Guide to Legal Writing
May 29, 2026
How figurative language makes complex ideas more persuasive
Figurative language is the food processor of persuasion: It purees emotional resistance, slices through entrenched positions and breaks down complex ideas into digestible nuggets.
Jamie A. Jacobs-May
Mediator, arbitrator and court-appointed neutral
JAMS
Hon. Jamie Jacobs-May (Ret.), is a highly regarded mediator, arbitrator and court-appointed neutral with JAMS, based in Silicon Valley. With more than 31 years of judicial and ADR experience, including 21 years on the Santa Clara County Superior Court bench and service as Presiding Judge, Judge Jacobs-May handles a broad range of complex matters, including business and commercial disputes, employment, wage and hour and PAGA claims, class actions, probate and trusts, professional liability and personal injury cases.
Great news. This is not an article that requires the reader to learn (or relearn) the distinctions between metaphors, similes and analogies. Indeed, for our purposes, they all do the same thing, along with other linguistic devices, and will collectively be called figurative language.
Figurative language uses words or phrases to imply meanings beyond their literal definitions. It takes an object or action and compares it t...
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