ABSTRACT
In this chapter we face the difficult task of introducing the reader to the rhetorical and communication research on legal communication in a few pages. Because whole books and chapters are written on any one aspect of this topic (i.e., language in the courtroom), we have decided to write a chapter that sketches the highlights of research in selected areas, outlines the main findings in each area, and provides ample references to scholarly literature. We first overview how scholars adopting a rhetorical viewpoint study legal discourse, courtroom drama, and storytelling. We then outline several areas pertinent both to the practice of lawyering and to the empirically oriented scholar.
