NYU Law Editorial Style Guide

Anyone writing content for the Law School’s website or design products can consult this Editorial Style Guide from NYU Law's Office of Communications for answers to commonly asked questions about capitalization, punctuation, terminology, and other elements of written style. 

For an overview of event promotion materials and other design products for which you might be creating content, see the Design Projects Guide.

The Basics: What You Need to Know 

How to refer to the Law School

First use: New York University School of Law, NYU School of Law, or NYU Law. After that,  you can also use the Law School.

How to write numbers in your text 

Spell out one to nine. Use numerals for 10 and higher.

How to write abbreviations

No periods in abbreviations or degrees. We use US, the UN, the UK, the EU, and Washington, DC; and JD, LLM, JSD, and PhD.  

Use periods in a.m. and p.m., and use an en-dash to designate a time span (for example: 1:00–2:00 p.m.).

People, Places, and Organizations

Here's how to write the names of centers and institutes, courses, places, outside organizations, publications, and identity groups; professional titles; and abbreviations and acronyms. 

Names/Titles

Correct	Incorrect	Explanation
New York University School of Law, NYU School of Law, NYU Law	New York University Law School, NYU Law School	Each of these formulations is acceptable as a first reference to the school. For subsequent references, “the Law School” is also acceptable.
Center for Human Rights and Global Justice	center for human rights and global justice	Capitalize complete names of NYU School of Law centers, institutes, programs, and projects.
the center, the institute, the program, the project...	the Center will hold a conference...	On second and subsequent references (after full name is used), use lowercase.
Colloquium on Constitutional Theory	colloquium on constitutional theory	Capitalize formal names.
There are several faculty advisers at the Reiss Center on Law and Security.	There are several faculty advisers at The Reiss Center on Law and Security.	A “the” preceding an organization’s or department’s name, even when part of the official title, is lowercased in running text.
colloquium, seminar, fellowships	Colloquium, Seminar, Fellowships	On second and subsequent references (after full name is used), use lowercase.
Professor Jeanne Fromer President Joe Biden Dean Trevor Morrison	professor Jeanne Fromer president Joe Biden dean Trevor Morrison	Titles immediately preceding names with no intervening comma are capitalized.
Justice Neil Gorsuch Senator Kirsten Gillibrand Ambassador Lisa Kenna	The Honorable Neil Gorsuch Hon. Kirsten Gillibrand Honorable Lisa Kenna	Use specific titles such as “Justice,” “Senator,” or “Ambassador” on first reference, rather than honorifics.
Ryan Bubb, professor of law the president the dean	Ryan Bubb, Professor of Law the President the Dean	Titles following names, separated by comma from the name, or alone in the text are lowercased.
Roderick Hills Jr.	Roderick Hills, Jr.	Commas are unnecessary before Jr., Sr., III, etc. in names.
Root-Tilden-Kern Scholars Arthur Garfield Hays Fellow	Root-Tilden-Kern scholars Arthur Garfield Hays fellow	Capitalize “scholar” or “fellow” when part of complete name.
fellow, scholars	Fellow, Scholars	Lowercase on second reference or when used alone in text.
Lewis Kornhauser, Frank Henry Sommer Professor of Law	Lewis Kornhauser, the Frank Henry Sommer professor of law	Chaired professor titles are always capitalized; a preceding “the” is unnecessary when titles are set off by commas following the name.
Kirkland & Ellis Journal of Law & Liberty	Kirkland and Ellis LLP Journal of Law and Liberty	Use ampersands when part of the official entity name; leave off LLP, Inc., etc. after law firm names.
Institute for International Law and Justice	Institute for International Law & Justice	Avoid ampersands in all other uses (except for hyperlinks on the Web).
Legislation and the Regulatory State [law course]	legislation and the regulatory state	Names of courses are capitalized (but quotation marks are not necessary).
Mergers and Acquisitions Criminal Law	M & A Crim Law	Course names are spelled out.
public interest law	Public Interest Law	Areas of study are lowercase.
In the New York Times	In The New York Times	In titles of newspapers, magazines, and journals, “the” is neither capitalized nor italicized.
My favorite online venues are Just Security and Amazon.com.	My favorite online venues are Just Security and Amazon.com.	Blog and web-based periodical titles are italicized; the names of ordinary websites are in title case and regular type.

