Relational Negotiation in Legal Closing Arguments

Abstract

This study explores the ways in which lawyers perform relational work with jurors in an understudied area of courtroom discourse, the closing argument (Rosulek, 2015). Incorporating the concept of engagement (Hyland, 2001, 2005), the qualitative analysis focuses on the form and functions of addressee features, including pronominal choices, questions, directives, references to shared knowledge, and asides. The findings reveal that these features not merely foster solidarity and enhance interpersonal relations between addresser and addressee, but also constitute a key way to the meaning-making process. The findings attest to the centrality of interpersonal negotiation in institutional discourse.