Learn English – “In” or “At” sole discretion

expressionsgrammarlegaleseword-choiceword-usage

We're drafting some legal stuff, and our lawyer used this phrasing…

…whether any particular enhancement is to be categorized as such shall be made in the sole reasonable discretion of [company]…

I always thought it was "at the sole discretion of…"

Are there situations where "in" is permissible or preferred?

Best Answer

As a Brit, I find at natural here. This is the NGram for BrE corpus...

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But apparently, Americans are just as likely to use in. Here's the AmE NGram...

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Of course, there's no real concept of "right" and "wrong" here beyond what others normally say. If you're writing it yourself, and your target audience is British, you should probably go for at (but given the US is the world’s most litigious society, it would be unwise to argue with an American lawyer who prefers in! :)

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