![]() A “recovering” lawyer, she also spent five years as an adjunct professor teaching writing at UC Hastings College of the Law. Similarly, avoid placing two numerals back to back.Įrin Leslie Gordon is a freelance legal affairs journalist and a former staff writer at The Daily Journal. As such, learning how to write effectively and persuasively as a lawyer will go a long way. Throughout their career, lawyers write thousands of documents for different audiences including clients, other lawyers, court officials and more. OR Seven thousand tickets were sold in the first hour. Legal writing is a crucial skill for any legal professional to have. ![]() Wrong: 7,000 tickets were sold in the first hour.īetter: Concert-goers bought 7,000 tickets in the first hour. ![]() Reword sentences to avoid starting with a numeral (or spell it out). Wrong: On eBay, a collectible can cost anywhere from $5 to five million dollars.īetter: On eBay, a collectible can cost anywhere from $5 to $5 million. With decimals, it’s helpful to put the zero before the decimal unless the decimal itself begins with a zero.Īvoid mixing fractions and decimals – or numerals and words – in the same document, if possible. When in doubt, stay away from anything that isn’t a citation. When necessary, you should always use endnotes, but don’t bury information in the endnotes. Number pages consecutively from start to finish (as opposed to chapter-by-chapter). Spell out simple fractions, such as 1/2 or 1/3, using a hyphen.įor complicated fractions, it might be preferable to use numerals or to convert to decimals. All chapters, pages, appendixes, and exhibits should be kept in order. Sometimes the most readable format is a combination of numerals and words. Count three spaces to the left of the ones column and continue to do so as the numbers get bigger. Seven thousand two hundred and twenty-four The Complete Legal Writer covers document types that are traditionally taught in the. If you chose to spell out multi-word whole numbers between 22 and 99, use hyphens.Īlso use hyphens when those numbers are part of bigger numbers. Learn how to create effective, understandable documents for publication in the Federal Register. The Complete Series for Legal Writers is a series of legal writing. ![]() Spell out numbers below 10 and big round numbers. Keeping in mind that your firm’s style guide (you should have one, remember?) may differ, here are a few basic tips related to numbers. In general, as with most writing rules, I recommend using common sense, simplicity and consistency. And everybody’s rules seem to have complicated exceptions. The Associated Press, for example, has different guidelines than other popular style manuals. Writing numbers can be tricky, especially because there are conflicting rules about how to do it. ![]()
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