Scots pleaders love the passive voice: “Which document is produced and referred to for its terms which are held to be incorporated herein brevitatis causa beyond which no admission is made…” and “which averments in answer are denied except in so far as coinciding herewith…” and ” a letter bearing to be dated… and to be subscribed…. or to be similarly dated and subscribed.”

All three examples come from the first open record I picked off my desk.

I’m looking forward to your post on when it’s right to use the passive voice. Back when I was a lawyer, we avoided the passive voice at all costs in our briefs, because it made our arguments seem weaker. But then, what we were doing was a specialized kind of writing.