39 ABA Journal Storytelling articles.
Stories—in books and in life—are the ax that cracks open the frozen sea inside us.
Feb 1, 2018 2:10 AM CST
Justice requires great artistry. The narrative arc of our constitutional law saga is full of surprise, mystery and plot reversals.
Dec 1, 2017 1:15 AM CST
Interrogatories ferret out the facts of an opponent’s case before giving notice about taking a deposition.
Nov 1, 2017 1:15 AM CDT
The storylines that capture the popular imagination these days, at least in politics and commercial movies, assuage our losses and momentarily fill our neediness with, at least, the promise of victorious outcomes.
Aug 1, 2017 1:15 AM CDT
I tell students in my first-year classes the practice of law anticipates the interaction between law and facts; legal doctrine matters only as applied to “the facts.” If we exist exclusively in a hall of mirrors where there are no actual facts but only alternative facts, then there may be judgment but not justice.
Many students find my perspective naive. One of my students put it this way: “As a general rule, the justice system seems to favor the ‘knowable’ version of the truth. Lawyers tend to believe the opposite.”
Jun 1, 2017 2:30 AM CDT
Bob Dylan is, by far, the most-cited songwriter or popular artist in American judicial opinions. And these citations are not merely add-ons or throwaways.
Apr 1, 2017 2:50 AM CDT
Trial lawyers, like literary artists, know how to pose the right questions. They construct the staging, especially in courtroom scenes, that directs their audience—jurors and judges, and sometimes the public—toward intended readings of dramatic subtext.
Jan 1, 2017 2:20 AM CST
How do we order events and then move about in time when telling law stories?
Nov 1, 2016 2:30 AM CDT
Not long ago in these pages, a column asserted that humor is misplaced in the courtroom and proscribed for attorneys: “Don’t Be Funny: Litigation is no laughing matter to your…
Sep 1, 2016 2:50 AM CDT
The Broadway smash Hamilton teaches lawyers about framing a story.
Aug 1, 2016 2:40 AM CDT
Jun 1, 2016 2:00 AM CDT
May 1, 2016 2:00 AM CDT
Apr 1, 2016 2:40 AM CDT
Feb 1, 2016 2:10 AM CST
Jan 1, 2016 2:20 AM CST
The ABA Journal wants to host and facilitate conversations among lawyers about their profession. We are now accepting thoughtful, non-promotional articles and commentary by unpaid contributors.
