Common Mistakes
Avoid the mistakes often made by both native English-speaking lawyers and lawyers whose mother tongue is not English
-
- Do not confuse arbitrator with the very similar word arbiter. An arbitrator is someone who hears evidence and renders a decision in arbitrations but not in any other type of dispute.
If you have a mandatory arbitration clause in your contract you might not be fighting in court. Instead, you may find your case brought before an arbitrator who works for a private arbitration group.
In contrast, an arbiter is an impartial person or institution given the power to decide in any sort of controve [...]
- Arbitrator, arbiter, arbitration and arbitrage
-
- Immunity and impunity are similar, but not identical, in both meaning and spelling. Immunity relates to protection from punishment, duty, liability or illness.
Telecommunications companies have been granted legal immunity for cooperating in warrantless domestic wiretapping because it was ordered by the president.
Impunity is narrower and refers only to protection from punishment.
For decades, the cartels operated with impunity, unchallenged by corrupt cops.
[...]
- Immunity and impunity
-
- Disclose, expose, and divulge all refer to making something known or visible, yet these words have important differences.
Disclose means to reveal something, usually a factual matter, to the public that was previously kept secret, e.g.
"The seller failed to disclose hidden defects in the foundation of the house."
Expose implies scandal, e.g. expose corruption, danger, e.g. expose to liability, or nakedness, e.g.
"The pedophile exposed himself to children in the park."
Divulge means making [...]
- Disclose, expose and divulge
-
- There is sometimes confusion over who leases and who lets a property, and what the terms actually mean. Both terms are commonly used in the context of property law.
1. Both the landlord/lessor and the tenant/lessee can lease the property.
If the landlord/lessor leases the property, this means that he rents it out to the tenant/lessee:
“It was agreed that the office be leased to the lessee for a term of 3 years.”
If the tenant/lessee leases the property, this means that he rents it from [...]
- Lease vs. let
-
- A power of attorney is authorisation to act on another person’s behalf and in their name in a legal or business matter. The person granting the power of attorney is known as the grantor and the person authorised to act is the agent or attorney-in-fact. The power granted may be very wide in scope and may include the power to sign documents on behalf of the grantor, deal with their financial affairs and property, etc.
A proxy commonly refers only to authorisation to vote on anothe [...]
- What is the difference between a power of attorney and a proxy?
-
- To precede is to go before:
“Long negotiations preceded the signing of the agreement.”
To proceed is to continue doing something:
“The court allowed counsel to proceed.” [...]
- Precede vs. Proceed
-
- Tax evasion is escaping payment of taxes by illegal means, for example by hiding the true state of one's finances from tax authorities.
“It is likely that he will go to prison if he is convicted of tax evasion.”
Tax avoidance is escaping payment of taxes by legal means, such as by changing tax residence to a tax haven or by making use of pension plans that postpone tax until retirement.
“The law firm set up a scheme that was aimed primarily at tax avoidance."
[...]
- Tax evasion vs. Tax avoidance
-
- To persecute someone is to treat them unfairly or in an oppressive way over a period of time because of their race, religion or political beliefs.
“Jews were persecuted in Nazi Germany during the 1930s.”
To prosecute someone is to press criminal charges against someone in a court of law.
“Illegal file sharers will be prosecuted under new Government plans.”
Note: The nouns persecution and prosecution have the same meanings as above but in the noun form. However, the term the p [...]
- Persecute vs. Prosecute
-
- Murder is the crime of intentionally killing a person. In legal speak, the element of intention is referred to as ‘malice aforethought’.
“The gunman was charged with murder.”
Manslaughter is the crime of killing a person by a person who e.g. did not intend to do it or cannot be held responsible for his or her actions.
“She was found guilty of manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility.”
Homicide is the act of killing someone and does not necessarily denote a crime.
[...]
- Murder, Manslaughter, Homicide
-
- To ensure that something will be done means to make it certain to happen.
“When amending the contract, the lawyer ensured that her client received a better deal.”
To insure someone or something means to protect the person or object against risk by regularly paying an insurance company a sum of money. In the event the person is injured or killed or the object is damaged or lost, the insurance company will then pay out a sum of money to cover the injury or loss.
“The company was ins [...]
- Ensure vs. Insure
-
- The difference between the use of whose and who's is similar to that between the use of its and it’s (discussed here).
whose - the possessive form of whom.
“The director, whose shares were recently acquired by the company, resigned last week.”
who’s - a contraction of who is. When you see the apostrophe, think “who is”.
“The plaintiff, who’s suing the defendant, is represented by a very competent counsel.” [...]
- Whose vs. Who’s
-
- Due to the size of the English language - the number of words exceeds 800,000 - it is quite easy to confuse the meanings of and misuse so many of the words that sound or appear the same. This is particularly true if English is not your native tongue.
