Rhetoric, Persuasion, and Modern Legal Writing

The Pen Is Mightier

Brian L. Porto

Classical rhetorical techniques can enhance the persuasiveness of Supreme Court opinions by making their language clear, lively, and memorable. This book focuses on three techniques—“invention” (creation of arguments), “arrangement” (organization), and “style” (word choice)—in the work of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Robert Jackson, Hugo Black, William Brennan, and Antonin Scalia, respectively. The justices featured here contributed to the Court’s rhetorical legacy in different ways, but all five rejected the magisterial opinion style of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in favor of a more personal and conversational format. As a result, their opinions have endured, and even modern readers who cannot recall the justices’ names understand and embrace the ideas expressed in their legal writings and apply those ideas to current debates. Practicing lawyers, professors, and students can use this book to study legal writing techniques and make their own writing more persuasive.

Lexington Books

Pages: 210 • Trim: 6 x 8¾

978-1-4985-6891-3 • Hardback • February 2020 • $105.00 • (£81.00)

978-1-4985-6893-7 • Paperback • June 2021 • $41.99 • (£35.00)

978-1-4985-6892-0 • eBook • February 2020 • $39.50 • (£30.00)

Subjects: Law / Legal Writing, Law / Courts, Political Science / American Government / Legislative Branch

Rhetoric, Persuasion, and Modern Legal Writing

The Pen Is Mightier

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

Classical rhetorical techniques can enhance the persuasiveness of Supreme Court opinions by making their language clear, lively, and memorable. This book focuses on three techniques—“invention” (creation of arguments), “arrangement” (organization), and “style” (word choice)—in the work of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Robert Jackson, Hugo Black, William Brennan, and Antonin Scalia, respectively. The justices featured here contributed to the Court’s rhetorical legacy in different ways, but all five rejected the magisterial opinion style of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in favor of a more personal and conversational format. As a result, their opinions have endured, and even modern readers who cannot recall the justices’ names understand and embrace the ideas expressed in their legal writings and apply those ideas to current debates. Practicing lawyers, professors, and students can use this book to study legal writing techniques and make their own writing more persuasive.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 210 • Trim: 6 x 8¾

978-1-4985-6891-3 • Hardback • February 2020 • $105.00 • (£81.00)

978-1-4985-6893-7 • Paperback • June 2021 • $41.99 • (£35.00)

978-1-4985-6892-0 • eBook • February 2020 • $39.50 • (£30.00)

Subjects: Law / Legal Writing, Law / Courts, Political Science / American Government / Legislative Branch

Author

Brian L. Porto is professor of law at Vermont Law School

Table of Contents

Chapter One: The Power Of Rhetoric In Supreme Court Opinions

Chapter Two: The Rhetorical Roots of Persuasive Legal Writing

Chapter Three: Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.: Literary Lion

Chapter Four: Robert Jackson: Country Lawyer with A Golden Pen

Chapter Five: Hugo Black: Master Of Simplicity

Chapter Six: William Brennan: Bridge-Builder

Chapter Seven: Antonin Scalia: Originalist in Style Too

Chapter Eight: Rhetoric And The Supreme Court: Past, Present, And Future

Reviews

Words matter. The Pen is Mightier reminds law students, lawyers, and judges alike that they can matter most when legal acumen is coupled with great writing. Choosing five gifted justices, Brian Porto conveys with admirable clarity equal to his subject a truth writers of judicial opinions learn sooner or later: how you say it is as important as what you say.
— Jeffrey Amestoy, former Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court and author of Slavish Shore: The Odyssey of Richard Henry Dana Jr.

Professor Porto offers a provocative and practical study of how revered Supreme Court Justices from Holmes to Kagan have exploited rhetoric and argumentation. Both the excerpts and the author's insights will be invaluable to judges and advocates alike
— Ross Guberman, president of Legal Writing Pro

Rhetoric, Persuasion, and Modern Legal Writing is an incredibly informative and interesting analysis of what turns good writing into great writing using the examples of Supreme Court Justices.
— Heidi Gilchrist, Brooklyn Law School

Rhetoric, Persuasion, and Modern Legal Writing

The Pen Is Mightier

Brian L. Porto

Rhetoric, Persuasion, and Modern Legal Writing

The Pen Is Mightier

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