How to Use “As Such”
Dear Legal Writer, “As such”: 95% of legal writers get this WRONG.
So please listen closely.
—> Most people think that “as such” means something like “therefore,” or “accordingly,” and they use it as a catch-all to stand for what they said in the preceding sentence.
For instance, many writers would use “As such” in sentence pairs like these:
1: It has not snowed. As such, we cannot ski today.
2: I am falling asleep. As such, I do not wish to watch another movie.
3: The plaintiff refuses to respond to our discovery requests. As such, we had no choice but to file this motion to compel.
—> All three of those are just so wrong!
If the reason why is not apparent to you, you must suspend all use of “As such” IMMEDIATELY.
Instead, use “therefore,” “this,” or even just “so.”
E.g.,
✅ It has not snowed. Therefore, we cannot ski today.
✅ I am falling asleep. I thus do not wish to watch another movie.
✅ The plaintiff refuses to respond to our discovery requests, so we had no choice but to file this motion to compel.
***
Now, even though “as such” is never necessary, I want you to know what it means when you see it, and it’s important that you can recognize it being used incorrectly so you can correct those who may be working for you.
So here is an excerpt from ‘Dear 1L’ ch 10.4 along with some additional new examples.
⬇️
“As such” means “in that capacity,” or “in that respect.”
👉 The critical thing is that the “such” MUST stand for a preceding NOUN.
For example, you CAN say,
✅ “She was promoted to manager. As such, she supervised other employees.”
—The “such” replaces “manager” and therefore works.
✅ “The night had become a force. As such, it was beating us back inside.”
—That works because the “night” is operating as an actor that the author has personified to be forcing them to do something.
I’ve attached these + 5 more correct examples from legal writing for you in the attached so you can print and put up on your wall—
⬇️
Finally, here’s a trick to test whether you’ve used “As such” correctly:
Ask yourself, “As WHAT?” If you can’t find a preceding noun that makes sense, your use is incorrect.
1: It has not snowed. As such, we cannot ski today.
—As WHAT? No answer, so it is wrong.
2: I am falling asleep. As such, I do not wish to watch another movie.
—As WHAT?
(Here, you likely mean “a person who is falling asleep,” but you would have had to phrase the prior sentence, “I am a person who is falling asleep” to make the “As such” work.)
3: The plaintiff refuses to respond to our discovery requests. As such, we had no choice but to file this motion to compel.
—As WHAT? Crickets!!
Always fondly,
💌 Amanda
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