In addition, there are numerous words used by lawyers - legal and otherwise - that must be used precisely, particularly in the legal context where ambiguity and misunderstanding are not welcome.
Below is a list of commonly confused terms us [...]
- Correct Words
-
- Using its and it’s incorrectly is a very common error among native English speakers and non-native English speakers alike.
Its - the possessive form of it (like his or her).
“Each company in the group has its own managing director and company secretary.”
It’s - a contraction of "it is". When you see the apostrophe, you should think “it is”.
“It’s difficult for the parties to resolve this dispute.” [...]
- Its vs. It’s
-
- Defamation is the communication of a falsehood that damages the reputation of someone.
If the defamation is recorded, especially in writing, in a permanent form, it is libel. This would include statements made by email and pictures.
“The newspaper was sued for libel by the CEO of the company for publishing false information about her share dealings.”
If the defamation is not recorded, but merely spoken and unrecorded, it is slander.
“It is currently being determined in the cour [...]
- Defamation: libel and slander
-
- Damage and damages are often confused. The term damage describes harm or injury to property or a person.
“The damage incurred by the claimant was estimated to be £100,000.”
On the other hand, damages denotes monetary compensation awarded by a court for the damage which has been suffered.
“The damages sought were in excess of one million dollars.” [...]
- Damage vs. Damages
-
- Though the terms, counseland council share similar pronunciations, they have distinctly different meanings.
The term council is a noun only and most commonly means a group of persons brought together to deliberate on a particular issue; or a body of people elected or appointed to serve as administrators, legislators or advisors.
“Members of the council are appointed for a period of three years.”
The term counsel can be used as a noun or a verb. The noun denotes a legal advisor or advis [...]
- Council vs. Counsel
-
- In legal English, consent and assent are often used interchangeably. There is a subtle difference though.
The term assent connotes a positive and voluntary agreement both as a noun and a verb.
“Assent to a proposal of marriage.”
The term consent is neutral in connotation and can apply even when the agreement is given reluctantly.
“The employee consented to the non-compete clause being included in her employment agreement.” [...]
- Assent vs. Consent
-
- In legal English, a deposit is either (1) money placed in a bank account or (2) something given as security or part payment for a cost or debt.
“The purchaser was required to pay a deposit of 10% of the price of the property.”
The term deposit is also used as a verb.
“She deposited all of her salary into her bank account.”
The legal term deposition is the testimony of a witness, under oath that is written down or recorded for use in court at a later date.
“In many countri [...]
- Deposit vs. Deposition
-
- The term disqualified means to be made ineligible, or deprived of legal rights or powers, including by a law or rule. So, for example, a company director may be disqualified from acting as a director for a period of time if he or she is in breach of particular legislation or rules regarding the conduct of a director.
A person is unqualified if he or she lacks the requisite standard or is unfit for the role. So, if a person who is deemed unqualified for a job, it means he or she is ineligible [...]
- Disqualified vs. Unqualified
-
- The term public company generally refers to a public limited company, which is a company that is permitted to offer its shares for sale to the general public. This may include offering its shares to the public through a stock exchange. This is to be distinguished from a private company (a private limited company) which is prohibited from offering its shares for sale to the general public. Both public and private companies operate in what is known as the private sector.
A public company is no [...]
- Public Company
-
- The term security in legal English has two important but very different meanings.
A security (plural: securities) is an investment instrument issued by a company, government, or other organization which offers evidence of debt or equity, or to investments such as shares or bonds.
“The legislation prohibits trading by brokers in certain types of securities.”
The term security (note that no article is used) refers to the provision of rights against a person’s assets which are intended [...]
- Security
-
- The terms counterpart and counterparty are commonly used in the law but have very different meanings and it is important to distinguish between them.
A counterpart is a duplicate or copy of a legal document. If a contract is entered into by two parties, for example, two originals are often signed so that each party has in its possession one original, signed version of the contract:
“This agreement has been signed in two original, identical counterparts of which each party has received on [...]
- Counterpart vs. Counterparty
-
- The terms infer and imply are often confused. A writer or speaker implies something, meaning that it is indicated or suggested without being explicitly stated:
“When the CEO stated that the company would not rule out paying a dividend to shareholders this year, she implied that a dividend may be paid.”
Conversely, a reader or listener infers (or draws an inference) from something by drawing conclusions that are not explicit in what is said:
“When the CEO stated that she would not rule [...]
- Infer vs. Imply
-
- This word can have contradictory meanings and, as such, care should be taken as to its use.
1. As a verb it can mean to penalize and, as a noun, penalty, intended to ensure compliance:“One of the sanctions available to the European Commission for an infringement of EU rules is the imposition of fines.”