 

Abbreviations/Acronyms

 

Correct	Incorrect	Explanation
NYU, PILC, LRAP, BALSA	N.Y.U., P.I.L.C., L.R.A.P.	NYU-specific acronyms and abbreviations do not require periods.
Black Law Students Association (BLSA)	BLSA (Black Law Students Association)	Use the full name of the organization on first reference, followed by an acronym or initialism in parentheses; subsequent mentions should be the acronym or initialism.
NATO, CUNY, AIDS	N.A.T.O., C.U.N.Y., A.I.D.S.	Omit periods in acronyms.
CNN, PBS, NBC, FCC, FBI, PTA, US, UN, EU, DC, EC	C.N.N., P.B.S., N.B.C., F.C.C., F.B.I., P.T.A., U.S., U.N., E.U., D.C., E.C.	Omit periods in abbreviations.

 

Faculty

Correct	Incorrect	Explanation
Professor Jeanne Fromer	Prof. Jeanne Fromer	Faculty titles are spelled out.
NYU School of Law Professor Jeanne Fromer	NYU Law School Professor Jeanne Fromer	Use the correct nomenclature for the school.
Professor Jeanne Fromer, NYU School of Law	Professor Jeanne Fromer, NYU Law School	Use the correct nomenclature for the school.

 

Identity Groups

Correct	Incorrect	Explanation
African American, Italian American, Chinese American	African-American, Italian-American, Chinese-American	Whether used as a noun or as an adjective, terms for compound nationalities do not need a hyphen.
Black	black	When referring to racial identity, capitalize “Black.”
disabled; person with a disability	differently abled, handicapped	The use of identity-first language (i.e., "disabled person," "autistic person") helps center a person's disability as core to their identity and experience in an ableist society. Person-first language (i.e., "person with autism") eliminates generalizations and stereotypes by focusing on the person rather than the disability. Both are correct, although disabled communities are increasingly advocating for identity-first language as the standard. When working with individuals, defer to their preferred language.
Indigenous	indigenous	Capitalize this term when referring to native peoples.
Latinx; Latinxs	Latino, Latina; Latinos, Latinas	Use the gender-neutral form.
LGBTQ	LGBT, GLBT, gay and lesbian	Use “LGBTQ” (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning) as the inclusive umbrella term for non-heterosexual orientation and non-cisgender identity.
transgender	transgendered; transsexual	“Transgendered” is grammatically incorrect; “transsexual” is an obsolete term. “Transgender” is an adjective, not a noun. For individuals of any gender, ask for and defer to their correct gender pronouns.
woman lawyer; women lawyers; women in the profession	female lawyer; female lawyers; females in the profession	When referring to people, avoid using “female” or “females.” “Woman” or “women” is the preferred usage, both as a noun and as an adjective.

Locations

Correct	Incorrect	Explanation
Vanderbilt Hall, Room 218	Vanderbilt 218 Van Hall, Room 218 Van Hall 218 Room 218, Vanderbilt Hall	Incomplete (needs "Hall" and room number). Proper order is building first, then room. The building's name is spelled out. The building's name is spelled out, and "Room" is necessary. Transposed.
D’Agostino Hall, Lipton Hall	Lipton Hall	Include the building's name for clarity.
Vanderbilt Hall, Snow Dining Room	Snow, Vanderbilt Hall	Use the location's complete name; building first, room second.
D’Agostino Hall	D’Agastino Hall	Correct spelling.
Greenberg Lounge	Greenburg Lounge	Correct spelling.
Tishman Auditorium	Tischman Auditorium	Correct spelling.
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz Student Café	First Floor	Refer to room by its name rather than its location.
Hauser Global Law Center	Third Floor	Refer to room by its name rather than its location.
Lester Pollack Colloquium Room	Ninth Floor	Refer to room by its name rather than its location.

When to capitalize titles

Only capitalize a title that appears before a person’s name, as in Dean Troy McKenzie. Titles that appear after a name are not capitalized, as in Troy McKenzie, dean of NYU School of Law. 

 

Chronological Terms

“When” is important. Learn the correct way to write times, dates, and the names of seasons and semesters.

Times

Correct	Incorrect	Explanation
1:00–2:00 p.m.	1:00-2:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.	An en-dash should be used between two times in a timespan, and not a hyphen. Spaces do not appear before or after the en-dash. Periods should be used in a.m. and p.m., which are always lowercase. Minutes after the hour should always be included. If both times in a timespan are either before or after noon (e.g., 10:00-11:00 a.m.), a.m. or p.m. should appear only once.
12:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m.	midnight noon	Use 12:00 for midnight or noon so that time formats are uniform.

 

Dates/Decades

Correct	Incorrect	Explanation
2021–22	2021/22   21-22 '21-'22	An en-dash without surrounding spaces is used, rather than a slash. The second year in a range can be abbreviated. The first year in a span is not abbreviated. The first year in a span is not abbreviated; abbreviated years appear without apostrophes.
September 15	September 15th	Numbers in dates do not require –th, -st, -rd, etc.
September 15, 2021	Sept. 15, 2021	Months are spelled out.
September 2021	September, 2021	Months followed by years do not require commas.
9/11 September 11	9-11, 9—11, September 11th	When referring to “nine eleven” as an event, use the numerals separated by a forward slash. Also, you can use the spelled-out date, September 11, when referring to the day itself, but without “th.”

