Module 1
Why visuals matter in legal work: one message, one audience, one picture
Lawyers are trained in words, and for good reason: the law is made of them. Yet much of what a lawyer must communicate is not easy to take in as words alone. A timeline of eighteen events, the structure of a corporate group, the trend in a client’s complaints, the spread of settlements in a type of dispute, the steps of a regulatory process: all are easier to grasp as a well-made picture than as three pages of text. The reader understands faster, remembers longer and can check the argument more easily. The same power is also a danger. A picture feels objective, so a misleading one persuades more strongly than a misleading sentence, and a clumsy one can bury the point in decoration. This course teaches visual storytelling for lawyers: choosing the picture that carries one message to one audience, drawing it honestly, putting numbers in forms that people can understand, and building slides and documents that support an argument. It is practical and does not need design skills. This first module sets out what visuals do, the questions to ask before making one, and the duties that come with the power. It is written in jurisdiction-neutral terms with invented examples, and says where rules on exhibits and evidence differ.
Hover over an idea to light up what it connects to, click it for its definition, minimum requirements, an example and the usual trap, press Play to watch the map build step by step, or trace a short case through it.
Simplified teaching map, in general terms. Check the law where you work. On a small screen, scroll the map sideways.
By the end of this module you can
- Say what a visual can do that text cannot.
- Think about the audience first.
- Give each visual one message.
- Plan a visual from its purpose.
- Recognise the risks and the duty of accuracy.
Part 1. The lecture
What a picture can do that text cannot
| Job | Why a picture helps | Example (invented) |
|---|---|---|
| Show structure | Relationships are spatial: who owns what, who reports to whom | A chart of a corporate group with percentages of ownership on the lines |
| Show sequence and time | The eye follows a line from left to right and sees gaps and clusters | A timeline of the events between a notice and a termination, with the days between them |
| Show comparison | Differences in size are seen at once as differences in length | Bars comparing the claims paid by three insurers |
| Show change | A slope shows speed and direction, which a list of numbers does not | A line of monthly complaints before and after a new process |
| Show spread | A cloud of results shows what is typical and what is unusual | A histogram of settlement amounts as a share of the claim |
| Show a process or decision | Branches and loops are hard to describe in prose | A flow chart of the steps from a data breach to a report |
- Pictures reduce load. A reader who must hold ten facts in mind to follow a paragraph can instead see them together.
- They aid memory. People tend to remember the shape of a trend long after the figures have gone.
- They invite checking. A good chart shows its data and its scale, so that the reader can see whether the claim fits.
- They do not replace words. A picture needs a title that states the point and a line that says what to notice.
Start with the audience
| Audience | What they need | What to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| A client | The answer to their question, in terms of their own interests, with the risk and the next step | Detail that proves how much work you did |
| A board or committee | A decision to be made, the options and the figures that decide it, in a page or two | Methodology before conclusions |
| A judge or tribunal | Accuracy, a clear source and a presentation that helps them follow the evidence | Persuasive decoration, advocacy in the labels, anything that goes beyond the evidence |
| A jury or lay decision-maker | Simplicity, plain words, a few strong images and nothing that needs technical training to read | Jargon, many series, small type |
| A regulator or opposing lawyer | A method they can check, with data available, where nothing is hidden | Selective periods or scales, which invite attack |
| Colleagues and specialists | Enough detail to check and reuse the work | Oversimplification that hides the assumptions |
- Ask what they already know, what they want to decide and how much time they have.
- Ask what they will do with the picture. A board slide is looked at for seconds; an exhibit in court may be examined for an hour.
- Ask who else will see it. Pictures travel: a chart from a client briefing can end up in a news story or a court bundle.
One message per visual, and planning from the purpose
The most common failure in legal visuals is the picture that shows everything and says nothing. The remedy is a rule: every visual makes one point, and you can state the point in one sentence before you draw it.
- Write the message as a sentence. ‘Late deliveries rose from 4 per cent to 11 per cent of orders in two years.’ If you cannot write it, you are not ready to draw it.
- Say what the reader should do or decide as a result: approve the budget, accept the settlement figure, take a different view of the facts.
