Legal Storytelling

Good facts, good law. Every lawyer heading into court wants both. But most of us begin our legal careers knowing only how to argue the law—not the facts, good or bad. We know it’s important to “have a strong story,” but we don’t know how to craft it from beginning to end. This course gives students those fundamental building blocks that they need to become effective storytellers in their legal writing. Nationally acclaimed writers with expertise in novel-writing, investigative journalism, memoir/non-fiction, and screenwriting will share storytelling strategies that we’ll adapt for briefs, motions, and legal correspondence. We’ll also hear directly from an experienced federal judge and learn by reading examples of practitioners’ legal writing. Finally, legal drafting exercises--both graded and ungraded--will let you practice what you’ve learned and test your work with an immediate audience. At the end of the semester, you will submit a portfolio of your revised work for a final grade after receiving substantial feedback from the instructor and your peers.