My biglaw days are behind me, but every once in a while I remember some nonsensical “rule” I had to follow when writing emails, memos, briefs, etc. At least one partner had an actual written style guide, which was both insane and helpful.
The rule I think about most often was that we could not italicize the “v” in case names. Firm-wide rule. Super annoying to learn and took a while to unlearn.
At another firm, we ~~couldn’t~~ could not use contractions. I don’t remember if that was firm-wide or for a specific partner.
I’ve always been curious what other silly “rules” people have had to follow.