Entertainment For Lively Minds
Legal people - could you explain something for me?
Posted by Austin on 24 January 2012 - 2:42am.
If I work for Joe's Garage Limited - and I send a letter, the letter is signed like this :
(a handwritten squiggle, i.e. my signature)
My name
My job title
Joe's Garage Limited.
Whereas if I worked for a legal firm, the firm's name is written as a handwritten squiggle and the firm's name is underneath.
Why is this done?
- More from Austin.
- Login or register to post comments
-
No idea
but perhaps Frank has the answer (any excuse):
"All we did was bend the string like..."
Frank did those kind of lines so brilliantly didn't he.
It was a Stratocaster
with a whammy bar
So we picked out a stupid name
...had some cards printed up for a coupla bucks
I guess this means Fraser is
The Central Scrutinizer
The White Zone
is for bitching and arguing only. . . if you have to bitch and argue, go to the WHITE ZONE...
It's also his responsibility to enforce all the laws that haven't been passed yet.
Liability?
The law firm is a partnership, where all the partners are liable if something goes wrong. So, if an issue of liability arises, then all the partners are on the hook for damages (although they will be insured). Letters are therefore in the name of the partnership. For that reasons, letters can generally only be signed by people of sufficient seniority (partners and associates).
The garage isn't on the hook for liability in the same way, so it doesn't matter as much who signs.
Or, that could be bollocks, and it is only done that way because that is how it was always done.
I think you're on the right track...
But I still wonder why someone writes "Harris, Harris & Harris" in swirly handwriting, as if it is a signature - when it plainly isn't.
House style
It depends on the house style of the law firm for whom the sender works.
Generally if a letter from a law firm is sent to a third party (non-client), it is addressed 'Dear Sir / Madam', and will be signed- off 'Yours faithfully' followed by a handwritten signature of the law firm in question. If however whilst working for a law firm you write to a client, e.g 'Dear Peter', the sign-off will be 'Yours sincerely' followed by your own signature.