hero’s journey
Anastasia Screams In Vain: The Devil’s Coming For Melissa Lucio
I Stuck around St. Petersburg, when I saw it was a time for a change. Killed the Tsar and his ministers, Anastasia screamed in vain. –Sympathy for the Devil, The Rolling Stones The famous Stones song is a meditation on evil. If we have some understanding of the devil’s work, we may better understand the…
Every good story has meaning!
We humans are undeniably creatures of story. Think of how empty life would be without ever having been transfixed by images dancing before our eyes in a dark movie theatre, engrossed in an incredible page-turner, or mesmerized by a master storyteller weaving a yarn around a roaring campfire. But stories are not just for entertainment. …
The Labor of Law – Save Yourself and You Save the World
Next month I will have officially reached my twenty-fifth year of lawyering; the majority of those years were spent slogging through the litigation trenches as a state and federal public defender. These can be dark waters we lawyers swim in. We confront people at their lowest moments in life. We absorb trauma vicariously through our…
Sometimes It Rains: A Fantastic New Podcast for fans of Sport and Court!
Until the Work Is Done
The Professor, The Porn Star, & The Death of Empathy: 3 Surprising Podcasts That Will Make Us Better Lawyers
Litigation is a battle of stories; the lawyer who presents the most compelling and authentic story wins every time. It never ceases to amaze me how little we lawyers are ever taught about story fundamentals. The good news is we are surrounded by great stories. The better news? Free resources abound to help us master…
The 3 “Rs” of Sentencing Storytelling.
No matter what the case, there are only three types of sentencing stories defense lawyers ever tell. I call them the 3 “Rs”, and they are: REASONS, RELATIVITY and REDEMPTION. Every case has at least one. With a little bit of luck and whole lot of elbow grease, you may uncover all three. Understanding these…
The Secret Sauce of Master Storytelling: How “The Hero’s Journey” Can Change the Way You Practice Law.
What Penguins Can Teach Lawyers About “Minding the Gap”
Forget the inauguration. This Friday, January 20, 2017, is National Penguin Awareness Day! I swear, that’s really a thing. Google it. So, what do penguins have to do with lawyers and their clients? I’ll get there. I promise! Read on. Would it make our jobs easier if our clients, particularly those that will one day…