Punctuation Question?

Please read the sentence below and tell me if its appropriate to use a comma then "and" togeather like that. We are having an office dispute over whether or not it should have a comma there.


Company XYZ is not a law firm, and does not provide legal services or advice.



personally I think the comma and "and" are duplicative and not proper puncuation.

It is proper but not necessary. Modern usage discourages it but it is grammatically correct.

The first answerer is correct.
There are almost no strict rules for commas. Read it aloud, see where the pauses naturally want to go. NOT after "and" in that sentence.

I'm with the first guy...

Shawneen<3

The comma with "and" is conjunctive; thus, it joins two independent clauses. The comma can be omitted if the meaning is clear without it--just note that a sentence like this is never incorrect when it does have the comma.

I think both of your examples are acceptable, but the comma makes a subtle difference (just like it does in this sentence).

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The rule is that if there are two independent clauses separated with a conjunction, there should be a comma. Technically, there should be a comma in your sentence.

The current trend is to drop as much punctuation as possible, which renders this rule obsolete in many cases.

The comma is not necessary as the word "and" negates the need for the comma.