Some writing tips

(1) Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
(2) Never use a long word when a short one will do.
(3) If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
(4) Never use the passive where you can use the active.
(5) Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
(6) Break any of these rules sonner than say anything outright barbarous.

George Orwell, Politics and the English language, in Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell, vol. 4, ed. S. Orwell and I. Angus (London: Secker & Warburg, 1968)

Standard phrases for opening and closing letters and emails

Referring to a previous contact
With reference to your letter of 15 February...
In response to your query concerning...
Further to our (telephone) conversation of...
Thank you for your email of 15 February.

Stating the reason for writing
I am writing to inform you that...

Closing, offering further assistance
Please contact me again if I can help in any way.
Should you have any further questions, do not hesitate to contact me.

Referring to future contact
I look forward to your reply / to meeting you / to hearing from you.

Amy Krois-Linder, International Legal English, Professional English, Cambridge.

Emails: Style

Email is a relatively recent development, and because it is perceived as a quick and informal means of communication, people are often unclear about the style and conventions they should use in business situations.

In legal work, while email correspondence may tend towards informality, it should also follow the same general principles as any other form of business correspondence.

Here are some basic tips about style in emails:
- In general, email messages follow the style and conventions used in letters or faxes. For example, you can use salutations such as Dear Mr Archer or Dear Gerald, and complimentary closes such as Yours sincerely. However, if you know the recipient well, or if you are exchanging a series of messages with one person, you may dispense with the salutation and complimentary close altogether.
- Make a clear mental division between personal messages and messages written in the course of legal work. In a message written in the course of legal work, the same rules of writing apply as for a letter: write clearly, concisely, pay attention to the accuracy of factual information and legal advice given, and observe high standards of professional courtesy; consider audience, purpose, clarity, consistency, and tone.
- Use correct grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation, as you would in any other form of correspondence.
- Do not write words in capital letters in an email message. This can be seen as the equivalent of shouting and therefore have a negative effect. If you want to stress a word, put asterisks on each side of it, e.g. *urgent*.
- Keep your email messages short and to the point. People often receive a lot of emails at work, so conciseness is especially important.
- In general, limit yourself to one topic per message. This helps to keep the message brief and makes it easier for the recipient to answer, file, and retrieve it later.
- Check you email message for mistakes before you send it, just as you would check a letter or fax message.


Rupert Haigh, Oxford Handbook of Legal Correspondence, Oxford University Press, 2006.

Spelling: General Principles

Always use your computer’s spell-checker, but never rely on it alone.
(a) Generally. Get to know your computer’s spell-checker, and especially how to add and edit its custom dictionaries. Words (and names) that your computer flags over and over again -but that you know are spelled correctly- you should add to your custom dicionary.
(b) Self-check. Make a habit of checking your spelling every time you enter new text or edit existing drafts. The best routine is to save the file one last time (having saved regularly while working on the document), then run the spell-check, and finally close the file, saving changes.
(c) Proofreaders. Don’t rely solely on the computer’s spell-checker, it can’t substitute for human eyes. Invariably, the more eyes that see a draft, the better. Your work product reflects your level of professionalism, and neglectful errors suggest less-than-rigorous work habits.
(d) Autocorrection. Be careful about letting your word processor make automatic corrections such as search-and-replace. There’s a failure rate with automatic substitutions, and the practice can introduce new errors.

Gardner, Bryan, The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style (2nd Ed.), Thompson West, 2006.

above and over

1) “higher than”: above or over
Above and over can both mean “higher than”. Above is more common with this meaning.
The water came up above/over our knees.
Can you see the helicopter above/over the palace?

2) “not directly over”: above
We use above when one thing is not directly over another.
We’ve got a little house above the lake. (Not over the lake).

3) “covering": over
We prefer over when one thing covers and/or touches another.
There is cloud over the South of England.
He put on a coat over his pyjamas.
We use over or across when one thing crosses another.
The plane was flying over/across Denmark.
Electricity cables stretch over/across the fields.

4) measurements: above
Above is used in measurements of temperature and height, and in other cases where we think of a vertical scale.
The temperature is three degrees above zero.
The summit of Everest is about 5000 metres above sea level.
She's well above average in intelligence.

5) ages, speeds, “more than”: over
We usually use over, not above, to talk about ages and speeds, and to mean "more than".
You have to be over 18 to see this film.
The police said she was driving at over 110 mph.
There were over 100,000 people at the festival.

6) books and papers
In a book or paper, above means “written before”.
The above rules and regulations apply to all students.
For prices and delivery charges, see above.
See over means “look on the next page”.
There are cheap flights at weekends: see over.

Michael Swan, Practical English Usage, Third Edition, Oxford University Press, 2006.

Precision and Accuracy

Often either of two words will suffice in a sentence, but the shades of meaning differ. There is, for example, a difference between saying that a doctrine is old and saying that it is venerable, between calling a treatise compendious and calling it voluminous, and between characterizing a person as drunken as opposed to merely drunk on a specific occasion.

