S. Truth and Story in the Language of Justice

This Class will explore the role of narrative and story in the anatomy of a trial and in appellate advocacy. We will study the extent to which strategies drawn from creative writing--including fiction and creative long-form non-fiction--achieve goals in legal persuasive writing and in oral advocacy, and how those tools advance or hinder the search for objective truth.

The course is co-taught by a former federal prosecutor from the Southern District of New York and an accomplished novelist and screenwriter and will be supplemented by notable guest speakers from the film and non-fiction worlds as well as district and appellate judges as we uncover theory, techniques and craft applicable to legal advocates. Our goal is for students to improve their writing by learning how to use narrative, metaphor, and rhetorical tools in their own advocacy, and learn to recognize the use of those tools when analyzing Court opinions.