Reuters
Chicago lawyer Jason Epstein said he’s practiced law for more than 25 years without a complaint about his favorite font, Bernhard Modern, or “mod” as he calls it.
“To me it’s far more legible” than others, Epstein said on Tuesday, speaking to Reuters after a federal appeals court took him to task in a published opinion, opens new tab for submitting a brief in the typeface.
Bernhard Modern is “suited to movie posters and used in the title sequence of the Twilight Zone TV show,” wrote Circuit Judge Frank Easterbrook of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Writing in Palatino Linotype, Easterbrook warned against display faces that “wear out judicial eyes after just a few pages and make understanding harder.”
“We hope that Bernhard Modern has made its last appearance in an appellate brief,” the Monday ruling said.
State and federal courts across the country all have their own practice rules or guidance. There are rules for word counts and filing deadlines. There are rules about excessive footnotes and obscure acronyms. The Chicago-based 7th Circuit’s own typography guidance, opens new tab runs seven pages.
Easterbrook’s opinion, now part of that canon, made a splash in legal circles on social media. In a post on X, Arizona Court of Appeals Judge Jennifer Perkins said the 7th Circuit’s new guidance on fonts will be “required reading for clerks in my chambers.”
In 2021, the D.C. Circuit caused a minor stir when it updated, opens new tab its handbook to discourage the use of Garamond, often used by the U.S. Justice Department’s civil appellate staff. Some department briefs now feature Century Schoolbook, which is what the U.S. Supreme Court employs for its rulings.
Garamond, according to the D.C. Circuit, “appears smaller” than other typefaces that are easier to read.
The 7th Circuit, meanwhile, may not have seen the last of Bernhard Modern. Epstein lost the appeal in his case, a discrimination matter, and now must decide whether to ask the court to reconsider.
He told Reuters he would follow the court’s guidance and “use the most legible face available to you.”
“If Bernhard Mod is still the easiest to read, I would be compelled to use it,” Epstein said.
