A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage (Oxford Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage) [Paperback]

Bryan A. Garner (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195142365 | ISBN-13: 978-0195142365 | Publication Date: May 17, 2001 | Edition: 2

Garner's Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage gives authoritative guidance on all the vexing questions that legal writers face, from correcting grammatical errors to framing legal issues to distinguishing between similar but distinct legal terms. With great detail and care, Garner explains what legalese is, how it can be simplified, and how far legal writers can go in simplifying it. The topics are alphabetically arranged for ease of reference: simply look up any phrase or grammatical category you're interested in, and you're likely to find the final word on the subject. Shortly after the completion of this massively expanded second edition, the late Charles Alan Wright said: "The first edition of this book has been praised around the world as both the most reliable guide to legal usage and the most fascinating to read. The second edition outdoes even its predecessor."

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In this dictionary of American (and some British) legal usage, attorney Garner provides a "charted course" through legal language, advising on hundreds of usage problems in legal writing. Words, phrases, and a few topics are arranged alphabetically and defined or discussed with distinctions between similar terms carefully drawn. Problems in phraseology, diction, grammar, and style are dealt with and entries aptly illustrated from cases, statutes, etc. This volume supplements standard law dictionaries by adding to definitions and including terms not found. It is the most extensive resource available for legal word usage. Its strengths are depth in explanations, careful distinctions, and engaging style. A solid contribution to the improvement of legal writing, highly recommended for larger libraries and all libraries with law or law-related emphases. Mary Jane Brustman, SUNY at Albany Libs.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The well-received Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage (1987) has been updated in this superior second edition. This dictionary of law usage and etymology, not just definitions, is written in a clear and concise style. The number of entries has almost doubled from the first edition, and additional illustrative quotations have been added with complete citations. New terms in this edition include remote relatives, reverse discrimination, gray mail, shadow jury, lynch law, and misconduct in the office.

The entries are arranged alphabetically, interspersed with brief essays on issues of style, grammar and usage, legal lexicology, word formation, and punctuation. The initial words of these essays are capitalized to set them apart. So, for example, there is both a definition of forbid, forbade, forbidden with four quotations from cases or other law books and a discussion of forbidden words and phrases with a list of useless words--irregardless, wheresoever, etc.

It is unfortunate that the introduction from the first edition was not reprinted in the new volume since it describes the purposes of the book--perhaps the most important is "to make legal writers sensitive to the aesthetic possibilities of their prose, to goad them into thinking more acutely about what works in a given context, and what does not." Even libraries that have the first edition should consider this new one, which is highly recommended for any law collection in public or academic libraries. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 980 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2 edition (May 17, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195142365
• ISBN-13: 978-0195142365
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #211,953 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #38 in Books > Law > Dictionaries & Terminology

More About the Author

Bryan Garner is the award-winning author or editor of more than 20 books. He is a prolific lecturer, having taught more than 2,500 writing workshops since the 1991 founding of his company, LawProse, Inc. His works include Garner on Language and Writing and Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges, co-written with Justice Antonin Scalia. Garner has served as editor-in-chief of Black's Law Dictionary since 1995, and he is the author of the grammar-and-usage chapter in the venerable Chicago Manual of Style.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't Live Without It, September 7, 2003

By 

Wendy Kaplan (Houston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage (Oxford Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage) (Paperback)

As an editor of legal newsletters, I do not know what I would do without this absolutely necessary tool of the trade. Not only do I, a non-attorney, find it indispensible, but my colleagues who are members of the Bar are constantly borrowing my copy "just to check." And whatever they, or I, am checking--it's in there.

Garner has a way of condensing solid and often very intricate information into a few paragraphs so succinct, and so informative, that anyone can understand. When one is rushing against a deadline, editing for and about attorneys and the law, reaching for Garner often makes the difference.

I would give up my dictionary before I would part with this book, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Garner has earned his place in the annals of legal writing and editing, and I hold him--and this book--in the highest esteem.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A reference that every lawyer should own -- and use., August 21, 2001

By 

John P. (Kennett Square, PA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage (Oxford Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage) (Paperback)

Garner should be carried shoulder-high for this work. Much expanded beyond the first edition, it provides intelligent, informed guidance on both individual terms and general topics. What does it really mean to "beg the question"? Is "struck" preferable to "stricken"? What's the plural of "cestui que trust"? Garner does not simply give thumbs up or down; he explains the pros and cons of various usages, with an outlook that is literate and, above all, practical. Time after time I find that he has anticipated my questions and has answered them with just the right level of detail.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best, June 15, 2005

By 

L. Thacker (Minnesota USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage (Oxford Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage) (Paperback)

This is, by far, the single best resource on legal usage one can buy. I never cease to be amazed at how often I pull this book off of my shelf to find it giving me a clear and accurate answer to a usage question. I purchased this book several years ago after attending one of Garner's legal writing seminars. That seminar and this book have dramatically improved my legal writing skills. Those two tools positively influence my writing every single day. If you follow Garner's advice and guidance, you will eliminate deadening and condescending legalese from your legal writing and replace it with clear and concise prose. My clients appreciate receiving contracts that are actually readable and my contracts are less frequently subject to alternative interpretations because ambiguities are largely eliminated. As a lawyer or paralegal, do yourself a favor and buy this book. Better yet, buy this book and take Garner's Advanced Legal Drafting seminar. You won't regret it.