In a Creative Voice: Talking Back to Lawyers' Texts in Notes from a Difficult Case

Abstract

This symposium piece argues that a creative voice can and should play an important role in legal writing, if it is to effectively convey the human elements from which any legal case arises. This point is illustrated through an analysis of law professor Ruthann Robson's essay, Notes from a Difficult Case, a non-fictional narrative based on Robson's own experience with a personal health crisis that led to a medical malpractice case. This piece emphasizes how Robson's crossing back and forth between a professional and personal voice within her essay works to cogently convey an intensely human experience that a purely structured form of professional writing could not. Robson's essay is proof for the hypothesis that legal writing can be an even more effective tool when infused with a writer's personal voice working to recognize the human element at the heart of a legal issue.