimilate information without undue difficulty or confusion.

28. Times New Roman

This was the most widely used font at one time because most operating systems had it as the default font. People in the legal profession have used it ever since it was launched.

Times New Roman, created by Stanley Morison and Victor Lardent for the British newspaper “The Times” in 1931, has grown to be one of the most enduring types in typography history.

The classic and timeless design that exudes tradition makes it a preferred font for legal content. That’s vital if you want to show authority in court. The well-defined letterforms are balanced and easy to read.

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29. Trebuchet MS

Trebuchet MS is another Microsoft font designed by Vincent Connare in 1996. Vincent was influenced by the fonts used in early handheld devices, so he created a typeface with a contemporary, clean appearance and excellent legibility.

Trebuchet MS is distinctive for its crisp, straightforward letterforms and rounded edges. The visual appeal makes it suitable for legal documents.

On top of this, its modern design emits a sense of modernity and freshness. Even in lengthy text passages, the font’s rounded contours add a softness that makes it easier to read legal texts no matter how big the paragraphs may be.

30. Verdana

Finally, we have Verdana on the list. Its design was based on the Tahoma font we’ve just covered.

Verdana’s most prominent strength that makes it a good font for legal content is the generous spacing and ample letterforms that are easy on the eyes. You won’t get tired or bored when pursuing long pages of legal jargon.

The well-rounded and open letter shapes add a high level of clarity, minimizing the chances of the text looking too overcrowded even when smaller fonts are used. It also works very well for screens and websites.

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The Verdict is In: Choosing the Right Font for Your Legal Documents Matters

Now you know all the correct fonts you need for your legal documents, if you have been using a font that doesn’t appear on this list, it’s time to make that change.

I highly recommend Merriweather because it’s versatile enough to be used in different styles on the same document. The visual appeal is also one of the best on this list.

Interested to learn more about fonts? Here’s our breakdown of the ugliest fonts ever created that should give you some new insights.

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