7. Avoid using exceptions. If possible, specify a rule or category directly, rather than describing the rule or category by specifying its exceptions. DON`T SAY: All people, except those over the age of 18, must do so. SAY: Anyone under the age of 18 must do so. However, you can use an exception if it avoids a long and tedious list or detailed description. If you are using an exception, first specify the rule or category, and then specify the exception. DON`T SAY: Alabama, Alaska,. and Wyoming (a list of 47 states) must ration. SAY: All states except Texas, New Mexico and Arizona must ration. (Note that the “each state” category is set first, and then exceptions are specified.) 8.
Avoid divided infinitives. The shared infinitive offends many readers, so avoid it if you can. DON`T SAY: Make sure you respond to the invitation promptly. SAY: Make sure you respond to the invitation immediately. or SAY: Make sure you respond to the invitation immediately. 9. Use the singular noun instead of the plural noun. As far as your meaning allows, use a singular noun instead of a plural noun. You avoid the problem of whether the rule applies separately to each member of a class or collectively to the class as a whole. DON`T: The security guard will issue security badges to employees working in buildings D and E.
SAY: The security guard issues a security badge to every employee who works in Building D and every employee who works in Building E. Unless you mean that the safety officer issues a security pass to each employee who works in both Building D and Building E. (There are other possible meanings.) 10. Be consistent. Don`t use different words to mean the same things. Variation for the sake of variation has no place in the drafting of regulations. Using a synonym instead of repeating the exact term you intend to use only confuses the reader. DON`T SAY: Every motor vehicle owner must register their car with the Automobile Department of the Metropolitan Police Department. SAY: Every car owner must register their car with the Automobile Department of the Metropolitan Police Department. Don`t use the same word to refer to different things.
DON`T: The tank had a 200-gallon tank for fuel. SAY: The tank had a 200-gallon fuel tank. 11. Use a parallel structure. Arrange sentences so that parallel ideas seem parallel. This is important if you are using a list. Non-parallel construction: The tasks of the Executive Secretary of the Administrative Committee are as follows: Some legal documents are written in a brochure, which is not an easy printing process. The Supreme Court pays particular attention to how brochures are prepared and whether they are valid, including details as detailed as the opaque color of certain types of documents.
Depending on the case you are presenting, other documents may need to be attached. Refer to Article 14 for the order in which they should appear. A party`s substantive decision must also contain a summary of the argument immediately before the “Argument” section. First, take a look at the army of documents on your servers. Your team does a lot of work in a single day and you generate a lot of documents. These documents each have their own unique content, which means they all have their own formatting guidelines. Like grammar, accuracy is crucial for legal documentation. All information it contains must be accurate, detailed and verified by an expert or industry expert. Inaccuracies or ambiguities may cast doubt on the validity of the document. This is where great documentation software can save the day. Here`s how you should format some of the most common legal documents and how documentation software can make sure you`re doing it right. Sentences in legal documents should be short and concise.
All technical terminology should be defined at the beginning to avoid confusion. If a simpler word is sufficient, it should be preferred to a more complex or industry-specific language. As already mentioned, legal documents contain a lot of legal language, which can be complicated to read, especially for laymen. Legal documents must not only comply with requirements and standards, but also be easy to read. So it`s safe to say that legal formatting is an incredibly important part of the business. Once you know the basic formatting rules, you can go through the legal document templates and fix potential claims. Legal documents should contain all the important information. While it is important to keep them short, it is important that no relevant information is omitted.
When it comes to Word documents, corruption is usually (but not always) stored in section breaks. If you`re not sure where this is, the last paragraph of a document contains a hidden section break, so a document with a single section usually hides corruption in the last paragraph mark. Spacing and margins are crucial for legal documents. These aim to make the documents more readable. Keep in mind, however, that when publishing a legal manuscript, you should stick to traditional publishing practices (e.g., 8.5 x 11 inches of paper, printed or typed on a single page). “Obligation” is sometimes used as a simple synonym for “should”, but is more commonly used to refer to a more complex situation where it is agreed to do something and accept the associated legal consequences (usually in case of non-compliance). For example: grammar is important for any type of writing, but it is especially important for legal writing. Ambiguity is not desirable in a court case if it can affect the outcome.
It is important for lawyers and support staff to carefully check grammar, punctuation and spelling. All this documentation must be perfect to be valid, and because it takes so long, human error is likely. Also, different documents have different legal formatting, which makes things even more difficult. Formatting legal documents is an incredibly delicate process. And because legal teams handle so many different documents in a single case, it`s easy to ignore a formatting error that they need to fix. With that in mind, let`s take a closer look at the formatting rules for some specific types of legal documents you`re likely to come across. The problem is that between cases, meetings, and document preparation, creating those documents can get a bit hairy. A perfectly formatted document may collapse, or an administrative assistant may invoke an outdated template for a document. If you`re generating new documents from scratch every time, your firm probably has a huge library of documents that lawyers draw from to build a document as quickly as possible. The font may be overlooked, but it is important for legal documents. The type of policy communicates the tone of the document and the image of the lawyer and the firm, so it is important for law firms to take this into account.
Legal documents differ in purpose and content, but some common types include: A document-style solution simplifies the process of reformatting and repairing legal documents through a powerful automated process. It can save up to 80% of reformatting time and does not require expert knowledge of Word. More importantly, it gives a lawyer time to focus on advising clients rather than reforming problematic documents. All of these elements add up to form a complete legal document, although the specifications can sometimes vary depending on the document used. Most word processors have automatic formatting for margins and spacing, but law firms can also set margins manually. Ideally, the top margin should be two inches and the bottom margin should be one inch. Most legal documents use a spacing of 1.5 or double. Law firms are constantly creating documents. In a single case, a lawyer and his team can create an entire library of documents, from briefs to affidavits to court records. Whether you have estate planning lawyers, criminal defense lawyers, or corporate lawyers, most companies handle at least some of the same basic legal documents.
This includes things like: Let`s say you submit a Supreme Court pamphlet. In this case, you will need to print your documents and link them to a brochure. So, if you`re doing business in North America, it`s generally prudent to stick to U.S. size standards. Instead of a plain sheet of paper (size 8.5 x 11 inches), the legal size is slightly longer (8.5 x 14 inches), although there are also junior legal sizes (5 x 8 inches). 12 Preparation of legal documents: language and structure Requirements define legal obligations and are therefore important for legal documentation. Common imperatives can be must, will, target and should.