Lawyers, liars, and the art of storytelling Using stories to advocate, influence, and persuade

Jonathan Shapiro

Book - 2016

"Storytelling, what it is, why it matters, how to do it, is not a metaphor for legal advocacy. It is legal advocacy itself, and it is not limited to jury trials or court appearances: It relates to every aspect of a lawyers work. The practice of law is the business of persuasion, and storytelling is the most effective means of persuading. A credible lawyer icapable of telling a well-reasoned story that moves the listener will always beat the lawyer who cannot. But just recognizing the centrality of storytelling to the legal profession is not enough. Lawyers should also study the basic structure and elements that apply to stories, how they work and why, as well as the principles that have guided great storytellers for thousands of years.... Lawyers, Liars, and the Art of Storytelling shows you how to convey legal information in a cogent, persuasive way to the client who needs the help, to opposing counsel, and to the decision-maker who has the final say. In doing so, it utilizes portions of famous real-life court transcripts, television scripts, and story after story that feels more like celebration than study. Part prescriptive teaching, part memoir, always entertaining and never lecture, this package provides storytelling lessons gleaned from years of trial practice and television writing, wrapped in, what else, great stories"--Publisher. more