Careful writers make distinctions. They cultivate an awareness for words and their connotative differences. They would no more write incidental to when they mean incident to than a carpenter would try to nail with the handle of a screwdriver.

Gardner, Bryan, The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style (2nd Ed.), Thompson West, 2006.

Efficent & effective

If somebody/something is efficient, he/she/it works in a well-organized way without wasting time or energy.

He’s not very efficient; he keeps filing letters in the wrong place, he works very slowly, and he keeps forgetting things.
The postal service is even less efficient than the telephone system.

If something is effective, it has the right effect: it solves a problem or gets a result.

My headache’s much better. Those tablets really are effective.
I think a wide black belt would look very effective with that dress.

Michael Swan, Practical English Usage, Third Edition, Oxford University Press, 2006.

Spelling in legal texts

Lawyers are trained to pay attention to detail. Therefore, spelling mistakes in a letter are likely to be noticed and will create a very bad impression. Spelling, punctuation, and grammar should all be checked carefully. Many people rely on the spell-checker in their computer to ensure there are no spelling mistakes. However, spell-checkers often prescribe American spellings, while clients and other correspondents may prefer British spellings. In any case, certain kinds of mistakes will slip through such a check, e.g.:
- Where a word may be spelt correctly but is the wrong word: I saw it their (instead of I saw it there).
- Where a compound word is incorrectly split into two words, or two words are incorrectly combined to form a valid compound word: the good will of the company (instead of the goodwill of the company).
There is no substitute for carefully proofreading each letter that you have written.

Rupert Haigh, Oxford Handbook of Legal Correspondence, Oxford University Press, 2006.

Shall and may

In legal documents, the verb shall is used to indicate obligation, to express a promise or to make a declaration to which the parties involved are legally bound. This use differs from that in everyday speech, where it is most often used to make offers (Shall I open the window?) or to refer to the future (I shall miss you), although this latter use is less frequent in modern English.

In legal texts, shall usually expresses the meaning of “must” (obligation):

Every notice of the meeting of the shareholders shall state the place, date and hour.

Or “will” (in the sense of a promise):

The board of directors shall have the power to enact bylaws.

Shall can also be used in legal texts to refer to a future action or state:

...until two years shall have expired since such action by vote of such shareholders.

In everyday speech, this future meaning is commonly expressed using only the present perfect (... until two years have expired...).

Another verb commonly found in legal documents is may, which generally expresses permission, in the sense of “can” (this use is less common in everyday English):

...any bylaw or amendment thereto as adopted by the Board of Directors may be altered, amended or repealed by a vote of the shareholders.

In everyday English, may is sometimes used as a substitute for might, indicating probability (He may want to see the document).

Amy Krois-Linder, International Legal English, Professional English, Cambridge.

neither, nor and not ... either

1) neither and nor

We can use neither and nor as adverbs to mean 'also not'. Neither and nor come at the beginning of a clause, and are followed by inverted word order

auxiliary verb + subject.

I can't swim. < Neither/nor can I. (NOT [also can't.)
Ruth didn't turn up, and neither/nor did Kate. (NOT ... and Kate didn't too.)

In American English, nor is not normally used after and.

2) not either

We can also use not ... either with the same meaning and normal word order.

I can't swim. ~I can't either.
Ruth didn't turn up, and Kate didn't either.

In very informal speech, me neither (and occasionally me either, especially in AmE) can be used instead of I ... n't either.

I can't swim. ~Me neither.

3) one negative

Only one negative word (not or neither) is necessary to give a negative meaning.

Neither did Kate OR Kate didn't either. (NOT Neither didn't Kate OR Kate didn't neither).

Michael Swan, Practical English Usage, Third Edition, Oxford University Press, 2006.

neither ... nor

This structure is used to join two negative ideas. (It is the opposite of both ... and.) It is usually rather formal.

I neither smoke nor drink. (less formal: I don't smoke or drink.)
The film was neither well made nor well acted.

- Sometimes more than two ideas are connected by neither ... nor.

He neither smiled, spoke, nor looked at me.

- Neither cannot begin a complete clause in this structure.

He neither smiled ... nor ... (BUT NOT Neither he smiled ... )

- When singular subjects are connected by neither ... nor, the verb is normally singular, but it can be plural in a less formal style.

Neither lames nor Virginia was at home. (normal)
Neither lames nor Virginia were at home. (less formal)

Michael Swan, Practical English Usage, Third Edition, Oxford University Press, 2006.

Explaining what a law says

There are several ways to refer to what a law says. Look at the following sentences:

The law stipulates that corporations must have three governing bodies.
The law provides that a witness must be present.
The patent law specifies that the subject matter must be "useful".

These verbs can also be used to express what a law says:
The law states / sets forth / determines / lays down / prescribes that...

Amy Krois-Linder, International Legal English, Professional English, Cambridge.