Copyright: ivelinradkov / 123RF Stock Photo
As I’m getting back into the blogging swing, we’ll catch up with some random information this week.
Professional and Personal Titles. When using a professional title, do not use a personal title. For instance, Mr. John Jones, Esq. is incorrect. So is Dr. Julie Smith, M.D. Choose one or the other.
Plurals of Personal Titles. When addressing more than one person, you can pluralize the titles.
- The plural of Mr. is Messrs.
- The plural of Ms. is Mses. or Mss.
- The plural of Mrs. or Mme. is Mmes.
- The plural of Miss is Misses
Pages and lines. When you are referring to pages and/or lines in another document, you use “p.” for one page or “pp.” for multiple pages and “l.” for one line and “ll.” for multiple lines. Always pay attention to the range of your citation. If you are citing to a deposition excerpt at pages and lines 13:15-15:20, it would be pp. 13:15-15:20. Sometimes the writer will start with one page and just use “p.” everywhere, but if the citation is to multiple pages, you should change it.
Periods With Contractions. Do not use a period after a contraction. For instance, in my recent travels, I saw a sign for a national park that said “Nat’l. Park.” That is incorrect. “Nat’l” is a contraction for “National,” not an abbreviation, so it should not have a period at the end.
Signing Letters and Emails. When a non-attorney is using a signature block in a letter or an email, they should always include their title, i.e., Legal Assistant, Paralegal, etc., so the recipient knows that the communication is not from an attorney.
That is enough randomness for now. If you have random questions, leave a comment below and watch for the response in an upcoming post.
Follow