Why Anthropomorphism Can Hurt Your Writing

Originally the word meant to give human form and character to God. More commonly, it means to ascribe human-like qualities to inanimate objects.

When lawyers anthropomorphize, they invite trouble with logic:

Plaintiff’s proposal attempts to shift the burden.

The proposal is a piece of paper; it can’t do anything. Instead of having the proposal act like a human, make the human act:

In its proposal Plaintiff attempts to shift the burden.

Examples in a law practice abound:

But use common sense:

The statute requires an applicant . . . .

True, the statute doesn’t care what the applicant does, but to get humans in here to avoid anthropomorphism, we have to write something like:

The women and men of the 1983 Illinois legislature, who enacted the statute, require an applicant . . . .

I would leave it alone:

The statute requires . . . .

Or write:

Under the statute, an applicant must . . . .

But below you can easily put in humans (although some of the laity might argue we lawyers do not qualify):

Clooney Pitt provided the permitting team with a memorandum addressing federal regulations. That memorandum determined that . . . .

Clooney Pitt provided the permitting team with a memorandum addressing federal regulations. The Clooney lawyers determined that . . . .

Careful judges and lawyers avoid anthropomorphism. Be alert for the problem, and you will easily find a solution.

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