To borrow a modern saying, sloppy writing can’t be repaired after the fact. For many readers—especially in the legal field—grammatical mistakes immediately raise doubts about a writer’s competence and attention to detail. Errors in grammar, whether in legal documents or everyday writing, tend to undermine credibility. One of the most common problem areas is the misuse of the pronouns “who,” “whom,” and their extended forms, “whoever” and “whomever.” Even writers who never use these words in conversation are expected to apply them correctly in formal writing.
In spoken English, “whom” has largely fallen out of favor. Most people casually replace it with “who,” and in everyday conversation, few listeners notice or care. For example, asking “Who did you serve the summons on?” rarely draws criticism, even though “On whom did you serve the summons?” is grammatically correct. While the latter may sound overly formal or even pretentious in speech, it remains the proper construction in writing, particularly in legal contexts.
Problems arise when writers misunderstand the grammatical function of these pronouns. Confusion between subject and object forms is common and mirrors the frequent misuse of “I” instead of “me.” In grammar, “who” and “whoever” function as subjective pronouns, meaning they refer to the person performing the action in a sentence. By contrast, “whom” and “whomever” are objective pronouns, used when the person is receiving the action or when the pronoun follows a preposition.
For instance, a sentence like “Whomever wasn’t eating was talking” is incorrect because the pronoun is acting as the subject. The correct version would be “Whoever wasn’t eating was talking.” Clearer still would be rewriting the sentence entirely, such as “Everyone who wasn’t eating was talking,” or simplifying it to avoid the issue altogether.
Precision in pronoun usage matters. Legal writing demands clarity and accuracy, and readers—judges, clients, or colleagues—may be distracted or skeptical when grammatical errors appear. Regardless of whom—or rather, who—the audience is, correct usage strengthens credibility and reinforces the authority of the argument being made.