Category Archives: Difficult English terms

A close look at English legal words and phrases that Dutch legal professionals often find difficult to work with.

Avoiding “shall”

English-speaking legal-writing experts agree that the use of “shall” by English-speaking lawyers is a mess. They also agree that the irregular, inconsistent and unclear use of “shall” is leading to misunderstanding and unnecessary litigation. Despite their agreement about the nature of the problem, the experts are divided on what to do about it. Some (including Bryan Garner, Peter Butt and… Read more

Avoiding “as of”

Great care should be taken in translating time-related prepositions (voorzetsels) like vanaf, tot en met and per. It doesn’t help that some of the English expressions are not clear at all. For example, “as of” (like its British cousin “as at”) is used all the time by English speakers — but in various, often unclear ways. On 24 March 2014, there was… Read more