Definition
"In like manner" is a term of construction appearing in statutes, contracts, deeds, wills, and procedural rules. It means: in the same way, by the same method, or subject to the same conditions as previously stated. It functions as an incorporative phrase, directing that a subsequent act, obligation, right, or procedure shall follow the same form or operate under the same terms as something already described.
The phrase performs two distinct functions depending on context:
1. Procedural: Directing that a subsequent step be carried out by the same method as an earlier one. A statute might provide that notice shall be given "in like manner" as service of process, meaning the same mechanics of delivery apply.
2. Substantive: Extending the scope of a provision by analogy or equivalence. A deed or will might impose an obligation on future holders "in like manner" as the original grantee, binding successors to the same terms.
The critical interpretive question in either context is how narrowly or broadly to read what was done "before." Courts generally treat the phrase as requiring substantial conformity with the prior method, not merely rough similarity.
---
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): "In the same way; similarly."
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): "In the same way; similarly; also."
The common and legal meanings are close in form but diverge in legal consequence. In ordinary speech, "in like manner" is a loose comparative. In legal instruments, it is a term of incorporation or limitation that may bind parties to a specific procedure or standard. What reads as casual similarity in common usage can operate in a legal document as a precise cross-reference locking the reader to a defined prior method.
---
Common Confusion
"In like manner" is sometimes treated as interchangeable with "similarly" or "in the same way" in drafting, but these are not equivalent for interpretation purposes. "Similarly" tends to suggest analogy and may permit variation; "in like manner" more strongly implies procedural or formal equivalence. Courts have distinguished these phrasings when construing whether strict or substantial compliance with a prior method is required. Drafters who intend strict conformity should use "in like manner"; those intending flexible analogy should use "similarly" or "in a like manner" (which carries slightly different weight in some jurisdictions).
---
Why It Matters in Research
Researchers encounter "in like manner" most frequently in three contexts: statutory cross-references to procedure, instrument construction (wills, deeds, contracts), and rules of court.
In statutory research, the phrase is often a silent pointer. A provision directing that something be done "in like manner as" an earlier section may import an entire procedural regime without spelling it out. Researchers must identify the antecedent provision, read it in full, and determine whether subsequent amendments to the antecedent provision also carry forward to the incorporating clause — a question courts have divided on.
In historical sources, the phrase appears with high frequency in 18th- and 19th-century instruments and statutes, where economy of drafting was prized. Older instruments may use "in like manner" to cross-reference practices that no longer exist or that have been substantially modified. Researchers working in historical legal documents should treat every instance as a red flag requiring investigation of what the "manner" actually was at the time the instrument was executed.
The phrase also appears in constitutional and legislative provisions creating parallel structures — for example, granting one body authority and providing that a second body shall exercise a corresponding authority "in like manner." Disputes about whether the two bodies truly mirror each other often turn on close reading of this phrase.
Bouvier's Law Dictionary does not carry a standalone entry for "in like manner," directing readers instead to "Also" and nearby Latin terms. This gap means historical dictionary support for the phrase comes primarily from case law and treatise construction rather than lexicographic definition — researchers should look to judicial interpretation directly rather than relying on period dictionaries.
---
Historical Dictionary Support
Bouvier's Law Dictionary provides no standalone entry for "in like manner," placing it implicitly within the "Also" cross-reference cluster. The surrounding entries (IN LIMINE, IN LITEM) are Latin terms of art with technical meanings; "in like manner" belongs to a different category — English phrases of construction — that Bouvier treats as self-explanatory and does not systematically define.
This absence is itself informative. 19th-century legal lexicographers treated "in like manner" as a plain-meaning phrase requiring no specialized definition, consistent with its common-language roots. The interpretive complexity the phrase generates — particularly around how tightly the antecedent "manner" binds subsequent acts — emerged largely through judicial construction rather than through dictionary treatment. Researchers should not expect historical dictionaries to resolve ambiguities in this phrase; the operative authority is case law.
---