Seasons/Semesters

Correct	Incorrect	Explanation
Fall 2021, Spring 2022	fall 2021, spring 2022	When referring to semesters, capitalize.
Spring semester	Spring Semester, spring semester	Capitalize when referring to which semester, but not the word "semester."
fall, spring, winter, and summer	Fall, Spring, Winter, and Summer	When referring just to seasons, use lowercase.

Punctuation and Capitalization

First, the answer to a question many people ask: yes, we do use serial commas. Read on for more about our style guidelines for NYU Law degrees and class years, numbers, and legal terminology.

Punctuation

Correct	Incorrect	Explanation
2021–22	2021 - 22	Use an en-dash without spaces.
NYU Law–related matters	NYU Law-related matters, NYU-Law-related matters	For compound adjectives directly preceding the noun they modify, use one en-dash after the last word of the adjective rather than a hyphen or hyphens.
"In such situations, tribunals often rely on red flags…. Corruption may be proven through circumstantial evidence."	. … … .	An ellipsis at the end of a declarative sentence is preceded by a period; the period is not followed by a space.
— [em dash]	-- [double hyphens]	Typographical error.

Serial Commas/Semicolons

Correct	Incorrect	Explanation
outstanding research, publications, and accomplishments	outstanding research, publications and accomplishments	Use a comma before the last item in a series (serial comma, aka Oxford comma).
He has been published in the journals the Harvard Law Review, the Yale Law Journal, and the New York University Law Review; the book Lawyers Bleed, Too; and the newspapers the New York Times and the Washington Post.	He has been published in the journals the Harvard Law Review, the Yale Law Journal, and the New York University Law Review; the book Lawyers Bleed, Too, and the newspapers the New York Times and the Washington Post.	When you have serial semicolons, the last clause should be separated with a semicolon rather than a comma.

Degrees/Class Years

Correct	Incorrect	Explanation
JD, LLM, PhD, MBA, BA	J.D., LL.M., Ph.D., M.B.A., B.A.	Degrees do not require periods.
LLM CJ	LLM-CJ / MCJ or LLM (CJ)	The old “MCJ” program is referenced only in connection with alumni who received that specific degree.
master’s degree, bachelor’s degree	Masters degree, bachelors degree	Keep the degree in lowercase, and use an apostrophe.
Jordan Doe ’78	Jordan Doe, 1978 Jordan Doe (’78)	Used for JD graduation class year, without parentheses; make sure that apostrophe’s tail is pointing left rather than right.
Jordan Doe LLM ’79	Jordan Doe (LL.M. ’79)	The degree name does not require parentheses or periods.
Jordan Doe ’78, LLM ’79	Jordan Doe ’78 (LL.M. ’79)	When a graduate has both a JD and another law degree, separate the degrees with a comma.
Jordan Doe ’54	Jordan Doe LLB ’54	The old LLB degree, discontinued decades ago, is treated the same as a JD degree.
Inez Milholland (1912); Filomen D’Agostino Greenberg (1920)	Inez Milholland ’12; Filomen D’Agostino Greenberg ’20	To avoid confusion, for alumni who graduated 95 or more years ago, use the full graduation year in parentheses immediately following their name.

Numbers

Correct	Incorrect	Explanation
one, nine, 10, 11,… first, second, 10th, 21st	1, 9, ten, eleven 1st, 2nd, tenth, twenty-first	Spell out numbers from one to nine; use numerals for numbers 10 and higher.
1,250 25,000	1250 25000	Use commas in numbers containing four or more digits.
Twenty-nine exams were given.	29 exams were given.	At the beginning of a sentence, always spell out numbers.
75 percent	75%	Spell out “percent.”

Telephone

Correct	Incorrect	Explanation
(212) 998-6000	212-998-6000	Use the complete phone number and not just the extension. Put the area code in parentheses.

Legal Terms

Correct	Incorrect	Explanation
e.g., i.e.	e.g., i.e.	Latin words and phrases commonly used in US legal writing do not need to be italicized.
amicus curiae	amicus curiae	The term does not need italics.
jurisprudence	juris prudence Juris Prudence	One word.
US Supreme Court the Court [referring to the U.S. Supreme Court]	U.S. supreme court the court	Capitalize full name. On second and subsequent references, capitalize.
the court	the Court	Lowercase references to all courts except the US Supreme Court on second and subsequent references.
US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit	US court of appeals for the third circuit	Capitalize full name of court.
US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit	US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit	Spell out “District of Columbia” on first reference; in subsequent references, writing simply “the DC Circuit” is fine.
Third Circuit	3rd Circuit	Spell out the ordinal number; full name of court is used on first reference, but in subsequent references, writing simply “the Third Circuit” is fine.
the Chief Justice of the United States…	Chief Justice; chief justice; Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts	When describing the position (not as a title) in general, use full title on the first reference and capitalize.

