Saturday, February 13, 2010

Usage Tip of the Day

According to Bryan A. Garner, the editor of Black's Law Dictionary and subject of past Law Blog posts, four different variations of the term "attorney's fees" appear in the Illinois Compiled Statutes.

Mr. Garner also edits the Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage which sets forth the recommended usage for the four different variations.

(1) "Attorney's fees" is the most prevalent spelling contained in the Illinois statutes and in common usage. (2) "Attorneys' fees" is fine for plural possessives (more than one attorney). (3) "Attorney fees" is not recommended, but is used frequently. (4) "Attorneys fees" appears in the statutes, but is not to be used in common usage.

If you like these kinds of tips, you can sign up to receive Mr. Garner's Usage Tip of the Day from his website LawProse.org.

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