Well, I’m now inclined to say, the heck with that! I’ve decided that using first-line indents with spaced paragraphs just looks too silly. Given that for contract drafters document design is generally a low priority, the notion of switching from first-line indenting for enumerated paragraphs to doing without for paragraphs without enumeration seems too fussy.
Given the lack of enumeration, one could dispense with the first-line indents, but they’ve been retained for reasons of consistency between enumerated paragraphs and paragraphs without enumeration. In the samples in this manual and in the redrafted version of the appendix 1 contract, paragraphs without enumeration-the introductory clause, the recitals, the lead-in, the concluding clause, and autonomous definitions-all use first-line indents. In this case, the need for a logical layout trumps typography considerations. The result is that the MSCD enumeration scheme uses both space between paragraphs and first-line indents. Furthermore, the logic behind the MSCD enumeration scheme (see 4.53) requires first-line indents for sections (see 4.13) and subsections (see 4.26). Given that reading contracts often involves flipping from provision to provision, that space seems indispensable. And vice versa.”Ĭontracts invariably use space between paragraphs. If you use a first-line indent on a paragraph don’t use space between. For example, Typography for Lawyers, at 136–37, says, “First-line indents and space between paragraphs have the same relationship as belts and suspenders. Typography professionals recommend that you not use both techniques. One way to signal the start of a new paragraph is to indent the first line. Another way is to put space between paragraphs.
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