The use of commas in English legal writing is undoubtedly a problematic area. However, it is possible to identify eight main situations in which commas should be used.
1) To separate items in a list of more than two items. For example, ‘cars, trucks, vans, and tractors’. In this sentence, there is a comma after vans to show that the list contains four separate categories of items – cars, trucks, vans, tractors – and that vans and tractors do not make up a single category.
2) To separate coordinated main clauses. For example, ‘Cars should park here, and trucks should continue straight on’. In this sentence, the comma after here marks the separation between the different clauses in the sentence.
3) To mark the beginning and end of a sub-clause in a sentence. For example, ‘James, who is a corporate lawyer, led the seminar.’
Here, the commas after James and lawyer allow the writer to indicate to the reader in passing that James is a corporate lawyer, while at the same time placing the main emphasis on the fact that James led the seminar.
4) After certain kinds of introductory clause. For example, ‘Having finished my work, I left the office.’
5) After certain kinds of introductory words. When a sentence begins with a word which does not form part of the clause which follows it, a comma usually appears after this word. These are usually words – or combinations of two or three words – inserted by the author to indicate to the reader how the rest of the sentence is to be understood and how it relates to the previous sentence. For example, however, therefore, of course, nevertheless.
6) To separate a phrase or sub-clause from the main clause in order to avoid misunderstanding. For example:
I did not go to Paris yesterday, because the meeting was cancelled.
Here, the comma after yesterday makes it clear that the writer did not go to Paris, and the reason he or she did not go to Paris was that the meeting was cancelled. If the comma were to be removed, the sentence would be ambiguous – it would give the impression that the writer did go to Paris but that the reason for going to Paris was not that the meeting was cancelled:
I did not go to Paris yesterday because the meeting was cancelled. I went because I had urgent shopping to do!
7) Following words which introduce direct speech (e.g. said). For example, ‘He said, “my lawyer is a genius!”’
8) Between adjectives which each qualify a noun in the same way. For example, ‘a small, dark room’. Here, a comma is placed after small.
However, where the adjectives qualify the noun in different ways, or when one adjective qualifies another, no comma is used. For example, ‘a distinguished international lawyer’ or ‘a shiny blue suit’.
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