5 Tips for Using Proper Punctuation In Your Legal Documents

Take Command of your Commas, Colons and Periods

Punctuation is perhaps one of the most abused elements of writing in general – from professional and scientific writing, to creative and legal writing. Diction, word placement and sentence structure seem to rule the world of writing, while the value of precise punctuation seems to slip through the cracks.

Within a legal document, however, everything must be in its proper place. Here are five top tips for you to consider and follow to ensure you are punctuating your legal documents, memos, case files, letters and other forms of paperwork correctly.

Proper Placement and Use of Commas

The typical comma seems to either be overused or underused in most documents – including different types of legal writing. Since your focus should be on boosting the quality of your legal documents through the proper use of punctuation, it is imperative to learn the art of placing commas within your sentences.

According to Cuny School of Law, commas must separate independent clauses whenever they are joined together by coordinating conjunctions, such as and, for, but, or, yet and nor.

You should also use commas to separate three or more phrases, clauses or words within a sentence (eg:phrases, clauses or words). It is also appropriate to use commas in the middle of sentences when the need to set off phrases, clauses and words that are not significant to the purpose of the sentence. A general rule of thumb to use in this regard is to consider if the unessential part could actually be separated into an entirely separate sentence.

One of the more famous examples of a misplaced comma causing severe legal consequences happened in 2006. Bell Aliant was able to exit a fixed 5-year term contract with Rogers Communications (a giant Canadian Telecom company) due to a comma error in the contract. Ultimately this error ended up costing Rogers Communications a total 2.13 million dollars. Rogers appealed the decision,  though, based on the fact that the French version of the contract contained the proper use of the comma. This story is often referred to as the “million dollar comma.”

Separating Punctuation from Quotation Marks

Perhaps one of the most common mistakes in punctuation is its relationship and placement near quotation marks. Many people seem to feel more comfortable with placing their quotation marks before the punctuation (eg: Mr. Smith stated that “the driver appeared intoxicated at the scene”.)

According to Columbia Law School, the relationship between punctuation and quotation marks depends on the type of punctuation used. For instance, when you are quoting a phrase or sentence at the end of a sentence, a period must go before the closing quotation mark, even if it is not necessarily how the sentence ended within the original source. Commas must also go inside of the quotation marks. However, question marks and exclamation marks should be placed outside of the quotation, unless they appeared in the original source.

For example:

• Mr. Smith stated that “the driver appeared intoxicated at the scene.”

• Was Jane unsure of exactly what was meant by “quid pro quo”?

En Dash vs. Em Dash

Within most legal documents, the dashes used within the text seem to intentionally stand out to most readers. Even though dashes and hyphens are used regularly in many different types of writing, two specific dash types – the en dash and em dash – play significant roles in legal writing.

An “en dash” is essentially the balance point between a hyphen and an em dash – larger than a hyphen, but half of the size of an em dash. According to Lawyerist, the en dash is designed to depict a range of values or feature a relationship between word pairs, whether they be connections or contrasts. For example, instead of writing “2000 to 2015” or “pages 50 to 55”, the “en dash” can be used to type “2000 – 2015” or “pages 50 – 55.”

The em dash is perhaps the most underused mark of legal writing. The em dash can be used in a number of different ways, including the creation of a break in thought, a conversational colon, adding emphasis to a concluding phrase, a parenthetical explanation, or indicating a collection of grouped ideas. Within the world of legal writing, there are some cases in which a comma is simply insufficient or excessive, and parentheses are too distracting. In those cases, an em dash could come in handy.

Related: Law firms operate better when there are standards everyone is supposed to meet. A legal document created by one writer should look identical to a document created by a lawyer in the same office. Read our blog on the “Value of Standardization in Today’s Law Firms”.

When Do You Need a Semicolon?

Most people who are unsure about when to use semicolons just take the safe route and avoid using them all together. However, a semicolon can be used as an effective connection between two independent clauses that are closely related in meaning and value.

Example: The witness states the accident occurred at 10:15 AM; the police officers were dispatched to the scene five minutes later.

Within the example outlined above, both of those clauses could easily stand alone as 2 separate sentences. However, the semicolon allows the reader to clearly see the connection between them. Do not make the mistake of simply using a comma to separate these types of clauses. In addition to breaking the flow of the sentence with improper punctuation, you will also turn the statement into a run-on sentence.

Another way to appropriately use a semicolon is when you connect separate clauses whenever a transitional phrase or word is used (eg: however or nonetheless).

Proper Punctuation Enhances Structure

It may seem tedious and time-consuming to master the placement and proper use of punctuation within the standard legal document. However, it is imperative to remember that you can severely jeopardize the quality of your documentation by not doing so. Proper punctuation helps to build structure within your document and boosts the quality of the actual content. Perhaps a compromise to save time without risking quality is to use a legal document format or customized template to assist in navigating your way through common legal forms, memos and other forms of documentation. Regardless of the specific approach you choose to use, make sure you keep proper punctuation a top priority.

Read the Infoware blog for more insight and advice to boost you legal document writing skills, and see how our legal document automation software can increase the accuracy and productivity in your law firm.