Chapter 1 - Introduction 1
I. Lawyers are Storytellers 1
II. Legal Arguments are Stories in Disguise 3
III. The Parts of a Story 4
IV. Movies and Closing Arguments 6
Chapter 2 - Plotting I: The Basics 11
I. What is Plot? 11
II. Plot Structure in Two Movies 28
Chapter 3 - Plotting II: Plot Structure in a Closing Argument to a
Jury in a
Complex Torts Case 44
I. The "Back Story" 47
II. Annotated Excerpts from Spence's Closing Argument on Behalf of
Karen
Silkwood 48
III. Concluding Observations 85
Chapter 4 - Character Lessons: Character, Character Development,
and
Characterization 110
I. Introduction: Why Emphasize Movie Characters in Legal
Storytelling? 110
II. What is Character, and Why Is It Important to Legal
Storytellers? 113
III. Flat and Round Characters and Static and Changing
Characters-High Noon Revisited 119
IV. Techniques of Character Development and
Characterization-Excerpts
from Tobias Wolff's This Boy's Life 131
Chapter 5 - Characters, Character Development, and Characterization
in a
Closing Argument to a Jury in a Complex Criminal Case 147
I. The "Back Story" 147
II. Excerpts from the Opening: Act I-"The Setup" and
"Confrontation" 151
III. Concluding Observations 173
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 185
I. Back Story: Grading Law School Examinations 185
II. Preliminary Note: "Voice" and "Style" 188
III. Voice and Rhythm: "Staying on the Surface" 191
IV. The Use of Scene and Summary: "Showing and Telling" 201
V. Telling in Different Voices 208
VI. Perspective or Point of View 220
VII. Several Functions of Perspective: How Does Perspective (Point
of View)
Work, and What Work Does it Do? 225
VIII. Concluding Observations 245
Chapter 7 - A Sense of Place: Settings, Descriptions and
Environments 252
I. Introduction 252
II. Dangerous Territory: Contrasting Settings Evoking Danger and
Instability in
Joan Didion's "The White Album" and the Judicial Opinion in a Rape
Case 255
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 266
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 283
V. Concluding Observations 298
Chapter 8 - Narrative Time: A Brief Exploration 302
I. Introduction 302
II. The Ordering of Discourse Time 305
III. Concluding Observations 325
Chapter 9 - Final Observations: Beginnings and Endings 330
Philip N. Meyer is Professor of Law at Vermont Law School.
"'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 Talk About 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, Storytelling for Lawyers. The book
is intended not just for law students learning how to craft
persuasive arguments, but for lay people simply curious about how
popular culture, literature and the canon of case law mesh in the
modern legal system." --Valley News
"An excellent primer on narrative theory for lawyer-storytellers
has now appeared... Meyer's book is a great story about lawyers
telling stories. He brings his lawyer-storytellers to life and
critiques their narrative efforts with great delight. I welcomed
his reminder that the best lawyers can be and are artists."
--MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL FACULTY BLOG
"Philip N. Meyer's splendid book, Storytelling for Lawyers, is both
an explanation of this phenomenon and a master class on what makes
an effective story and how to construct one." -David R. Dow, Rice
University, Vermont Law Review
"For me, the ultimate test of any book that makes recommendations
about the practice of law is whether I can use the information it
conveys now. This book proved an immediate help for me in working
on an appellate brief...I don't know that I'll make to the promised
land of the perfect brief, but now I have stronger sense of what it
will read like." -greenleafadvocacy.com
"Meyer's argument is not only about constructing a story, it is
also about the use of compelling language... the text could be put
to excellent use in a law & humanities classroom as a starting
point for students to conduct similar narrative analysis of court
filings and transcripts." -Jinee Lokaneeta, Law and Society
Review
"Storytelling for Lawyers is a well-done exploration of legal
storytelling and would be well placed in any lawyer's toolbox of
practical works. This title is recommended for attorneys and for
law libraries that collect practice-oriented materials." -Christine
Timko, Law Librarian, Nevada Supreme Court Law Library, Law Library
Journal
"In short, it is when he shows how virtually every major strategic
decision has to be approached taking emotions and psychology into
account that Meyer is at his strongest. Meyer has provided a
valuable tool for legal practitioners-a series of steps to go
through when putting together a brief, or going before a judge or
jury, or preparing law students for what comes next." -Marshall
Goldberg, The Journal of Legal Education
"If I were teaching a course devoted to advanced persuasive legal
writing or to trial or appellate advocacy, Storytelling for Lawyers
would be one of the required texts." -Diane Kraft, Assistant
Professor of Legal Research and Writing, University of Kentucky
College of Law, Legal Writing Institute The Second Draft
"Any law student or lawyer who wants to develop their skills
practicing the facts should benefit from studying 'Storytelling for
Lawyers." - Jennifer Romig, Listen Like a Lawyer Blog
"The simple yet elegant manner in which Philip Meyer illustrates
the anecdotal structures makes [Storytelling for Lawyers] a must
read . . . This book can benefit law professors and students alike,
as well as the most accomplished lawyers, and should be kept on
hand at all times." - Keith Williams, American Bar Association for
Law Students
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