A potpourri of tips about legal writing

For a potpourri of tips about legal writing, see Dear Scrivener by Scott Moise in the March 2015 South Carolina Lawyer. There, Moise responds to questions the column has received. Two of them concern pet peeves of mine:

--Is the colon in this sentence correct—“Enclosed are: a special warranty deed, a signed contract, ad an affidavit”? Moise’s answer is a resounding “No” (as is mine). A colon must follow language that could stand alone as a complete sentence.

--Should numbers be both spelled and expressed as numerals, as in “thirty (30)”?  Again the answer is “No.” That formulation is wordy and smacks of outdated legalese.

For more tips, see the rest of the column.

(jdf)