Don’t use “since” to mean “because” in legal writing.

Dear Legal Writer, Be careful with “since” in legal writing.

In fact, don’t use “since” to mean “because.”

❗️ But Amanda, every thesaurus says ‘since’ & ‘because’ are synonyms.
❗️ ‘Since’ is also 1 syllable & 2 letters shorter than ‘because.’
❗️ And ‘since’ is MUCH smoother 7 sleeker than ‘because.’

Well, I agree with you on all points. But here’s the thing:

At the end of the day, none of those points are persuasive because “since”
causes ambiguity.

Ambiguity violates the no. 1 rule in legal writing: aim for clarity above all
else.

“Since” is a murky word with many possible meanings.

True, “since” can mean “because.” But “since” can also mean three other things that have nothing to do with “why” something happened, only “when” it did. “Since” means:

▫️ “while,”
▫️ “after,” and
▫️ “at the same time.”

Here are 3 sentences that use “since” in a way that’s ambiguous:

1: “Since we discussed, I’ve changed my mind.”

—Do you mean you changed your mind after we discussed, or because we discussed? Here’s another:

2: “Since they ate breakfast, they were ready to leave.”

—Do you mean they’ve been ready to leave since the time that they ate breakfast, or that it was because they ate breakfast that they were ready to leave? A Reader can’t be sure. Sometimes, the writer might mean both.

3: “I listen to Taylor Swift more since I saw her perform.”

—Same type of questions arise. (Perhaps here I mean “since” to mean both “after” and “because.” It’s ok that I’m imprecise in this post. But in legal writing, every word should be ambiguity-free.)
Remember, your Reader has a short attention span. Your Reader will NOT appreciate being forced to spend additional time on your brief trying to figure out what you mean by “since.”

“Since” is a subtle, soft, less direct way to say “because.” Most of the time when legal writers use “since,” they intend to convey causation. But there’s no reason to beat around the bush with whether something has caused something else. Causation can be everything in the
law.

“Because” clearly conveys causation.
“Since” suggests causation, but is less exact.

Be assertive in your legal writing. If you mean “because,” use “because.”

Fondly,
Amanda
P.S. I collect my writing tips under —> #DearLegalWriter. Follow the hashtag for future tips.

In case you’re curious, Bryan Garner proposes a more intricate approach. He says that there’s nothing wrong with using “since” as a synonym for because, EXCEPT when the “since” is followed by the past-tense. See Lawprose Usage Tip of the Day: Since (Sept. 17, 2012).

I think that refinement is too nuanced for writers to have to apply every time they have a decision between “since” and “because,” so I would not worry about it. In legal writing, we almost always write in the past tense anyway.

What’s your view?