Literary Practice in Law Journal - On the Blank Page, on the Web

Literary Practice in Law Journal - On the Blank Page, on the WebAt the beginning of this August, the Indiana Law Journal has published two essays by one Jennifer McQuillan titled 'On the Blank Page, on the Web: Essays on Light in August'Finding the Light in August.' Ms. McQuillan, an associate professor at the University of Notre Dame Law School, has published on a wide range of subjects in academic journals. But she is very talented at analyzing, through a selection of examples, legal cases, and how, as a lawyer, you can find light in the cases. Here is a sample essay that showcases the skill and skillful analysis in 'On the Blank Page, on the Web: Essays on Light in August.'Literary practice of journals can have a powerful impact on the practice of law, and on many ways of conceiving of what is not legal. Writers are interested in the way that their creations influence their clients and the broader legal community. According to Ms. McQuillan, a material of the 'On the Blank Page, o n the Web: Essays on Light in August' is whether the law community has a common consciousness when it comes to the purposes of legal writing.Literary practice of legal cases involves the political, cultural, and intellectual power that writing has to effect change within the institutions and structures of our legal system. If this is true, Ms. McQuillan suggests, then the reader has a powerful voice in the passage of law.Those areas of legal practice that favor particular models of writing and speak to a specific audience are the ones where litigators have the most influence. Litigators win the battle of ideas on this type of topics because their strategy is to convince a majority of the members of the relevant groups, which can include legislators, judges, and potential jurors. Sometimes this is accomplished by blunt force, but often it is accomplished by the subtle combination of theory and organizational details.The dynamic between legal practice and literary practice can also af fect how you understand your clients. If you focus on the meanings and grammatical facts of cases, you risk missing the many opportunities to present clients with a valuable, realistic legal picture of what is possible in a given situation.If you want to be the best litigator for your clients, Ms. McQuillan suggests, you will need to focus on both legal practice and literary practice. Literary practice has the most impact on legal practice because those with the power to impose legal requirements can create the spark that will bring a legal problem to life.I encourage you to find out more about Jennifer McQuillan's work. I have heard she does not hold any license, but she is excellent at creating a text that will help you think about litigators, the legal system, and the power of fiction.