Why do lawyers do this?

B

Bookman

1,000+ Posts
For example,

"I sent you a letter thirty (30) days ago, and asked for a response in ten (10) days. Please let me know within five (5) days if you agree to the terms of the proposed settlement, or I will be forced to file suit."

I can understand in a contract, deed, etc., but I don't see the purpose most of the time.
 
Are you talking about the (numbers) thing? I would think it's because some people are as dumb as ****.
 
Because they, like the Nigerian bank scammers, are trying to trick you out of as much money as possible.
 
I normally wouldn't send a demand letter with a 10 day response deadline unless circumstances required otherwise. Some laws require 30 days, some require 60 days, and others require longer periods. In some instances, they have to give you time. Even if you ignore the first one, some lawyers don't feel comfortable doing anything unless they've reminded you that you ignored them the first time around (which is what this situation sounds like--it's a 'one last chance' letter).

A lot of lawyers create "deadlines" in demands primarily so that they feel justified in taking the threatened action (e.g. I told you I would do it and gave you time to figure something out so you can't complain that you didn't have the opportunity) and so that a person won't just ignore the letters indefinitely (which most people do anyway).

Take, for example, a situation I had not too long ago. My client is a subcontractor who did a ton of work on an expensive spec home and was owed a lot of money by the original contractor. After liens and those sorts of things, we settled with the owner and I drafted the agreement. Even though we had agreed to a closing date, the owner kept "forgetting" to sign the settlement agreement. It wasn't too long before I sent a letter essentially telling him he had until the end of the week or I would file a lawsuit. We had the settlement check and a signed settlement agreement by the following Monday.
 
its not even that useful in contracts except that the (##) sticks out in the text so you can see it better. Proper english proably requires most numbers to be spelled out, hence the addition of (##). When skimming a contract, I make note of all (##) phrases, because they usually are deadlines.

Now, as for litigators? Well, most of them can't write for **** anyway, at least not with percision. Maybe persuasively. Disclaimer: I said most, so those who take offense on this thread should know, you can fit into the other category of trial lawyers, those that can write. So the use of (##) just seems like normal course for trial bafoons.
 
Sorry...read through that so fast I didn't realize what you were asking. It's because lawyering is all about worthless redundancy, beating dead dogs, etc.

For some of us it's in case of typo or error (everyone has "33" in their heads, but somehow you only type out "thirty"). For others it's a matter of quick reference (easier to scan through writing and pick up "(20)" than "twenty"). Some do it just because that's the way they were taught.

Lawyers are just primarily pretty silly people.
 
ha! i didnt even see the numbers in the parenthesis until after i read the first post three (3) times! i guess i just read them together.

i write the numbers both ways so it stands out to the recipient and there is no chance of confusion.

a transaction lawyer criticizing a trial lawyer's ability to write? never heard of that before....
wink.gif
 
No offense intended at all, bro; I'm only ribbing you. I have no dog in this fight, nor am I the spelling police.

It's funny that you call out litigators for not being able to write, and then proceed to commit a spelling error, which is itself a part of being able to write. But what is perhaps even funnier is the inaccurate spelling of a word whose meaning is "accurate."

It was funny, just laugh about it.
 
Okay, here's a theory: My legal assistant does this in a lot of things she drafts for me. I take it as her wanting to make sure that I have really read and agree with the numbers in the letter, since they are the most fluid moving parts and most likely to be wrong in some way.
 
I read something in a law student blog a few months ago that really stuck with me. The person said they got a critique on a writing assignment that said "Your writing, at times, is less than concise." Pure irony.
 
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