Linda Berger (Law) and Temple Law Professor Kathy Stanchi have published a new book that presents a unique theory of legal persuasion, blending rhetorical theory and cognitive science with real-life practice.
Legal Persuasion: A Rhetorical Approach to the Science (Routledge) draws on the latest findings from persuasion science as well as on established concepts and analyses from classical and contemporary rhetoric. This approach reflects the interests and expertise of the authors. Berger, the Family Foundation professor of law at UNLV’s Boyd School of Law, has been a leader in building the discipline of legal communication and rhetoric. Her recent scholarly work blends interdisciplinary study with rhetorical analysis, drawing on research findings from analogy, metaphor, and narrative studies in order to examine the persuasiveness and effectiveness of written and oral communication. Kathryn Stanchi is the Jack E. Feinberg ’57 professor of litigation and affiliated professor of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at Temple’s Beasley School of Law. She is recognized as the leading scholar to bring persuasion science into the literature of legal persuasion. Her scholarship often focuses on the intersection of persuasion, rhetoric, and feminism.
At the heart of the new book’s theory is a central theme: legal persuasion results from making and breaking mental connections. Building on that theme, the book recommends a coherent network of persuasive strategies to guide the advocate.
The recommended strategies are illustrated by examples drawn from the everyday practice of persuasion, both inside and outside the courtroom. Ross Guberman, author of Point Made: How to Write Like the Nation’s Top Advocates, explains that “[r]eaders [of Legal Persuasion] are treated to a host of insights from cognitive science, culture high and low, the rough-and-tumble world of litigation, and the lofty perches of appellate advocacy and judging."
Because their book combines concepts from rhetorical theory and persuasion science and tests them through real-world applications, the authors have written a “why-to” rather than a “how-to.” Legal Persuasion concentrates on the reasons why certain decisions will aid in the design and construction of persuasive arguments for particular audiences in particular rhetorical settings.
The book was written for audiences including academics who teach or write about legal persuasion, practicing lawyers and judges, advanced law students, and undergraduates in legal rhetoric and argumentation classes.
