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

See all articles by Jeanne Kaiser

Jeanne Kaiser

Western New England University School of Law

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

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

Kaiser, Jeanne, 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 (June 18, 2010). Legal Writing: The Journal of Legal Writing Institute, Vol. 16, p. 163, 2010, Western New England University School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1975453

Jeanne Kaiser (Contact Author)

Western New England University School of Law ( email )

1215 Wilbraham Road
Springfield, MA 01119
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
97
Abstract Views
889
Rank
321,037
PlumX Metrics