Law is simple.

As an asset manager, you insist on understanding the key elements of an investment thesis. Demand no less from legal advice. The stakes are just as high.

If you’re managing other people’s money, you already have the intellectual capacity to understand the legal advice you’re getting. As my most demanding law-school professor used to say:

“Law is simple.”

Professor Hughes explained it this way: “Everything we do in law can be reduced to basic principles that any child can understand.”

If you can’t follow the reasoning behind the legal advice you’re getting, you can’t fulfill your duty as an asset manager.

First, when advice is opaque, you’re deprived of the quality your investors pay you for: judgment. How can you evaluate or respond to advice whose reasoning you don’t understand? Lawyers have the luxury of not living with the business consequences of their counsel. When the topic is risk, “no” is always the safest answer—for them.

Second, you lose the ability to test the advice against common sense. “Does it make sense?” is a powerful litmus test for any guidance, especially from a layman’s perspective.

Third, without a grasp of the underlying analysis, you can’t discuss alternatives or mitigation strategies meaningfully.

Finally, jargon and “trust me” shortcuts are warning signs of shallow thinking. Lawyers are paid not only for their knowledge but also for their analytical skills—and, most importantly, their judgment. If our analysis isn’t clear to you, the client, it’s probably not complete. As Professor Hughes put it best:

“If you can’t explain your views to someone—or someone cannot explain their analysis to you—then the likelihood is very high, almost certain, that neither of you knows what you’re talking about.”

How to Get Useful Advice

The best legal advice isn’t just clear—it’s complete. It should be understandable, grounded in your business reality, and open about what’s uncertain. You get that by being an active participant, not a passive recipient

• Start with the business question. Before the legal analysis begins, make sure you and your lawyer agree on what decision is actually being made, and what risks or trade-offs are at stake

  
  

• Ask for analysis you can follow. You’re entitled to reasoning that connects the legal conclusion to real-world consequences. A simple “no” without context is rarely helpful—ask what drives the answer, and whether there are safer or more efficient ways to achieve the same goal.

  
  

• Invite skepticism. Good analysis considers counterarguments, uncertainties, and areas where the law offers little guidance. Hearing the other side of the reasoning—why a different lawyer might disagree—sharpens your own judgment.

  
  

• Keep it collaborative. Legal work is a conversation between technical expertise and commercial judgment. The best results come when both are fully engaged.

“Trust me” is just as unacceptable in legal advice as it is in an investment pitch.The right advice is clear, reasoned, and tested against your business reality. Anything less isn’t simplicity—it’s risk.