When the Truth and the Story Collide: What Legal Writers Can Learn from the Experience of Non-Fiction Writers About the Limits of Legal Storytelling
Legal Writing: The Journal of Legal Writing Institute, Vol. 16, p. 163, 2010
Western New England University School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper
20 Pages Posted: 22 Dec 2011
There are 2 versions of this paper
When the Truth and the Story Collide: What Legal Writers Can Learn from the Experience of Non-Fiction Writers About the Limits of Legal Storytelling
When the Truth and the Story Collide: What Legal Writers Can Learn from the Experience of Non-Fiction Writers About the Limits of Legal Storytelling
Date Written: June 18, 2010
Abstract
This Article examines what can be gained and what can be lost by using storytelling in legal writing. After reviewing some basic principles of legal storytelling, the Article reviews some lessons that can be learned from the experience of the New Journalists who adopted literary techniques in their non-fiction work. In the end, the author concludes that while there is much value in using the tools of fiction in legal writing, it is only with a blend of narrative and analysis that we most successfully do our jobs as lawyers.
Keywords: legal writing, storytelling, legal writing and research
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation