Legal Abbreviations

496 abbreviations in 9 subcategories

Legal abbreviations cover court documents, citations, contracts, company designations and Latin legal terms. Citation abbreviations follow conventions such as The Bluebook in the United States, and getting them right matters in briefs, filings and academic writing.

• Court
• Legal Citation
• Litigation
• Contract
• Intellectual Property
• Criminal Law
• Legal Profession
• Estate and Family Law
• Latin Legal

Court Abbreviations

Abbreviations for US federal and state courts, judicial districts and circuits, specialized and international tribunals, and the judges, prosecutors and defenders who appear before them. Citation forms follow The Bluebook (S.D.N.Y., 9th Cir., Del. Ch.), while news reports and practitioners often drop the periods (SDNY, EDNY). Judicial titles such as J., C.J. and LJ follow a judge's surname in opinions and law reports, and neutral citation codes such as UKSC and EWCA identify courts in the United Kingdom.

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Legal Citation Abbreviations

Abbreviations used in legal citation, mainly following The Bluebook: case reporters such as U.S., F.3d and A.3d, statutory and regulatory sources such as U.S.C. and C.F.R., and citation signals and history phrases such as Id., supra, aff'd and cert. denied. A reporter abbreviation sits between a volume number and a page number (347 U.S. 483), so knowing what each reporter covers tells a reader which court decided a case and roughly when. Leading English law report series are included as well.

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Litigation Abbreviations

Abbreviations used in civil litigation and dispute resolution: motions and remedies (TRO, MSJ, MTD), discovery devices (RFA, RFP, ROG), procedural rules, court e-filing systems, record citations used in briefs, common tort claims and arbitration institutions such as the AAA, JAMS and the ICC. Several have more than one meaning even within law; PI, for example, can mean preliminary injunction or personal injury, so the surrounding text matters. Entries are general information, not legal advice.

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Contract Abbreviations

Abbreviations for agreements, clauses and contracting terms used in commercial deals, mergers and acquisitions, technology and data licensing, research collaborations, government procurement and construction. Many name a type of document (NDA, MSA, SOW) whose legal effect depends on its actual wording rather than its label: a memorandum of understanding can be binding, and parts of a letter of intent often are. Entries are general information, not legal advice.

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Intellectual Property Abbreviations

Abbreviations from patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret practice, including the offices that grant rights (USPTO, EPO, WIPO), filing and prosecution terms (PCT, RCE, IDS), post-grant challenges (IPR, PGR) and licensing frameworks such as Creative Commons and FRAND. Patent and trademark prosecution has a dense shorthand of its own, used daily by examiners, patent agents and IP lawyers. Entries are general information, not legal advice.

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Criminal Law Abbreviations

Abbreviations from criminal courts, sentencing, corrections and post-conviction practice: release terms (ROR, FTA), legal standards (PC, RS), plea and diversion programs (ACD, PTI, ARD), sentencing documents and rules (PSI, PSR, USSG) and prison terms (BOP, SHU, LWOP). Several diversion programs and their abbreviations exist in only one state, which each entry notes. Police radio codes and DUI terms are covered with law enforcement abbreviations; entries here are general information, not legal advice.

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Legal Profession Abbreviations

Abbreviations about lawyers and the business of law: titles and ranks (Esq., KC, GC), bar admission and licensing exams (MBE, MPRE, UBE, SQE), ethics and regulation (MRPC, UPL, IOLTA), continuing education (CLE), law firm rankings and recruiting (AmLaw, OCI) and the bodies that shape the profession, such as the ABA, the ALI and the Uniform Law Commission. Law degrees such as the JD and LLM are covered with academic degrees.

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Estate and Family Law Abbreviations

Abbreviations from wills, trusts, probate, estate planning, guardianship and family courts: powers of attorney (POA, DPOA, HCPOA), trust types (ILIT, GRAT, QTIP, SNT), account titles (TOD, POD, JTWROS, TTEE), uniform acts (UTMA, UPC, UCCJEA) and divorce and child-welfare terms (QDRO, GAL, TPR). Rules differ sharply from state to state, and many trust abbreviations refer to specific federal tax provisions. Entries are general information, not legal or tax advice.

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Latin Legal Abbreviations

Latin legal terms that lawyers, judges and court clerks actually write in shortened form, from deed and caption phrases such as et ux. and ex rel. to procedural shorthand such as cert., nol. pros. and IFP. Many survive from centuries of English common-law practice, when writs and records were kept in Latin. Everyday Latin abbreviations such as e.g., i.e., etc. and et al. are covered with common abbreviations rather than here.

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Edited by the AbbreviationList.com team. Spotted an error or a missing meaning? Contact us.