ABC's of Story Telling and Legal Writing

ABC’s of Story Telling and Legal Writing

Recorded: Thursday, November 4, 2021 
2.0 General & 1.0 Ethics CLE Credits | CLE# 2021-002


 

Presented by Joel Oster, Comedian at Law

What does Walt Disney, Johnny Cash and your little sibling have in common?  They all know how to tell good stories! And everyone loves a good story, including courts. This class, for all attorneys but especially for those communicating with courts, explores how the art of storytelling can be accomplished in your complaints, pleadings and memos.  You won’t ever rush through a statement of facts section again after taking this class!  The goal? To make your legal writing into a real page turner that the court won’t be able to set down.

Agenda

• Current state of legal writing – People think they get paid to sound lawyerly
• Why should you care about story telling?
• Ten steps to converting your legal writing into a story
• Examples of great story telling in pleadings
• Putting it into practice – workshop on story telling through legal writing

About the Presenter

Joel Oster, Esq. is a seasoned litigator and regular speaker to attorneys and non-attorneys alike.  He currently is in private practice in Kansas City, specializing in constitutional litigation, campaign finance, sports law and appellate advocacy.  He previously served as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom at its Kansas City Regional Service Center. While at ADF, he was counsel for the Town of Greece, New York in the landmark case Galloway v. Greece.  Joel argued the case before the United States District Court for the Western District of New York and the Second Circuit, and was part of the legal team presenting the case to the U.S. Supreme Court where they successfully defended the Town against a challenge to its practice of opening its sessions with an invocation.

Oster regularly litigates First Amendment issues.  As lead counsel in Freedom from Religion Foundation v. Obama, Oster skillfully defended the constitutionality of the National Day of Prayer against an Establishment Clause challenge. Before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, he successfully defended the right of an organization to have a pro-life specialty license plate in Missouri in Roach v. Stouffer. In Wigg v. Sioux Falls School District, he successful represented an elementary school teacher in obtaining equal access to school facilities after contract time after she was denied that right based on the viewpoint of her speech.  In addition, Oster has defended various churches based on the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, against discriminatory zoning codes and regulations.  Oster also has defended various individuals, corporations, and political committees against discriminatory and unconstitutional campaign finance regulations. 

Joel has also spoken to thousands of attorneys across the United States and has learned from their successful and unsuccessful legal practices.  Joel brings this practical perspective to all his seminars.

Oster earned his J.D. in 1997 from the University of Kansas School of Law.  Oster is admitted to the bar in Kansas, Missouri, Florida, and numerous federal courts.