James Erwin B.

Velasco April 20, 2018

Block 1D Legal Writing

A Summary of “Fiction 101: A Primer for Lawyers on How to Use Fiction Writing
Techniques to Write Persuasive Facts Sections by Brian J. Foley and Ruth Anne Robbins.”

This article mentions that only few people actually knows how to tell a story. The reason
why no one teaches how to write the facts is because of the following misconception: legal writing
programs focuses more on legal analysis; also, professors believes that students already know how
to write; and lastly, most believe that it cannot really be taught.

The article then emphasizes on the important role of storytelling for lawyers as an effective
tool for persuasion. A well-written facts section is helpful to effectively persuade a judge. This
article focuses on the “how to” in storytelling. Finally, the goal of this article is to encourage
lawyers to tell stories, and to do it in a more conscious process.

The authors believe that story is the most effective non-violent method for persuasion. In
telling a story, you must first understand what a story is. In legal writing, a story is an account of
a character running into conflict, and conflict being resolved. For lawyers, the most useful element
of writing are: character, conflict, resolution, organization, point-of-view, and setting. Law suits
have characters, conflict, resolution just like any stories.

The problem of legal writers is not having enough facts due to lack of enough investigation
and not actually having bad facts. The lawyer’s goal then is to portray the characters and conflict
in a way that the resolution the lawyer seeks fit. A reader in a story must relate and agree to the
characters’ goals, just like lawyers should aim for the judges to like their client.

Stories need conflicts, and how a writer describes a conflict determines how a reader would
resolve a conflict. Characters are intertwined with conflicts, we see characters based on how they
respond to conflicts. And it is the job of the lawyers to learn about their clients to breathe life into
their conflict and make it more meaningful for the judge. The key in resolution is for the judge to
resolve the conflict in your client’s favor. To keep clients satisfied the resolution must fit the
description in the facts section of the character and conflict.

The order of how the writer presents information is an important part of telling an effective
story. The timing of the information is relevant because it will affect the reader’s view. The authors
believe that the best way to organize your facts section is by starting with the context, the lawyer
should tell who the client is, and how the disruption affected the client. He may then proceed with
the cause-and-effect manner. Finally, end with the proposed resolution, or you may opt not to by
persuading the reader to fill it in.

The last tool discussed by the authors it about the point-of-view (POV) or perspective.
They emphasize that the POV makes a difference and it may affect your case. Readers often root
for characters they know or identify; thus, they suggest to write on the client’s POV because the
protagonist’s experience of chaos it the heart of the story. To end, this article clearly emphasizes
the importance of how to tell stories in legal writing.