Which Key Combinations Get Legal Characters?

I am not a lawyer, I am a judgment expert. This article is not legal advice, it is my opinion. When you need legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact an attorney.

If you're an attorney or a paralegal, you probably know very well how to get a word processing program show and print a ¶ or a § character. For the rest of us, the typical word processor does not usually make it obvious how one can crate legal characters.

¶, •, or §, are never used in conversations, however they are usually used with typed motions and pleadings; which can be typewritten by people who represent themselves.

Legal symbols are most often used by attorneys, when they type up motions and pleadings. Occasionally lawyers include a some other other random characters such as occasionally, to baffle the other side. If you represent yourself, one does not need to be a lawyer to type up your own motion and pleading.

What do the symbols mean? The § symbol indicates the section, or a section number. The ¶ symbol, named a Pilcrow, means the end of paragraphs. The • symbol is called the bullet, that means a point to take notice of, or a list item.

Here is what I learned from some judgment recovery specialists, and from experimentation, for some shortcuts to create law-related characters.

What keys to type, to produce a specific special character, depends on the unique combination of which kind of computer it is, which brand of word processing program you have, and what version it is. This article shows a few ways to produce legal symbols, but your mileage will vary.

With Microsoft Word 2010 and possibly some other revisions, click Insert, then click on Symbol, and then select your symbol, among them should be § and ¶. With MS Word 2007, you must take one additional step, and click on Special Characters.

If you use a Macintosh, with nearly any kind of word processor including BBEdit, TextWrangler, TextEdit, and OpenOffice; pressing ALT/Option six makes §s, and Alt/Option 7 creates a ¶.

With most PC applications, when you have a number pad, one can usually hold down the ALT key, then type 0167 on the number keypad, and then release the ALT key, to get a §. One can usually press down the ALT key and type 0149 to get a •, and ALT 0182 to make a ¶.

Even if it takes you some time to learn how to make certain special characters you need on your PC, many applications remember the last few special characters you chose. The next time you need to type one, it should stay the top of the list.

Another solution is to install a software shortcut or "hotkey", to (e.g.) map Control-S to § and Control-P to ¶.

There are many key combinations to produce special characters on PCs, by pressing down the ALT key. A handy list for PC-users is at: http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/international/accents/codealt.html

Lastly, most courts have eliminated the "blue backs" on pleading and motions, however some Federal District courts still require them.

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