Common Terms

Correct	Incorrect	Explanation
advisor	adviser	Preferred spelling.
antidiscrimination	anti-discrimination	The word does not need a hyphen.
co-editor, co-director, co-sponsor	coeditor, codirector, cosponsor	Hyphenate after “co.”
COVID-19, COVID	Covid-19, Covid	Preferred capitalization.
curriculum vitae	curriculum vitae	This phrase is not italicized; it can be abbreviated as “CV.”
first-come, first-served	first-come, first-serve	Incorrect grammar.
forums	fora	Preferred spelling for the plural of "forum."
full-time, part-time	fulltime, parttime	Incorrect grammar.
health care	healthcare	Two words.
information	info.; info	The word is spelled out.
nonprofit	non-profit	The word does not need a hyphen.
not-for-profit	not for profit	Hyphenated.
reentry	re-entry	The word does not need a hyphen.
résumé, café	resume, cafe	Missing accents.
RSVP	R.S.V.P.	The abbreviation does not need periods.
start-up	startup	Hyphenated.
the United Nations	the UN	Spell out United Nations on first reference; subsequent references can be to the UN.
the US government	the United States government	When used as an adjective, United States can be abbreviated as US.
US Supreme Court, United States Supreme Court, in the US, in the United States	N/A	On first and subsequent references, both “US” and “United States” are acceptable as either an adjective or a noun, although the traditional preference is to use “US” as an adjective and “United States” as a noun.

Web Text

Correct	Incorrect	Explanation
jordan.doe@nyu.edu	<jordan.doe@nyu.edu> (jordan.doe@nyu.edu) JORDAN.DOE@nyu.edu Jordan.Doe@nyu.edu	Email addresses do not need greater-than and less-than signs. Email addresses do not need parentheses. Lowercase. Capital letters are not necessary in email addresses.
www.nyu.edu	http://www.nyu.edu   <www.nyu.edu> (www.nyu.edu) WWW.nyu.edu	When the URL begins with www, http:// is not required. Use www when it is part of the URL. URLs do not need greater-than and less-than signs. URLs do not need parentheses.  The URL should be all lowercase.
cyberattack, cybersecurity, cyberwarfare	cyber attack, cyber-attack	Terms with the “cyber” prefix are one word, unhyphenated.
domain name	Domain Name	Lowercase.
email	e-mail	The word does not need a hyphen.
email list	Listserv	Listserv is the name of a company and does not apply universally to email lists.
Ethernet	ethernet	Capital E.
file name	File Name, filename	Two words.
homepage	home page, Home Page	One word.
hyperlink	hyper link, Hyper Link	One word.
internet	Internet	Lowercase "I."
livestream	live-stream, live stream	One word, no hyphen.
log-in log in, log in to log on, log on to	Login, log in login, login-in, Log In, Log into logon, Log On, log onto	Used when an adjective or noun. Used when a verb. Used when a verb.
microsite	Micro-site, micro site, Micro-Site	One word, no hyphen.
offline	off line, off-line, Off Line	One word, no hyphen.
online	on line, on-line, On Line	One word, no hyphen.
page view	pageview, page-view, Page View	Two words, no hyphen.
screen name	screenname, screename, screen-name	Two words.
site	Site	Lowercase.
site map	sitemap, site-map, Site Map	Two words, lowercase.
teleconference	tele-conference, Tele Conference	One word, no hyphen.
video camera	videocamera, video-camera, Video Camera	Two words, no hyphen.
videoconference	video conference, video-conference	One word, no hyphen.
videoconferencing	video conferencing, video-conferencing	One word, no hyphen.
videotape	video tape, video-tape, Video Tape	One word.
web document	Web document, web-document	Lowercase w, two words.
webpage	Web page, Webpage, web-page	Lowercase, one word.
website	web site, Website, web-site	Lowercase, one word.

Additional Resources

Any editorial questions not addressed in this guide can be found in the Chicago Manual of Style or the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. For any further clarifications, please contact Atticus Gannaway at atticus.gannaway@nyu.edu. Read detailed instructions on editing NYU Law website content See the Design Projects Guide Read the Communications FAQ  Learn about NYU’s social media guidelines and best practices