Avoiding "Shall" when Expressing Policies

Vol. 103, No. 5 Mich. B.J. 44 (May 2024).

3 Pages Posted: 13 Jun 2024

Date Written: May 15, 2024

Abstract

This article explores a common misuse of "shall" in legal documents: the word's inapt use in language expressing a policy. Readers will learn how leading legislative and contract drafters use a succinct present-tense construction and avoid "shall" for language of policy (including definitions). And the article contains various before-and-after examples to help drafters learn to spot this "shall" misuse and refine their documents.

Keywords: drafting, legal drafting, contract, contractual language, contract drafting, legislative drafting, rule drafting, editing, succinctness, definitions, defined terms

Suggested Citation

Cooney, Mark, Avoiding "Shall" when Expressing Policies (May 15, 2024). Vol. 103, No. 5 Mich. B.J. 44 (May 2024). , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4829972

Mark Cooney (Contact Author)

Cooley Law School ( email )

300 S. Capitol Avenue
P.O. Box 13038
Lansing, MI 48901
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.cooley.edu/faculty/cooney.html

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
38
Abstract Views
121
PlumX Metrics