Bright-line test

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Bright-line test /brʌɪt lʌɪn tɛst/ (n.)
1. (American). A conceptual exercise bestowing a so great degree of confidence in the mind of a member of the New York bar that it cannot, as a matter of metaphysical, much less legal theory, exist. A bright-line test is thus a kind of unachievable Platonic ideal; a sunlit upland to which all US attorneys wistfully aspire in their written memorands, but which all know, and thank their lucky stars, they will never encounter in person. Thus the words “bright-line test” are always uttered in the negative, and with insincere remorse — e.g., “sadly, [[there’s no bright-line test] for this”. It is a US attorney’s means of evading any responsibility for anything she says, does, or commits to a lengthy written memorandum of advice.

Usage

“There is no bright line test in the rules, and consequently there is always a potential risk that regulators might be inclined to take the view that your good faith practice on which your firm designed its SOX implementation might not be recharacterized as a safe harbor to Title III of Regulation G of Rule 14-a7 of the ’40 Act ...” zzzzz zzzz zzzz HEY! WAKE UP!

See also

• Chicken licken
• US Attorney