In this volume the author examines verbal constructions in prescriptive legal texts written in English. Modal auxiliaries such as _shall_, _may_ and _must_ are analysed, as well as indicative tenses such as the present simple, and also non-finite constructions such as the _-ing_ form and _-ed_ participles. Results are based on specially compiled corpora of prescriptive texts coming from a wide range of English-speaking countries and also international organizations such as the European Union and the UN. The author also analyses the nature, extent and impact of the calls for change in legal language coming from the Plain Language Movement. Although legal language tends to be depicted as being highly conservative and unchanging, the author shows that in certain parts of the English-speaking world a minor revolution would appear to be taking place, while in other parts there is greater resistance to change.