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Apparently so. Although the case law is sparse, herein has been construed to mean the individual section in which herein appears but also the entire document in which the section containing herein appears. Context dictates.

So be careful, drafters.

If you’re able, maybe change herein to

Even better, but trickier if you’re relying heavily on a form, maybe change herein to

MS Word can create automatically update-able cross references if you want it to.

I’m pleased to recommend my book, which promotes plain writing in documents intended for nonlawyers. Sold by the ABA. Makes a great gift. Get it here.

How well did the drafters of complex securitization documentation do?

“The documents were almost comically incomprehensible, frequently ambiguous, and occasionally produced the wrong numbers.”

Howard Darmstadter, Precision’s Counterfeit: The Failure of Complex Documents, and Some Suggested Remedies, 66 The Business Lawyer 61, 61 (Nov. 2010).

Here are my biggest pet peeves in legal drafting—primarily contracts and statutes. I’ve already posted my list for analytical writing here. This isn’t a list of the biggest problems in legal drafting, just the ones that bug me.

Sentence length


Archaic words that are not terms of art.


Doubling text and numerals

Unnecessary or redundant word strings

I hereby authorize the Merchant, or it’s Agent, to initiate a debit entry to the account indicated above at the depository financial institution named above and to debit the same to such account. I acknowledge that the origination of ACH transactions to my account must comply with the provisions of U.S. Law.


How can we improve this? I don’t know enough about the substantive law or the reasons for some of the language contained in the original, but here’s a shot:

By clicking “confirm,” you authorize the merchant or its representative to deduct the amount show below from your account at your financial institution–listed above. Your origination of this ACH transaction must comply with U.S. law.