The American Bar Association now requires law schools to provide “education to law students on bias, cross-cultural competency, and racism.”[1] But how can a law professor navigate these challenges in the current cultural climate fraught with polarizing divisiveness?

Pop culture can teach us a lot about the law: almost everyone knows the Miranda warnings and can recite them by heart, thanks to Law and Order and other crime dramas,[1] the concept of a “conservatorship” is familiar to many because of Brittany Spears,[2] and the notorious RBG has become a household name, recognizable in a crown and jabot, partly due to Kate McKinnon’s portrayal on SNL.

1. Introduction

Theme is vitally important in persuasive advocacy, whether written or oral. It took me several jury trials and a few seasons coaching high school mock trial to feel like I understood how to persuasively use a theme as a lawyer. Thus, I wanted to develop an exercise that helped first-year law students begin to grasp the idea of using a theme to advocate for their client. I created an exercise using opening statements from prominent criminal jury trials.