Symposium: The Impact of Cognitive Bias on Persuasion and Writing Strategies

Friday, March 1, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm, Brooklyn Law School, Subotnick Center, 250 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Co-Sponsored by: Brooklyn Law School Legal Writing Program, Center for the Study of Law, Language and Cognition, Journal of Law and Policy

Please RSVP online by Wednesday, February 27: http://www.brooklaw.edu/cognitivebias

ABOUT THE SYMPOSIUM: Research into the psychology of decision-making has demonstrated that when people are called upon to process complex and ambiguous information, they rely on mental shortcuts to ease the cognitive burden of these tasks. Such heuristics and biases, as they are called, sometimes lead to faulty judgments because they are naturalistic and intuitive (involving, for example, "gut instincts" and personal experience), and prone to error more than are analytical judgments based on careful consideration and logical processing of the information presented.

The legal profession has explored the role of cognitive bias in many domains, ranging from their contributions to jury-based and judiciary decision-making to their influence on negotiation. This symposium refocuses the discussion by looking at the function and role of cognitive bias in legal writing and explores both the persuasive power and the related ethical challenges of cognitive bias in this realm, with an emphasis on improving legal writing and legal writing strategy.

PARTICIPANTS:
- Linda L. Berger, Family Foundation Professor of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law
- Elizabeth Fajans, Associate Professor of Legal Writing, Brooklyn Law School
- Michael J. Higdon, Director of Legal Writing and Associate Professor of Law, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville College of Law
- Daniel S. Medwed, Professor of Law, Northeastern University School of Law
- Bret A. Rappaport, Partner, Hardt, Stern & Kayne, P.C., English Professor, Dominican University
- Michael R. Smith, Director, Legal Writing Program, Director, Center for the Study of Written Advocacy, Professor of Law, University of Wyoming College of Law
- Lawrence Solan, Director, Center for the Study of Law, Language and Cognition
- Don Forchelli, Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School
- Kathryn M. Stanchi, Professor of Law, Temple University Beasley School of Law
- Marilyn Walter, Director, Legal Writing Program, Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School