Here’s one of my recent tweets:
Tonight's clunky contract usage: (sub)licensees. You may now resume your normal programming.
— Ken Adams (@AdamsDrafting) December 13, 2016
I followed it up with this one:
Anyone think of another instance of parentheses being used like this? Only example I know of is "(s)" to express the concept "one or more". https://t.co/qg8Nn1MCCq
— Ken Adams (@AdamsDrafting) December 14, 2016
That prompted @kemitchell to chime in with (self)insured and @markmetzger to offer (s)he.
And here’s what MSCD 17.28 says about (s):
Some drafters tack (s) onto the singular form of a noun when they wish to convey that a situation might involve one or more than one of the item in question. It’s a very awkward usage; use instead one or more (see 13.752).
I’m not a fan of the parentheses-within-words thing, and as a matter of style, not risk. But others appear to see some value in individual instances. Here’s @kemitchell and @500wordlawyer on (sub)contractor:
"negligence of any (sub)contractor" is shorter than "negligence of any contractor or any subcontractor".
— Kyle E. Mitchell (@kemitchell) December 15, 2016
yes "(sub)contractors" when you want to cover those who do the work and include all tiers in the supply chain
— Sarah Fox (wear a mask) (@500wordlawyer) December 15, 2016
So, am I being a stick-in-the-mud in not embracing (sub)contractor and other instances of parentheses-in-words?
