Scene from Spaceship Earth at Disney’s Epcot Center.

We have come along way on the power of storytelling since those early days when Trog told the clan of the chase and the kill of the lion;  but the tradition persists today.  Although it’s in our DNA and is in the wheelhouse of every successful trial lawyer, it seems to have been neglected in law school and continuing legal education.  Rather than view each aspect of a trial presentation from void dire (jury selection), to opening, direct and cross examination, through summation and even appeal, the story we tell is more factual, chronological and exhaustive, more akin to a newspaper story than an exercise in legal persuasion consisting of a beginning, a middle and an end.

We have it beaten into our heads that you should have a “theme” or should “frame” our case which can drill down to subsets involving your issues, your witnesses, your evidence and more.

But how is this done?  What are the mechanics?  What should be in your litigator’s toolkit?

Of course, you can always pick up the Greek classic, “The Art of Rhetoric” by Aristotle.  But, it is a bit dated (ya think?), and is not an easy read.  A nice down to earth modern book with some tips and examples is Carmine Gallo’s “The Storyteller’s Secret” with 37 examples of storytellers on themes of igniting your inner fire, educate, simplify, motivate and launch a movement by the likes of Steve Jobs and Winston Churchill.  For the Reptiles in the mist, there is a discussion “The Amygdala:  A Storyteller’s Best Friend.”

I will confess for most of my trials, I was so busy chopping the wood in front of me that I followed  styles and techniques I picked up serendipitously from the stories my family would tell  (and retell, and retell) over the years at reunions, get-togethers and holidays.

These family stories were real, from the heart and had a most receptive audience.  Lately, I have wondered about the family stories and whether I was employing a story line that was appropriate for a jury trial when I noted there were some distinct parallels in the venue, at least.

If you have an injured person, a victim, a failed business transaction, a will contest, then you have a story to be told;  a story that is real, and an audience who took an oath to follow the law and give justice.  So maybe, just maybe, stories from others in other situations at other times with different approaches might  be worthy of review than a regurgitation of the family techniques or those of other lawyers who learned from others.  And to be honest, we all have wondered where are those great lawyer-storytellers from a bygone era now?  Well, you and I and others are it for good or ill.  Stories whether in narrative, approach, or questioning to be applied with a witness, void dire, opening and closing.

To this end, I share with you an easy read I picked up after listening to a few TED Talks.   There are other books that discuss and analyze the classic plots of a story that go beyond the beginning, middle and end and a mile between the head and the heart.  The author Carmine Gallo wrote two books – “Talk Like TED” and “The Storyteller’s Secret”.  Whether you employ these techniques at trial, in mediation, community talks, or seminars matters, you will find both easy on the eyes and useful when faced with the public speaking challenge.

The “hero’s journey” is probably the most classic  story theme and the one most applicable to legal causes for both the plaintiff and the defendant since each side has its own narrative, its own version, its own journey.

Think of Luke Skywalker and the movie Star Wars Episode IV: A new Hope, a classic tale involving a hero (Luke) who goes on an adventure, has a crisis, and becomes a  changed or transformed person.  Luke is the hero; Obi-Wan Kenobi is the guide, the crisis is the Death Star, and the journey is to fight the Empire,  and then he is transformed in the process of destroying the Death Star.

Just like the old Saturday Morning Matinee westerns and serial stories.  For a more detailed plot explanation, see Joseph Campbell‘s “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” who describes the basic narrative pattern as:

A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.

In our trial scenario, look at your client as the hero of this tale facing a trial to right the injury or wrong done to him.  You are his guide, the trial is the journey, and the verdict is the moment of transformation.

This is applicable for both plaintiff and defendant, injury or business.  Your client is the hero, the proganist;  you are the guide, the other side is the antagonist or the “bad guy” and his/her attorney is seen as the bad guy’s alter ego; and there are subplots and themes on the way with a defense doctor, a witness, a temptress/offer to settle, the white knight of the mediator, and more.  But I digress into a mire of detail.

Just remember.  Your client (regardless of which side you are on) is the protagonist and good guy;  the other party is the antagonist and bad guy with his own lawyer guide; and the journey is the trial both must pass through for closure and transformation.

I will add more to this tale of woe, as I begin my journey through the maze of on-line publishing with myself as my own guide.  And remember the saying – a person who represents them-self has a fool for a client.

And in conclusion (for today), I leave you with this reminder from the Bard.  Take it as you will;  take it as you may; but take it “as you like it.”

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms;
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lin’d,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well sav’d, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.