Individuals tend to think of law as a body of institutions and rules that govern a society with the intention of maintaining social order, upholding justice and resolving disputes in the interests of the common good. However, any legal system must be more deeply founded than that if it is to last for long and operate effectively. This essay will explore concepts on the storied nature of law. In recognising that stories are an important part not only of individual understanding of the world, but also in interpreting the law, this essay will seek to expose the myth of objectivity in legal narratives by exploring the favouring of facts within stories of legal adjudication and interpretation.
Stories are one way that individuals deal with their …show more content…
It is contended that these narratives deployed by the majority judges, as well as those of the judges in dissent, reflect and reinforce dominant ideas about women, men and social class, which determined not only the specific outcome of the case but also the development of the doctrine of unconscionable dealing on which it was supposedly based. The classroom dialogue tell three stories, each being different, yet they are all derived from the same evidence, the same facts, presented at the trial. Not only does the interpretation of that evidence differ from story to story, but the ‘facts’ are indeed different in the process of developing each particular narrative. It is the claim that legal narratives are structured in ways which exclude, silence and oppress ‘outsiders’ – those not part of the dominant culture, particularly people of colour, women and the poor – that gives legal storytelling its explicitly political flavour encouraging the courts to examine more deeply for narrative …show more content…
They are using this process not only to make sense of the law but also to analyse and reflect with what they perceive to be positive and negative aspects of lawyering and that part of the individuals developing legal identity is a recognition that to be a lawyer requires ethical considerations. Placed at the intersection of law, society and popular culture through storytelling individuals are able to discuss and (re) tell the stories of popular culture, and in doing so are articulating their own process of ethical judgement and identity construction. Storytelling is not about ensuring individuals implement the ‘right’ values or moral, but instead an opportunity to provide a basis for effective and appropriate personal and professional decision-making, enabling to develop and evaluate their values and attitudes in a self-reflective