Microsoft has decided that it will officially join the ranks of those who consider it an error to put a double space after the end of a sentence.

(Although when I recently typed a sample paragraph in Word with the offending two spaces, no red squiggly line appeared; maybe the change has yet to be implemented, or I need to update my version of Word.)  

Double versus single spacing is one of those long-running controversies that get people — not just word nerds — all hot and bothered. There are those who get positively irrational about it, as often happens with things that …

Properly, it’s normality.

Just as formal leads to formality and final to finality.

But one does also see normalcy, as in this recent New York Times piece.

You won’t see the word normalcy as much outside the US, however. (And whether one has seen the concept there since 2016 is another question entirely.)

Although normalcy was used as early as 1857, the word really only came into its own in 1920, when Warren G. Harding used a return to normalcy as his campaign slogan in that year’s presidential election. He meant the conditions that had existed …

One question that comes up on a regular basis is “why can’t I find a copy of this act on CanLII?” 

One possibility is that the act is an annual statute that only amends another act (or acts), e.g. the Human Rights Code Amendment Act, 2018, S.B.C. 2018, c. 48. Not all amendment acts appear on CanLII; it depends on the jurisdiction.

If you’re not having any luck finding an act on CanLII, and its citation does not begin with “R.S.” (for Revised Statutes), you will probably want to look at the annual statutes for that jurisdiction on …

Oh, Mary Beard! Everyone’s favourite classicist.

She perceptively notes that old-fashioned correspondence offered subtle gradations in formality, which we haven’t quite got right with electronic mail. Beard finds e-mail inappropriately informal, strangely unpersuasive, often annoying, not conducive to genuine expressions of thanks.

Writing a letter also involved a helpful cooling-off period because you had to make the effort to find a stamp and then post your letter; this gave time for second thoughts about sending it at all.

To save her from those late-night missives sent after one glass too many, Beard wishes her laptop had a function that blocked …

Our personal and professional lives have been dramatically impacted by COVID-19. We’re all trying our best to stay informed, remain physically and mentally healthy, and to live and work in this brave new world. I am not alone in suggesting that staying informed about this pandemic and experiencing this constant barrage of information about COVID-19 through the media, social media, and web has become mentally and physically exhausting. How do you stay informed, prevent information overload, and remain mentally well all at the same time? 

As a law librarian, one of my skill sets is navigating, curating, aggregating, and communicating …

I often feel like a grumpy old schoolmaster, rapping the knuckles of my hapless pupils with a ruler when they misplace a comma or mistake who’s for whose.

A certain amount of knuckle-rapping is necessary, but no one who writes about words and writing can afford to be overly prescriptive.

Language changes over time, sometimes for the better. I like text as a verb; it neatly captures a new kind of linguistic transmission we didn’t have when my knuckles were being rapped as a schoolboy. Readers of previous posts will be well aware of new words I am less …

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canadian legal tech industry is stepping up to help.

Joining Clio and Optimize Compliance in offering generous assistance during this challenging time is Lexum, which today made the following announcement: Need to Provide Open Access to Key Documents and Materials? Lexum Will Help at No Cost.

“Lexum is waiving the fees of its Qweri product for organizations in need of quickly providing public access to any kind of reference documents. We are waiving our onboarding fees, as well as our subscription fee for the next 12 months, so that important …

Three standout posts on surviving and thriving during this abrupt change to working life:

Staying sane while shifting to remote work

Halifax lawyer Jennifer Taylor shares crowdsourced gems of wisdom on “how to be a lawyer, and a feminist, working from home in the age of COVID-19” (CBA National)

What Lessons Lawyers Can Learn From Week One of Working From Home

US lawyer coach Lauren Krasnow outlines 13 best practices for “how to remain effective, realistic, responsive and human.” (Law.com)

New work from home reality an opportunity for law firms

Toronto PR & communications pro Andrea …

Never underestimate the tendency of people – and legally trained people, especially – to say things twice, unnecessarily.

Both
Think before you (over-)use this.

It is superfluous here: The plaintiff seeks both compensatory and punitive damages.

Co-conspirator
To conspire necessarily involves combination or agreement with at least one other person to do something wrong. Co­- and con– come from the same Latin root indicating joint action, so you need only one of them.

Yes, the OED cites examples of co-conspirator from the 1860s, but they are in a list of co– words that are described as either …

To say COVID-19 has sped up the pace of legal change is an understatement. Usually it takes months (or even years!) to make changes to Canadian laws, but now we are seeing significant amendments announced and in force on the same day. With many businesses worrying about day-to-day survival, there is little or no time to stay on top of legal compliance requirements.

We wanted to simplify this task.  So, to help Canadian businesses and law firms understand and stay on top of these quickly evolving legal changes, Optimize Compliance is offering time-limited, free access to its easy-to-use compliance app.…