Many law firms are moving away from use of the word “shall,” precisely because it has been so misused. In fact, in the U.S., the latest version of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure no longer uses the word “shall” at all. If necessary, “shall” should only be used if it can be replaced with the words “is obligated to,” i.e., “The buyer shall pay the seller $50.” The word “will” should be used as a simple future tense. Many in the American legal community consider “shall” to be ambiguous, officious and antiquated, and have shown a strong preference for the word “must” to express an obligation, and “must not” to express a prohibition.
