Why do lawyers sign letters "Very truly yours,"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's the traditional closing for a business letter. Sincerely yours is for social correspondence, or was back in the day.

I don't know why the people who decided to coopt Esq. decided to go old school on the sign off.

Best regards? Seriously? Best according to whom? What's so great about your regards?

I've had better.

NP here. I use "Best regards" because I went to grad school in an Asian country and it's the way people sign business correspondence there, and it works here, too.

[Anonymous]

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2014/02/08/conventional-salutations-closings-truly-work-best.html

[Anonymous]

We have used "Yours very truly" which is a derivative of "Very truly yours" for 35 years in our law office.
It sounds more professional than "Sincerely" which sounds too familiar for a professional letter in my humble opinion.

[Anonymous]

I am a "kind regards" type of attorney.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have used "Yours very truly" which is a derivative of "Very truly yours" for 35 years in our law office.
It sounds more professional than "Sincerely" which sounds too familiar for a professional letter in my humble opinion.

You bumped a five-year-old thread to tell us this?

[Anonymous]

Because we're told to.

[Anonymous]

I graduated law school in 1985 and this is the way I always did it as well! Through three large law firms in three different cities. And I still use it for "professional" types of correspondence. Takes a long time for things to change in the law..............

[Anonymous]

I recently started signing my correspondence "Fo shizzle"

[Anonymous]

Best regards is an optional complimentary pre-closing for clients, colleagues and allies. Followed in any case by Sincerely. I'm not "truly anybody's" except maybe the Almighty's and my spouse and kids'.

In New York they often endorse pleadings and sometimes correspondence with "Yours, etc.," which is delightfully archaic but still fails the "you own me" test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What does best regards mean, anyway?

I have been a lawyer for nigh on 30 years and ALL of these are just legalese for GFY.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What does best regards mean, anyway?

I have been a lawyer for nigh on 30 years and ALL of these are just legalese for GFY.

Lol. I'm a lawyer too and I always found the "very truly yours" very amusing. Particularly when appended to, say, a scathing letter to opposing counsel which accuses them (in a very lawyerly way) of being incompetent drooling idiots one step away of being sanctioned, held in contempt or disbarred. When reading such a letter in my head, I always read "very truly yours" in the most sarcastic tone possible.

[Anonymous]

It’s code for “Eat Sh!t, Soandso.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have used "Yours very truly" which is a derivative of "Very truly yours" for 35 years in our law office.
It sounds more professional than "Sincerely" which sounds too familiar for a professional letter in my humble opinion.

You bumped a five-year-old thread to tell us this?

Sincerely comes from "sine cere", i.e., "without wax". Here's the explanation: Sine means "without". Literally, sincere ( sine cere ) means "without wax". If, way back when, you were creating a vase or drinking vessel and a small crack developed on the outside you would fill in the crack with wax. The ones without wax commanded a higher price since they were the true or sincere products.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have used "Yours very truly" which is a derivative of "Very truly yours" for 35 years in our law office.
It sounds more professional than "Sincerely" which sounds too familiar for a professional letter in my humble opinion.

You bumped a five-year-old thread to tell us this?

Sincerely comes from "sine cere", i.e., "without wax". Here's the explanation: Sine means "without". Literally, sincere ( sine cere ) means "without wax". If, way back when, you were creating a vase or drinking vessel and a small crack developed on the outside you would fill in the crack with wax. The ones without wax commanded a higher price since they were the true or sincere products.

I learned something new today. Thank you for sharing.

[Anonymous]

My lawyer uses best regards or kindest regards.