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The Writer's Guide to the Courtroom: Let's Quill All the Lawyers
The Writer's Guide to the Courtroom: Let's Quill All the Lawyers
$18.95
Paperback
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BOOK DETAILS

  • Paperback
  • Feb.01.2010
  • 9781933016535

Donna gives an overview of the book:

Why All Writers Need The Writer's Guide To The Courtroom Maybe you have a novel, story, screenplay, or other writing project that has a character involved with the court system. Or you're a journalist writing a story about a court case. (Some law students and new lawyers have said they found it useful too, but we can't vouch for its exam-worthiness). When you write, sometimes you don't know where your mind will take you. Maybe there's a character in your head but you haven't decided what to do with them. Or you have a plot that's stuck. The law is a great device for writers. It can add an obstacle, a sexy twist, or a fun character to your story. The law can also accidentally drift into your plot, and laypeople who read your books, watch your shows, or read your arti
Read full overview »

Why All Writers Need The Writer's Guide To The Courtroom

Maybe you have a novel, story, screenplay, or other writing project that has a character involved with the court system. Or you're a journalist writing a story about a court case. (Some law students and new lawyers have said they found it useful too, but we can't vouch for its exam-worthiness).

When you write, sometimes you don't know where your mind will take you. Maybe there's a character in your head but you haven't decided what to do with them. Or you have a plot that's stuck. The law is a great device for writers. It can add an obstacle, a sexy twist, or a fun character to your story.

The law can also accidentally drift into your plot, and laypeople who read your books, watch your shows, or read your arti

Read an excerpt »

 

 

Chapter 4 – Legal Ethics

 

 

Yes. You read that right – legal ethics. Har de har. Go ahead. Get it out of your system. How about this one? Why do scientists prefer using lawyers over lab rats? There are some things lab rats just won’t do. Are we done?

Yes, I know you think lawyers don’t have ethics. But ethical gaffes in shows and novels about lawyers just make me steam. My favorite TV groaner is the one where the lawyer switched sides in the middle of the case. What the writer of that episode didn’t show was the disbarment proceeding that would have taken place right afterward.

I’m going to talk here about some of the things you may not know about lawyers’ ethical rules and how they may affect your stories.

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Conflict of Interest

I didn’t think it needed to be said until I saw it on a TV show. I’ll say it again here. The lawyer can’t switch sides in the middle of the case. It can never happen. The lawyer cannot handle a case against the interest of a current client. The lawyer cannot handle a case against the interest of a former client regarding the matter they handled for the former client. The lawyer’s firm cannot handle one side of the case with the lawyer handling the other.

So, let’s say your character is a homeowner whose house is sitting on a toxic waste dump. He goes to his deposition and decides that he likes the other side’s lawyer better than his own. No matter how much he begs, no matte

donna-ballman's picture

Note from the author coming soon...

About Donna

It was through Litopia Writer’s Colony that Donna met Lynn Price, editor of Behler Publications. Lynn loved Donna’s fiction but Behler doesn’t publish children’s books. When Lynn heard that Donna was a lawyer, Lynn told Donna that she loved Donna’s writing, and that she...

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Published Reviews

Jul.29.2010

"Ms. Ballman, has a clear understanding of what it would be like to have to research a topic from scratch and write a fiction book because she gives the right information for an author doing just that. Her...

May.24.2011

The Writer's Guide to the Courtroom is a fine writing reference that covers all the basics of the legal system for any writer seeking to incorporate the justice system into fiction. From depositions and...