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> The Legal format itself is quite rarely used, the notion that it is for “legal” work is a popular myth; the vast majority of U.S. legal documents are actually

> The Legal format itself is quite rarely used, the notion that it is for “legal” work is a popular myth; the vast majority of U.S. legal documents are actually using the “Letter” format. Can anyone confirm that this is really the case in the U.S.? In Canada at least, lawyers often use a paper size even longer than legal format. It makes photocopying a huge pain because the glass plate isn’t long enough on ordinary copiers, and these extra long sheets don’t fit in standard file cabinets without folding, and forget about using binders. Nobody uses these ridiculous extra long sheets except (Canadian) lawyers.

jerbs 6y ago
Not a lawyer, but have worked with lawyers in a law firm and government offices. Everywhere I worked did almost all legal work in letter format. I occasionally saw legal paper, but no more commonly than in non-law offices.
polm23 6y ago
My father was a lawyer and I was in his office a lot growing up. I'm pretty sure printed documents were always letter size, so they could fit in normal filing cabinets and folders. Growing up the in the US the only place I ever saw legal-size paper was legal pads.
polm23 6y ago
So looking around more, this is interesting - historically US lawyers did use legal size, but in 1983 the Supreme Court instituted a rule to move all federal paperwork to letter size, and most states followed shortly thereafter if they hadn't already transitioned. https://www.michbar.org/file/generalinfo/plainenglish/pdfs/89_july.pdf https://www.michbar.org/file/generalinfo/plainenglish/pdfs/8...
ardy42 6y ago
>> The Legal format itself is quite rarely used, the notion that it is for “legal” work is a popular myth; the vast majority of U.S. legal documents are actually using the “Letter” format. > Can anyone confirm that this is really the case in the U.S.? I kinda randomly look at scans of trial court documents sometimes, and I don't think I've seen one that looked like it was printed on legal paper (but I've hardly been systematic and my sample has been minuscule). However, all the printers at my office are stocked with legal size paper, and I sometimes would use it for printing diagrams were I needed a little more space to get everything to fit or tables that were a little wide (but not so wide that I needed to use tabloid paper). My mortgage statements from my bank legal size, as are my property tax notices.
gumby 6y ago
It's still used in real estate and quite a few lawyers still use legal-sized handwriting pads, but otherwise to me it seems to be dead.

jerbs 6y ago

Not a lawyer, but have worked with lawyers in a law firm and government offices. Everywhere I worked did almost all legal work in letter format. I occasionally saw legal paper, but no more commonly than in non-law offices.

polm23 6y ago

My father was a lawyer and I was in his office a lot growing up. I'm pretty sure printed documents were always letter size, so they could fit in normal filing cabinets and folders. Growing up the in the US the only place I ever saw legal-size paper was legal pads.

polm23 6y ago

So looking around more, this is interesting - historically US lawyers did use legal size, but in 1983 the Supreme Court instituted a rule to move all federal paperwork to letter size, and most states followed shortly thereafter if they hadn't already transitioned. https://www.michbar.org/file/generalinfo/plainenglish/pdfs/89_july.pdf https://www.michbar.org/file/generalinfo/plainenglish/pdfs/8...

ardy42 6y ago

>> The Legal format itself is quite rarely used, the notion that it is for “legal” work is a popular myth; the vast majority of U.S. legal documents are actually using the “Letter” format. > Can anyone confirm that this is really the case in the U.S.? I kinda randomly look at scans of trial court documents sometimes, and I don't think I've seen one that looked like it was printed on legal paper (but I've hardly been systematic and my sample has been minuscule). However, all the printers at my office are stocked with legal size paper, and I sometimes would use it for printing diagrams were I needed a little more space to get everything to fit or tables that were a little wide (but not so wide that I needed to use tabloid paper). My mortgage statements from my bank legal size, as are my property tax notices.

gumby 6y ago

It's still used in real estate and quite a few lawyers still use legal-sized handwriting pads, but otherwise to me it seems to be dead.