Getting the Reader to Say “Yes”: Applying Negotiation Principles from the Books Getting to Yes and Getting Past No to Achieve Effective and Persuasive Legal Writing

Authors

Patricia G. Montana, St. John's University School of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Loyola University Chicago Law Review

Publication Date

2025

Volume

56

First Page

157

Abstract

This Article explores the relationship between the strategies of principled negotiation and effective persuasive legal writing as articulated in the best-selling books, Getting to Yes and Getting Past No. Though there is substantial scholarship advocating adding a negotiation component to legal writing instruction, there is little scholarship addressing how to apply the concepts of principled negotiation to persuasive writing itself. In this Article, the Author explains the foundational concepts of principled negotiation and then shows how they relate and apply to drafting an effective piece of persuasive legal writing. Looking at written advocacy through a negotiation lens reinforces good writing habits, the importance of organization, appropriate tone, use of precedent, and consideration of audience, among other things. Therefore, legal writing students should be encouraged to incorporate principled negotiation theory into their persuasive writing process.

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Available at: https://loyola-chicago-law-journal.scholasticahq.com/article/144807