Storytelling for Lawyers

Good lawyers have an ability to tell stories. Whether they are arguing a murder case or a complex financial securities case, they can capably explain a chain of events to judges and juries so that they understand them. The best lawyers are also able to construct narratives that have an emotional impact on their intended audiences. But what is a narrative, and how can lawyers go about constructing one? How does one transform a cold presentation of facts into a seamless story that clearly and compellingly takes readers not only from point A to point B, but to points C, D, E, F, and G as well? In Storytelling for Lawyers, Phil Meyer explains how. He begins with a pragmatic theory of the narrative foundations of litigation practice and then applies it to a range of practical illustrative examples: briefs, judicial opinions and oral arguments. Intended for legal practitioners, teachers, law students, and even interdisciplinary academics, the book offers a basic yet comprehensive explanation of the central role of narrative in litigation. The book also offers a narrative tool kit that supplements the analytical skills traditionally emphasized in law school as well as practical tips for practicing attorneys that will help them craft their own legal stories. "'Make no mistake about it - lawyers are storytellers. It is how we make our livings, ' Philip N. Meyer tells us, and convincingly proves, in his extraordinary Storytelling for Lawyers. Brilliantly exploring how issues of voice, plot, characterization, language, and narrative structure inform every aspect of the practice of law, Meyer tells a story no one in legal scholarship or practice has ever told before. Everyone, in every area of law, from beginning students to the most erudite scholars and accomplished practitioners, will profit substantially from this book." --Lawrence Joseph, author of Lawyerland"Readers of the book will come away with a deep appreciation of the possibilities for interplay between stories in law and in the broader culture, beyond anything that they can obtain from any other book with which I am familiar." --Neal Feigenson, author of Legal Blame: How Jurors Think and TalkAbout Accidents"Breathtaking in its sophistication, Storytelling for Lawyers is an unparalleled introduction to the art of legal storytelling. Meyer leads us through a fascinating and sometimes counterintuitive exploration of the building blocks of a good story - characters, plots, themes, and all the rest. Lawyers and law students everywhere should read this book, mark it up, and keep a battered copy within easy reach." --Linda H. Edwards, author of Legal Writing, Process, Analysis, and Organization and Readings in Persuasion: Briefs that Changed the World"No one knows the terrain, the feel, and the reach of stories better than Philip N. Meyer. What he tries to do, and does so brilliantly in Storytelling for Lawyers is to take readers 'inside' the story. It's hard to imagine a storytelling lawyer who couldn't benefit from Meyer's book." --James R. Elkins, Editor of Legal Studies Forum and Lawyer Poets and That World We Call Law"How lawyers tell stories to juries and judges is the subject of Meyer's recently published book, StoChapter 1 - Introduction ; I. Lawyers are Storytellers ; II. Legal Arguments are Stories in Disguise ; III. The Parts of a Story ; IV. Movies and Closing Arguments ; Chapter 2 - Plotting I: The Basics ; I. What is Plot? ; II. Plot Structure in Two Movies ; Chapter 3 - Plotting II: Plot Structure in a Closing Argument to a Jury in a ; Complex Torts Case ; I. The <"Back Story>" ; II. Annotated Excerpts from Spence's Closing Argument on Behalf of Karen ; Silkwood ; III. Concluding Observations ; Chapter 4 - Character Lessons: Character, Character Development, and ; Characterization ; I. Introduction: Why Emphasize Movie Characters in Legal Storytelling? ; II. What is Character, and Why Is It Important to Legal Storytellers? ; III. Flat and Round Characters and Static and Changing ; Characters-High Noon Revisited ; IV. Techniques of Character Development and Characterization-Excerpts ; from Tobias Wolff's This Boy's Life ; Chapter 5 - Characters, Character Development, and Characterization in a ; Closing Argument to a Jury in a Complex Criminal Case ; I. The <"Back Story>" ; II. Excerpts from the Opening: Act I-<"The Setup>" and <"Confrontation>" ; III. Concluding Observations ; Chapter 6 - Style Matters: How to Use Voice, Point of View, Details and ; Images, Rhythms of Language, Scene and Summary, and Quotations and ; Transcripts in Effective Legal Storytelling ; I. Back Story: Grading Law School Examinations ; II. Preliminary Note: <"Voice>" and <"Style>" ; III. Voice and Rhythm: <"Staying on the Surface>" ; IV. The Use of Scene and Summary: <"Showing and Telling>" ; V. Telling in Different Voices ; VI. Perspective or Point of View ; VII. Several Functions of Perspective: How Does Perspective (Point of View) ; Work, and What Work Does it Do? ; VIII. Concluding Observations ; Chapter 7 - A Sense of Place: Settings, Descriptions and Environments ; I. Introduction ; II. Dangerous Territory: Contrasting Settings Evoking Danger and Instability in ; Joan Didion's <"The White Album>" and the Judicial Opinion in a Rape Case ; III. More Dangerous Places Where Bad Things Happen: Use of Physical ; Descriptions and Factual Details to Create Complex Environments in W.G. ; Sebald's The Emigrants and the Petitioners' Briefs in Two Coerced Confession ; Cases ; IV. Settings and Environment as Villains and Villainy in the Mitigation Stories ; of Kathryn Harrison's While They Slept and the Petitioner's Brief in ; Eddings v. Oklahoma ; V. Concluding Observations ; Chapter 8 - Narrative Time: A Brief Exploration ; I. Introduction ; II. The Ordering of Discourse Time ; III. Concluding Observations ; Chapter 9 - Final Observations: Beginnings and Endings