March 7, 2016
Writing Tip of the Week
Capitalization
Capitalization has been known to cause trouble in five places with legal writing:
1. Proper Adjectives
Proper adjectives are adjectives formed from proper nouns. Capitalize most proper
adjectives such as American banking system, the Atlantic seaboard, or Vietnamese refugees.
Do not capitalize proper adjectives that have become a part of the general language, such as
italic type, murphy bed, or venetian blinds.
2. Titles of officials
Capitalize a title only when it precedes the name or when it replaces the name.
Justice Brennan wrote the concurring opinion. Thank you, Judge, for your advice.
3. The first word after a colon
In general, do not capitalize the first word after a colon. The rare exception to capitalizing
the first word after a colon is when trying to emphasize the word or phrase.
Plaintiff asks the court to invoke the most severe penalty: child abuse must be
stopped.
4. Common nouns used to refer to specific people or groups
Capitalize a noun that refers to a specific person or organization as well as when the noun
replaces the name or organization.
Plaintiff objected to Defendant’s request for tax records.
5. Defined terms
Capitalize a defined term in a document to show that it has previously been defined and that
it is being used with a specific meaning.
Meredith Grey (Seller) agrees to sell George O’Malley (Buyer) a Maytag Side-bySide Refrigerator (Refrigerator) for $300. Buyer agrees that the Refrigerator is
offered for sale “as is,” with no warranties expressed or implied by Seller.
Adapted from: Legal Writing: Getting It Right and Getting It Written (3rd ed.)—Ray & Ramsfield
The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style (2nd ed.)—Bryan Garner
Prepared by: Jennifer Lussier