American courts generally give very strict and tight page limits when submitting briefs, so American legal writing has evolved to be concise as possible. The be

American courts generally give very strict and tight page limits when submitting briefs, so American legal writing has evolved to be concise as possible. The best lawyers regularly and repeatedly cut their briefs to length, removing any superfluous words. There's no requirement to omit "the" before plaintiff and defendant, but it's acceptable and saves space, so everyone does it.