Within this meaning, sanctions (in the plural) can also be a punitive or coercive measure adopted by a country or group of countries acting together against a country in violation of int [...]
- Sanction
-
- It is not strictly correct that between is used for two things and among for more than two.
When exactly two entities are specified, between should always be used:
“This contract is entered into between the Seller and the Purchaser.”
However, when more than two entities are involved or when the number of entities is unspecified, the word choice depends on what you want to say. Between should be used where the relationship is distinctly one-to-one:
“The agreement was entered i [...]
- Between vs. Among
-
- Robbery, burglary, theft, and larceny are all illegal takings.
However, people are robbed (usually by force or threat), places (buildings, ships, or vehicles) are burgled by breaking and entering, and things (personal property or services) are the objects of larceny or theft. [...]
- Robbery, burglary, theft, and larceny
-
- Due to the size of the English language - the number of words exceeds 800,000 - it is quite easy to confuse the meanings of and misuse so many of the words that sound or appear the same. This is particularly true if English is not your native tongue.
In addition, there are numerous words used by lawyers - legal and otherwise - that must be used precisely, particularly in the legal context where ambiguity and misunderstanding are not welcome.
The following is a pairing of commonly confused [...]
- Accede vs. Exceed
-
- Affect means to have an influence on or cause a change in. For example, “Intense lobbying affected the vote.”
Affect and effect are often used interchangeably. Affect is a verb. Effect, meaning result, “When the witness appeared on the last day of the trial, the effect was that judge granted a continuance.”; the power to produce an outcome, influence, “The government’s actions had an immediate effect on counterfeiting.”; or the condition of being in full force, is usua [...]
- Affect vs. Effect
-
- Disregarding the presence of any parenthetical modifier, adverbs ending in 'ly' always modify the word immediately following them. Thus, they do not require a hyphen to indicate which word they modify. This is true in both British and American English. Accordingly, for example, "wholly owned subsidiary," does not, and should not, employ a hyphen.
wholly owned subsidiary: a subsidiary company that is owned entirely (100%) by its parent company. "Fasty Limited, a company incorporated in England [...]
- Wholly owned subsidiary
-
- Qualify has many meanings, including to provide with necessary skills, knowledge or credentials. In law qualify means to certify as legally competent or to actions necessary to acquire legal power.
However, another important meaning of qualify is to limit or restrict. Thus it is said that one provision of a statute qualifies or modifies another. And, notably, an unqualified legal opinion is one without exceptions or limitations, not one written by a substandard lawyer. [...]
- Qualify
-
- Though they are not homophones, when they are heard out of context "disburse" and "disperse" are easily confused. Disburse is used to refer to the distribution of money or other assets, e.g. “The Board of Directors resolved to disburse dividends to the shareholders.” Disperse is used in reference to the distribution, scattering or spreading of other things, often people, e.g. “The police officers attempted to disperse the crowd that had gathered. [...]
- Disburse vs. Disperse
-
- Perhaps because of the logical fallacy post hoc ergo propter hoc (“after this, therefore because of this”), consequent is frequently misused for subsequent. Although both a consequent event and a subsequent event occur after a prior event, subsequent merely indicates something that follows an event or occurs at a later time. Consequent, however, indicates something which follows as a result of the earlier event. [...]
- Consequent and Subsequent
-
- Effective and efficient both mean generally “having effect” but specifically, effective meanings having a high degree of effect, e.g. “The court fashioned an effective remedy.”, while efficient means competent to perform a task, e.g. “The court clerk is extremely efficient at scheduling cases.” [...]
- Effective vs. Efficient
-
- Advise can be a noun meaning to give advice, counsel, warn, recommend, or simply inform. It is also used as a verb meaning to give someone advice. In formal settings, advise means to give someone official information. When trying to be formal though, some writers incorrectly use advise as a synonym for “told” although only information and no advice has been communicated.
However, advise should not be confused with the noun, advice. Advice denotes an opinion which someone offers about what [...]
- Advise vs. Advice
-
- Do not confuse counsel with council. Counsel means a legal advisor. In the U.K., the term is used for barristers appearing in court; in the U.S., it is used for office practioners such as general counsel, as well as litigators. Note that the plural of general counsel is general counsel, not general counsels
Council, however, denotes a deliberative body or assembly. For example, a city council.
A counsellor is one who gives advice – often but not always legal, but a councillor is a mem [...]
- Counsel vs. Council
-
- Principal and principle are often confused as they have the same pronunciation, but have different meanings. In non-legal usage, principle (a doctrine, standard, rule, or law, etc.) is always a noun: A principle of management is to treat your employees as you want them to treat your customers.
On the other hand, principal (primary, chief, most important) is both a noun and an adjective, though usually an adjective in non-legal usage: A faulty gasket was the principal reason [...]
- Principal vs. Principle