Why don't law firms use the Oxford comma in their names? Forum

[stumpy]

Some firms don't use commas at all (e.g., McDermott Will & Emery; Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld), but the ones that do invariably leave out the Oxford comma (e.g., Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom).
Mod edit: anon unnecessary here.

[NoLongerALurker]

Typically don't use Oxford commas at all -- not just a matter of name.

[rpupkin]

The oxford comma is a signal of prestige. If we didn't have Vault, the oxford comma's presence (or lack thereof) would be the primary way to distinguish the best firms from the mediocre ones.

[Aquinas]

Some firms don't use commas at all (e.g., McDermott Will & Emery; Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld), but the ones that do invariably leave out the Oxford comma (e.g., Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom).

I would guess it has to do with the fact that it looks kind of weird to have a comma and an ampersand directly adjacent to one another.

[LaLiLuLeLo]

Typically don't use Oxford commas at all -- not just a matter of name.

And it drives me crazy.

[TooMuchTuna]

Typically don't use Oxford commas at all -- not just a matter of name.

And it drives me crazy.

Ditto! Based on the number of times the issue of "commas" has come up in cases (see: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/16/us/o ... .html?_r=0), you'd think more lawyers would be pro-Oxford comma!

[snowball2]

Just following the old-money "branding" of Wall Street (e.g. "Merrill Lynch", "Smith Barney", "Morgan Stanley"). Although it does lead people to ask if Paul Weiss was a famous lawyer.

[MrT]

http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/16/ ... ec021.html

[h2go]

The oxford comma can be just as confusing. Save some printer ink people.

[blahblewblah]

Garner says to omit before an ampersand.

[Abbie Doobie]

Just following the old-money "branding" of Wall Street (e.g. "Merrill Lynch", "Smith Barney", "Morgan Stanley"). Although it does lead people to ask if Paul Weiss was a famous lawyer.

uh, no it doesn't because it's paul, weiss