If we’d thought a moment about it before sending last week’s LawProse Lesson, we’d have foreseen the onslaught of lawyers’ vehement, overheated defenses of pursuant to.
It is, after all, the phrase that legalese lovers crave most. They’re addicts who can’t bear a moment of withdrawal.
“I use it pursuant to standards of good writing, prior to making my substantive point in a sentence,” wrote one correspondent. What standard of good writing advises using legalese?
Another said: “I have a phrase in which it’s irreplaceable: ‘Pursuant to our recent conversation.'” Apparently he can’t remember how to say “As we discussed.”
Still others insisted that “under section 1983” is impossible for them, since they’re spatial literalists. A few said that pursuant to is a term of art. The list of rationalizations is endless.
The point is simply this: if you’re a pursuant-to addict, or even just a recreational user, you’re no friend of plain English. If you’re a native speaker of English, you’ve lost touch a bit with your mother tongue. You’re under the influence of legalese. (Or should that be “you’re pursuant to the influence of legalese”?)
Further reading:
Garner’s Dictionary of Legal Usage 737–38 (3d ed. 2011).
Legal Writing in Plain English 46 (2d ed. 2013).
LawProse Lesson #230: The most addictive phrase in legalese.
Live seminars this year with Professor Bryan A. Garner: Advanced Legal Writing & Editing
Attend the most popular CLE seminar of all time. More than 215,000 people—including lawyers, judges, law clerks, and paralegals—have benefited since the early 1990s. You'll learn the keys to professional writing and acquire no-nonsense techniques to make your letters, memos, and briefs more powerful.
You'll also learn what doesn't work and why—know-how gathered through Professor Garner's unique experience in training lawyers at the country's top law firms, state and federal courts, government agencies, and Fortune 500 companies.
Professor Garner gives you the keys to make the most of your writing aptitude—in letters, memos, briefs, and more. The seminar covers five essential skills for persuasive writing:
- framing issues that arrest the readers' attention;
- cutting wordiness that wastes readers' time;
- using transitions deftly to make your argument flow;
- quoting authority more effectively; and
- tackling your writing projects more efficiently.
He teaches dozens of techniques that make a big difference. Most important, he shows you what doesn't work—and why—and how to cultivate skillfulness.
Register to reserve your spot today.
Have you wanted to bring Professor Garner to teach your group? Contact us at info@lawprose.org for more information about in-house seminars.