Legal texts are littered with excessive capitalisation, which is: (1) grammatically incorrect; and (2) distracting for the reader.
Capital letters should only be used in the following situations:
(1) At the beginning of a sentence (e.g. ‘Thank you for your letter’).
(2) When writing proper names (e.g. London, Angela Merkel, Fleet Street).
(3) When writing names which derive from proper names (e.g. Christianity, Marxism).
(4) For certain abbreviations (e.g. USA, NATO, WTO).
(5) For a defined term in a legal document where the definition uses a capital letter (e.g. ‘Roggins plc, hereinafter referred to as “the Company”’).
The main difficulty that arises is that writers fail to distinguish clearly between (1) proper names and ordinary nouns; and (2) defined terms and ordinary nouns.
So, the next time you find yourself using capitals for such terms as ‘a group of companies’ or ‘the sales contract’, ask yourself whether the noun in question is either genuinely a proper name or a defined term. If the answer to both these questions is ‘no’, change to lowercase.
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