Dear Legal Writer, I once wrote for a partner who hated the word “that.”

He crossed it out automatically—every time he saw it—to save space.

But sometimes, deleting “that” makes the reader picture a judge physically holding a party.

That was not a clarity improvement.

Consider this:

▪️ “The court held the defendant was liable.”

Did the court decide that the defendant was liable? Or did the judge physically hold the defendant—and then somehow declare him liable?

The reader will surely figure it out. But the reader should not have to pause and reprocess your sentence.

✔️ BETTER: “The court held that the defendant was liable.”

❇️ Sometimes deleting “that” is a good editing choice. It can make a sentence shorter and smoother.

✔️ “I think you should go.”
✔️ “She said she’d call tomorrow.”
✔️ “We believe the plan will work.”

All three are grammatical without “that.” In each, the shorter version flows well.

🛑 But legal writers should not delete “that” automatically.

Sometimes, omitting it creates a reader miscue:

The reader initially treats the noun after the verb as the verb’s direct object, only to realize that the noun is actually the subject of a new clause.

For example:

🔸 EX: “The witness saw the suspect was nervous.”

Many readers initially process: “The witness saw the suspect . . .”

✔️ BETTER: “The witness saw that the suspect was nervous.”
_____

🔸 EX: “The report stated the company had overstated its revenue.”

At first, the reader may think: “The report stated the company . . .”

✔️ BETTER: “The report stated that the company had overstated its revenue.”
____

🔸 EX: “The judge found the employee had not exhausted her administrative remedies.”

✔️ BETTER: “The judge found that the employee had not exhausted her administrative remedies.”
___

Legal writing already asks a great deal of the reader. Don’t create an unnecessary speed bump just to save one word.

I put a list of common legal-writing verbs that often benefit from “that” in the attachment.

💌 Amanda

#DearLegalWriter

P.S. If you write for a ruthless “that”-cutter, please feel free to send them this post.

📫 What is your practice: Do you cut that whenever possible, or keep it whenever it helps your reader?