Dear Legal Writer: Never put a comma before beginning parentheses.

It’s unnecessary, and it’s considered redundant.

WRONG: The teacher said “hi” to only one student, (whose name was Charlie).

WRONG: The plaintiff, (who had a strong case), looked confident at the hearing.

So what about after the ending parentheses?

Well, that depends on whether the sentence otherwise calls for one, and it’s often within your discretion.

These 4 sentences are all CORRECT:

✅ The teacher said hi to only one boy (whose name was Charlie) and one girl (whose name was Mary).

✅ The teacher said hi to only one boy (whose name was Charlie), and Charlie waved back.

✅ The judge ruled in favor of the plaintiff (who had a strong case) and awarded her full damages.

✅ The judge ruled in favor of the plaintiff (who had a strong case), but he only awarded her a nominal amount in damages.

CONFESSION:

I regularly looked up this rule before. But by writing this letter to you, I’m cementing the rule in my mind.

What about you?

I bet there’s a rule YOU constantly have to look up.

So why not write a post about it?

👉 Writing about something is the best way to teach yourself about something!! (Do you agree?)

💌 Amanda

#DearLegalWriter