The Volokh Conspiracy

Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent

Volokh Conspiracy

A Typographical Dare for Lawyers

Want to look fancy and old-fashioned?

|The Volokh Conspiracy |


Instead of writing "pre-existing" in your brief, use the dieresis form, "preëxisting." Special bonus: Instead of "charitable," don't just write "eleemosynary," say "eleëmosynary." Do you have the guts?

Eugene Volokh is the Gary T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of Law at UCLA and a Visiting Fellow (Senior Fellow starting May 2024) at the Hoover Institution (Stanford). Naturally, his posts here (like the opinions of the other bloggers) are his own, and not endorsed by any educational institution.