Mr. Garner, let me begin by saying that I love your weekly usage tips. I find them very useful and informative. With regard to the one today on the proper usage of Sr., Jr. and III, there was one variation that you may have missed and that I wanted to ask you about. What about the person who is given the identical name as that of a blood relative not his father and is referred to as the 2nd or II? My brother is named after our great uncle. They have the identical name and, although our great uncle passed away many years ago, my brother still formally refers to himself as the II. My great uncle did have a degree of local notariety, so perhaps there is still some justification for my brother continuing to use “II.” However, I would appreciate your thoughts on this in light of today’s article. Thank you.
Alexander A. Bove, Jr.ATTENTION: Mr. Bryan Garner Dear Mr. Garner,
As a writer of sorts myself, I am always interested in reading your work whenever I see it. And I happened to see the piece you wrote recently on the rules for using “Jr”, “Sr.”, etc.
While you stated the obvious rules that most would acknowledge, including keeping the Jr where the father “was especially famous”, you did not address the opposite situation where the Jr in the family not only distinguishes himself from the father but also becomes known and recognized as, e.g., John Brown, JR., so that dropping the Jr. on his father’s death might cause the lay or professional public to confuse the two or take away from the proper recognition of the son, who has earned his recognition as a “Jr.”, even leading to the misconception that the son’s continued work is credited to the father. Thus, I think you should have recognized an exception in such a case.
Your work is always thought provoking and entertaining. My compliments.
Kind regards
Alexander A. Bove, JR.
Comments are closed.
Attend the most popular CLE seminar of all time. More than 215,000 people—including lawyers, judges, law clerks, and paralegals—have benefited since the early 1990s. You'll learn the keys to professional writing and acquire no-nonsense techniques to make your letters, memos, and briefs more powerful.
You'll also learn what doesn't work and why—know-how gathered through Professor Garner's unique experience in training lawyers at the country's top law firms, state and federal courts, government agencies, and Fortune 500 companies.
Professor Garner gives you the keys to make the most of your writing aptitude—in letters, memos, briefs, and more. The seminar covers five essential skills for persuasive writing:
He teaches dozens of techniques that make a big difference. Most important, he shows you what doesn't work—and why—and how to cultivate skillfulness.
Have you wanted to bring Professor Garner to teach your group? Contact us at info@lawprose.org for more information about in-house seminars.
Are you litigating a tricky question of statutory interpretation? Consider Lexegesis, our allied consulting group.