- Choose the form that shows the message (Module 2). The message tells you what to compare or which change to show.
- Draw only what supports it. Remove every element that does not serve the message: gridlines, legends you can replace with labels, decoration, extra series.
- Make the message the title, and put what to notice on the picture itself, with a label or a highlight.
- Check that it is honest (Module 3), and that the reader can find the source.
- Test it on someone who does not know the matter. Ask what they take from it. If it is not your message, change the picture.
Show, then tell
A good legal visual is part of the argument, not an illustration of it. The title states the claim, the picture shows the evidence for it, and a short note says what to conclude. If the picture would be as good with a different title, it is not yet doing any work.
The risks, and the duty of accuracy
- A picture feels like fact. Readers trust charts, which is why a misleading one is more dangerous than a misleading sentence. The same data can be drawn to alarm or to reassure.
- Oversimplification. A single bar can hide an enormous spread. A diagram of a company group may leave out the entities that matter. Say what you left out.
- Selectivity. The period, the scale and the comparison are all choices. Make them for a reason that you can state, and be ready to show the whole data.
- Professional duties. Misrepresenting facts or evidence to a court, a regulator or the other side is a breach of conduct rules whatever the medium. A visual exhibit can be misleading even if each number is true. Rules on demonstrative exhibits, disclosure and the admission of charts differ by country and court; check them where you practise.
- Confidentiality. A chart may reveal more than you intended, through small numbers, names or labels. Check before it leaves the room.
- Accessibility. Colour-blind readers, readers who use screen readers and people looking at a small screen all matter. Do not rely on colour alone, give images a text description and make type large enough.
The rest of the course follows the process: choosing the chart (Module 2), drawing it honestly (3), putting numbers in a form that people understand (4), timelines and diagrams (5), slides and documents (6) and exhibits, ethics and the use of AI in making visuals (7). The four tools are small versions of the checks that a careful lawyer carries in their head.
Part 2. Lab: Picture or Prose
Choose the best form for each job.
Situation 1 of 3
You must explain to a client who owns what in a group of seven companies, including a trust and two minority holders.
What is the best way?
Part 3. Lab: Know the Audience
Sort each approach by the audience it best suits.
Situation 1 of 6
A plain chart with one message in the title, large labels and no jargon.
Where does this belong?
Part 4. Lab: Spot the Muddle
Click the sentences that describe a muddled visual, or mark the sound ones.
A team’s notes on its draft visuals
Click every sentence that causes a problem, then press Check. There may be 3 problems, and some sentences are fine.
Part 5. Check your understanding
Ten questions drawn from a larger pool. Sign in to have your score saved towards your certificate.
You have finished the free module
Here is what you can do now, and where the course goes next
Module 1 gave you
- Say what a visual can do that text cannot.
- Think about the audience first.
- Give each visual one message.
- Plan a visual from its purpose.
- Recognise the risks and the duty of accuracy.
Next, 6 more modules and a capstone
- Module 2: Choosing the right chart: from the question to the formYou will learn to start from the question the reader needs answered.
- Module 3: Drawing honest charts: baselines, denominators, periods and what is left outYou will learn to explain why bars start at zero.
- Module 4: Numbers people can understand: frequencies, relative and absolute change and honest framingYou will learn to use natural frequencies.
- Module 5: Timelines, diagrams and structure: showing sequence, process and relationshipsYou will learn to design a timeline that makes a point.
- Module 6: Slides and one-page summaries: building an argument people can follow
- Module 7: Exhibits, ethics and AI-made visuals: using pictures responsibly
- Capstone: Capstone: Calder Valley Water
Each module has its own practice labs and a graded quiz, and a Certificate of Completion follows when you pass them all. The whole course is $15 once, or included in an All-Access Membership.
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General education on visual communication for lawyers, using invented organisations, people, data and cases. It states common practice in simplified form and does not describe any one country's law or court rules, which differ and change; rules on exhibits, demonstrative aids, disclosure, candour and confidentiality in particular vary. The tools apply simple rules to descriptions and text that you supply. It is not legal advice, and it does not replace advice from a qualified lawyer on a real matter.
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