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Find passive voice that hides who must act
Paste a contract, brief or letter and see each passive phrase that leaves the actor unclear, with an active rewrite and the deliberate ones left alone.
River reviews your legal writing for passive voice and sorts what it finds. Passive phrases that hide who must act, such as payment shall be made, get an active rewrite naming the party, because in a contract that ambiguity can change who is obligated. Passive phrases used on purpose, such as describing what was done without blaming anyone in a brief, are noted and left alone.
You get the text back with each passive phrase marked, a short explanation of why it matters, and a suggested rewrite. In contracts, River also checks that each obligation names who must perform it, which is the problem passive voice usually causes.
When passive voice matters in legal writing
In a contract, an obligation needs an actor. Notice shall be given leaves open who gives notice, to whom and how. Rewritten as The Customer shall give the Supplier written notice, the obligation is clear. This is the passive voice worth fixing, because a court may have to decide who was supposed to act.
In briefs and letters, active voice is usually clearer and more persuasive, because readers follow who did what. But passive voice has legitimate uses: to focus on the action rather than the actor, when the actor is unknown, or to avoid emphasizing your own client's role. Good editing keeps those deliberate choices.
Not every form of to be is passive. The goods are defective is not passive voice, and neither is the payment is due. River marks only true passive constructions, a form of to be with a past participle, so you do not waste time on false alarms.
How it works
Paste your text
A contract, brief, letter or memo, or attach the file.
River reviews it
Each passive phrase is checked for whether it hides who must act.
Get the review
Marked phrases, reasons and suggested rewrites, plus the revised text.
Keep editing
Ask for a plain English pass, a defined terms check, or a shorter version.
What you get
- Every true passive construction marked, without flagging ordinary uses of to be
- Contract obligations checked for a named party who must perform
- Active rewrites that name the actor, ready to accept or ignore
- Deliberate passive voice in briefs and letters noted and left alone
- A short summary of the patterns worth fixing across the document
Common questions
Is passive voice wrong in legal writing?
No. It is a tool. It causes real problems when it hides who must do something, especially in contracts. It is fine, even useful, when the actor is unknown or unimportant, or when a brief should focus on the event rather than on who did it. River flags the first kind and leaves the second.
Why does passive voice matter so much in contracts?
Because an obligation without a named party is ambiguous. Payment shall be made does not say who pays. If the parties later disagree, a court has to decide what they meant. Naming the party removes the question entirely.
Does it change my document?
River writes a reviewed copy with each passive phrase marked and a suggested rewrite. Your original wording stays visible, so you decide which changes to accept. Nothing is rewritten silently.
Does it check grammar and spelling too?
It focuses on passive voice and the clarity of who must act. For spelling, Latin terms and commonly confused legal words, use River's legal spelling and Latin checker. For a full contract review, use a contract review tool.
Is this legal advice?
No. River edits for clarity. It does not decide what your contract should say or who should be obligated. If a rewrite would change who bears an obligation, confirm with the other side or your lawyer before accepting it.
Find passive voice that hides who must act
Describe what you need, add any files you have, and your workspace opens with the work already underway.