Visualizing the Law
by Dr Low Kee Yang
“Visualizing the Law” is a seminal publication in several ways. First, it takes up an important aspect of legal life which has, for too long, not been the subject of systematic study and analysis in Singapore’s legal literature. The study, teaching and practice of law depend on a strong understanding of the content of the law and how its various components work together. Visual tools are often an integral part of these processes and help students, academics and lawyers to crystallize their understanding and to distil that understanding into a visual form. These visual works can then be checked with others, used as a reference tool and even as an explanatory aid to lay clients in some situations.
Secondly, this book shares Professor Low’s ideas and experiences in the use of visual tools gleaned from his decades of teaching experience and his many conversations with those learning the law. The book not only provides the rationales for visualization, but also many practical methods for doing so. The illustrations are multifaceted and draw from case concepts and comparisons of approaches in legal reasoning, and sample “visuals” are included to demonstrate these uses of visualization. The chapters lead the reader in a logical fashion to first appreciate the rationale for visualization, before providing a series of highly practical steps to translate one’s understanding of the law into visual formats. The book ends with a lovely “bonus” in the form of a number of unusual (and entertaining) Appendixes. These share the creative efforts of Professor Low and contributions of his past students (and others) in the form of poems, lyrics to a rap, diagrams and drawings.
As the book helpfully explains, whether they are used to explain, compare, analyze or to link legal elements, implications of the law, case law developments or statutory provisions, visuals serve an important purpose in the journey of law students and lawyers. As the old adage goes, a picture can be worth a thousand words.
Professor Low also points out that visuals are not confined to “mind maps” – a common tool used in learning and teaching – and can, in fact, run the gamut from Venn diagrams to equations. Indeed, the book highlights the fact that as individuals learn in different ways, different visualization methods can be employed in the learning process for optimal effect. One might venture to suggest that the book taps on the “Arte/Scienza” nexus often associated with the great Leonardo da Vinci, in which the logical, analytical part of one’s brain is balanced with its creative, innovative side, as visuals in law are really expressions of legal notions in graphic or symbolic forms. In fact, da Vinci’s approach is seen to have inspired the famous “mind mapper”, Tony Buzan.
The book is dotted with numerous examples, providing the reader with useful ideas to apply visualization to areas of law beyond those discussed in its chapters. For early learners of the law, in particular, this illustrative approach makes the book a valuable and practical resource.
Finally, as we live in a world which is increasingly fascinated with visual messages conveyed in social media and the Internet, Professor Low’s book aptly taps into this interest by encouraging one to think about how legal material (often thought to be turgid and hard to navigate) can be actively visualized in novel ways. One comes away from reading the book reminded that such visuals can, if well employed, demonstrate the significance of law and its components and make learning the law an enjoyable experience.
