What does a legal editor/reviewer do?
A legal editor reviews a document critically from both a language and a legal point of view. A legal editor focuses not only on spelling, grammar, and a house style, but equally on proper usage, punctuation, structure, efficacy of argumentation, legal terminology and terms of art, consistency, accuracy, and drafting style. And makes appropriate concrete suggestions on how to improve all of these. A legal editor can also help to reduce word count, and ensure references and citations are accurate and consistent. This also means a legal editor is able to sustain focus and attention to detail when reviewing lengthy complex texts. In short, a legal editor is an active partner in the drafting process.

What does a legal proofreader do?
A legal proofreader, or copy editor, corrects spelling and grammar, and aligns a written document of a legal nature with a specific house style. A legal proofreader does not check for consistency, use of legal terms, legal usage, accuracy of citations, or effectiveness/credibility of argumentation.