82,891
edits
Paragraph numbering: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
Amwelladmin (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
Amwelladmin (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{a|drafting|}}if you take your legal contracts seriously as a piece of code — not every lawyer does, and for some contracts there are reasons not to<ref>If it is a persuasive, [[commitment-signalling]] exercise like an [[NDA]] — no-one expects to actually enforce the literal terms of an NDA — rather than a careful prescription of precise rights and liabilities and clear economic options, as you might find in a financing or derivative contract</ref> | {{a|drafting|}}if you take your legal contracts seriously as a piece of code — not every lawyer does, and for some contracts there are reasons not to<ref>If it is a persuasive, [[commitment-signalling]] exercise like an [[NDA]] — no-one [''almost'' no-one — Ed] expects to actually enforce the literal terms of an NDA — rather than a careful prescription of precise rights and liabilities and clear economic options, as you might find in a financing or derivative contract</ref> — then treat it like code, and number and nest every new proposition as if it were a subroutine in a programme. | ||
Use as many numbering levels as you need to fully reveal the logical structure of your document, bearing in mind that too many levels reveal prolixity and convolution in your drafting. Make sure your [[semantic structure]] is tight. consider the difference in analysing the following: | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|+ Caption text | |||
{{aligntop}} | |||
! Without breaks !! With breaks | |||
{{aligntop}} | |||
| style="width: 50%" | {{small|80}} | |||
A party | |||
(1) is dissolved (other than by merger); | |||
(2) becomes insolvent, unable to pay its debts, or admits it in writing; | |||
(3) makes a composition with its creditors; | |||
(4) suffers insolvency proceedings instituted by: | |||
(A) a regulator; or | |||
(B) anyone other than a regulator, and | |||
(I) it results in a winding up order; or | |||
(II) those proceedings are not discharged within 15 days; | |||
(5) resolves to wind itself up (other than by merger); | |||
(6) has an administrator, provisional liquidator, or similar appointed for it or for substantially all its assets; | |||
(7) has a secured party take possession of, or a legal process is enforced against, substantially all its assets for at 15 days without a court dismissing it; | |||
(8) suffers any event which, under the laws of any jurisdiction, has the same effect as any of the above events; or | |||
(9) takes any action towards any of the above events. | |||
| style="width: 50%" | {{small|80}} | |||
'''Bankruptcy'''. A party: <br> | |||
(1) '''Dissolved''': is dissolved (other than by merger);<br> | |||
(2) '''Insolvent''': becomes insolvent, unable to pay its debts, or admits it in writing;<br> | |||
(3) '''Composition''': makes a composition with its creditors;<br> | |||
(4) '''Proceedings''': suffers insolvency proceedings instituted by:<br> | |||
:(A) a regulator; or<br> | |||
:(B) anyone other than a regulator, and<br> | |||
::(I) it results in a winding up order; or <br> | |||
::(II) those proceedings are not discharged within 15 days;<br> | |||
(5) '''Winding Up''': resolves to wind itself up (other than by merger); <br> | |||
(6) '''Administration''': has an administrator, provisional liquidator, or similar appointed for it or for substantially all its assets; <br> | |||
(7) '''Security Exercised''': has a secured party take possession of, or a legal process is enforced against, substantially all its assets for at 15 days without a court dismissing it; <br> | |||
(8) '''Similar events''': suffers any event which, under the laws of any jurisdiction, has the same effect as any of the above events; or <br> | |||
(9) '''Takes steps''': takes any action towards any of the above events. <br> | |||
|} | |||
There's a fashion for avoiding numbers because they seem intimidating, but push and nonsense to that. This is a piece of technical writing, not literature, and numbers in a margin don't impede reading comprehension, so there is no harm in “overusing” numbering in a technical document. There is harm in underusing, however. | There's a fashion for avoiding numbers because they seem intimidating, but push and nonsense to that. This is a piece of technical writing, not literature, and numbers in a margin don't impede reading comprehension, so there is no harm in “overusing” numbering in a technical document. There is harm in underusing, however. | ||
| Line 17: | Line 56: | ||
*[[Microsoft Word]] | *[[Microsoft Word]] | ||
*[[Cross references]] | *[[Cross references]] | ||
{{Ref}} | |||