List of Prepositions Used in Legal English
the company
Here is a non-exhaustive list of prepositions in
common usage in legal English, together with
examples of usage. Note that prepositions are
sometimes used in twos (pursuant to, owing to, due
to etc) and even threes (as far as, by means of, in
accordance with etc), and examples of prepositions
strung together in this way are also included below.
One word
 about – the lawyer was about to go into court
when the telephone rang
 above – please refer to the paragraph above
which deals with the insurance arrangements
 across – she went across to the court to issue
the proceedings
 after – the contract was signed after the parties
had agreed the prices to be paid for the goods
 against – the company began trademark
infringement proceedings against one of its
competitors
 along – the client did not go along with the
advice given by the lawyer
 among (or amongst) – a copy of the plan of the
property was found among the papers in the file
 around – we expect the purchase price to be
around €500,000
 at – the contract stipulates that the goods must
arrive at the depot at 10.00 on 13 July
 before – the lawyer appeared before the judge
in court and argued her client’s case
 behind – it seemed likely that a criminal gang
was behind the thefts from the local garage
 below – the company was not prepared to
consider offers below a threshold of $3 million
 beneath – the Emperor of Ruritania considered
it beneath his dignity to open a supermarket in
Inverness
 between – an agreement was reached between
Haxter Ltd and Tollby Ltd on 14 September 2011
 beyond – it is important not to go beyond what
was agreed without discussing the matter with
the client first
 by – the invoice must be paid by the client by 3
May
 concerning – we have received further
information concerning the warranties to be
included in the share purchase agreement
 despite – we have instructions to proceed with
the case despite the points raised in the defence
 down – the lawyer advised her client to turn
down the offer made by the defendant
 during – a great deal of new evidence emerged
during the course of the testimony given by the
witness
 except – this restriction applies to all
applications except those already received by
 excluding – the contract contains a provision
excluding liability in certain cases of default
 following – the following items must be supplied
no later than 25 January
 for – payment for the goods shall be made on
delivery
 from – we have now received the necessary
undertakings from the defendant’s lawyer
 in – the price list is set out in schedule 1
 including – we seek delivery of all the missing
parts, including those currently stored in the
defendant’s warehouse
 into – the clerk asked the parties to go back into
court following the adjournment
 near – the court is near to the cathedral
 next – the client agreed to bring the documents
to the next meeting
 of – the attorney was a member of various
professional organisations
 off – certain discussions took place between the
lawyers off the record
 on – the new law on employment contracts
comes into force tomorrow
 opposite – the court is located opposite the
cathedral in the central square
 out – the lawyers worked out the terms of a
compromise agreement
 over – a dispute arose between the landowners
over the positioning of the boundary
 per – a travel allowance of €40 per day was paid
to the employee
 plus – the invoice came to €400 plus VAT
 regarding – negotiations took place regarding
usage of the storage facilities owned by the
company
 since – there have been a number of significant
developments in the case since the previous
court hearing
 than – the amount of damages awarded by the
court was more than the lawyer had anticipated
 through – the lawyer read through the papers in
the file
 to – delivery shall be made to an address
notified by the purchaser to the vendor
 towards – a great deal of progress has been
made towards settlement of the case, but a
little more time is required in order to reach final
agreement between the parties
 under – the witness gave evidence under oath
 until – it is unlikely that the case will be settled
until the morning of the hearing
 up – he brought up the question of our fees
again
 upon – the proceedings were served upon the
defendant yesterday
  via – all contact with the claimant was Three words
conducted via her lawyer  as far as – the summons has not yet been served
 with – he was charged with murder as far as I know
 within – the goods must be delivered within 14  as well as – the vendor must deliver the
days of signature of the contract software as well as the hardware no later than
 without – the total amount of the invoice is 10 December
€30,450 without VAT  by means of – payment shall be made by means
of direct bank transfer
Two words  in accordance with – the sum of $45,000 must
 according to – according to the contract, rent be paid on 5 October in accordance with the
must be paid on the third day of each month court order
 ahead of – we should schedule a further  in addition to – certain legal documents require
meeting ahead of the next court hearing the signature of witnesses as well as the parties
 apart from – there are no further matters to be in order to be valid
resolved apart from the copyright issue  in case of – in case of fire the lifts should not be
 as of – the new law on employment is in force as used
of midnight tonight  in lieu of – the employee shall receive time off in
 as regards – as regards payment of our fee, we lieu of payment
can offer an instalment option  in spite of – the assignment was completed by
 aside from – there are one or two issues we the agreed deadline in spite of several
need to address aside from the question of unforeseen difficulties that arose along the way
trademarks  on account of – the firm’s usual practice is to ask
 because of – this litigation arose because of the clients to pay a certain sum on account of costs
unreasonable position taken by the defendant prior to carrying out any work for them
 close to – the case is now close to settlement,  on behalf of – the lawyer appeared on behalf of
but there are several issues still to be resolved her client at the pre-trial review
 due to – the office is closed tomorrow due to a  on top of – we will need to study the documents
public holiday carefully in order to get on top of the case
 except for  with regard to / with respect to – with regard to
 far from – the contract is far from ready to be / with respect to the question of costs, we
signed, since a number of amendments need to consider that the sum of €35,000 should be
be made to it adequate
 instead of – overtime worked by the employee
shall be compensated by extra holiday instead
of payment
 out of – payment was made out of the
company’s account
 owing to – the advice given to the client was
amended owing to a recent decision of the
Court of Appeal
 prior to – the consent of the bank must be
obtained prior to the share transfer being made
 pursuant to – the company changed its name
pursuant to the new legislation on company
names
 regardless of – our client wishes to seek an
injunction against his neighbour regardless of
whether the building work is suspended or not
 subsequent to – the court’s decision was
handed down subsequent to the new law
coming into force
 thanks to – a satisfactory outcome was achieved
in the case, thanks to the meticulous work
undertaken by the claimant’s lawyers
 that of – one issue still remains to be resolved –
that of the payment method to be used