May, but shall not be obliged to: Difference between revisions

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Redundancy. [[Celery]]. The [[bleeding obvious]].  
{{a|plainenglish|}}Redundancy. [[Celery]]. The [[bleeding obvious]].  


Timid drafting for [[Mediocre lawyer|members of the legal profession]] whose mastery of the language in which they ply their craft is so compromised as to struggle with the difference between [[may]] and [[must]].
Timid drafting for [[legal eagle|members of the legal profession]] whose mastery of the language in which they ply their craft is so compromised as to struggle with the difference between [[may]] and [[must]].


Don’t be that person.
Don’t be that person.


“[[May]]” confers an ''[[option]]'', not an ''[[obligation]]''.
“[[May]]” confers an ''[[option]]'', not an ''[[obligation]]''. There is one time that you should use this expression in a contract: when you are conferring on a party a right that party ''would not otherwise have''. “Party A ''may'' cross Party B’s private land to access the roadway” is a good use of the word “may”. “Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing ''[which is about something else altogether]'', and [[for the avoidance of doubt]], Party B ''may'' telephone his elderly aunt at any time without limitation” is ''not'' a good use of “may”, or the trees on which such a pointless sentence may, [[for the time being]] and [[from time to time]], be printed.
 
{{sa}}
 
*[[Shall be entitled to]]
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