Enhancing Courtroom Presence Through the Integration of Theater, Psychology, and Legal Skills
“Movement psychology” is a branch of psychology that emerged in the early twentieth century with the research of the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. The work was further developed by Rudolph Laban, the architect of European contemporary dance, and completed by the Swiss dancer and actor Yat Malmgren in the middle of the twentieth century.
Yat recognized that this would be a powerful tool for actors and went on to complete Laban's theory. He extended Laban’s ideas by creating a psychological typology which brings together Laban and Stanislavsky. Inner motivation and outer expression are linked together, leading to the detailed and accurate construction of character.
Yat taught this work to many acting students at the Drama Centre in London. His students included Anthony Hopkins, Sean Connery, and Colin Firth, to name a few. How is this work useful for lawyers? First and foremost, I believe that this work is enormously useful for storytellers, which is a crucial skill for lawyers when it comes to telling their client’s story to a jury. Very simply, the lawyer must tell their client’s story from the perspective of many different people (i.e., witnesses), none of whom is alike.
Practically speaking, this presentation could help litigation attorneys when it comes to cross-examining witnesses by helping them to identify a witness’s inner attitudes and thus what behavior would be most beneficial to adopt when it comes to questioning that witness in order to elicit favorable testimony.
It can also be enormously helpful during jury selection, as you will come to find out. This work is taught to law enforcement officials to aid in interrogating suspects and constructing profiles of potential suspects when leads are scarce. It’s called 'Movement Pattern Analysis.' Thus, a collateral benefit is to put attorneys on a level playing field with law enforcement.
Trial, entertainment law and U.S. international tax law
Michael is a partner in the boutique law firm of DeBlis Law where he specializes in tax compliance and entertainment law. Michael graduated from Western Michigan University School of Law in 2007 and later went on to earn his Masters of Law in taxation (LL.M.) from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in 2012. As a former public defender, Michael has spent nearly eight years cutting his teeth on some of the most serious felony cases to pass through the state courts of New Jersey. Michael’s unique background in tax law puts him into an elite category of criminal defense attorneys who specialize in criminal tax defense. His extensive trial experience and solid grounding in all major areas of federal taxation make him uniquely qualified to handle any white-collar case, no matter how sophisticated it might be. Michael is known for his creativity, his charismatic personality, and his unyielding dedication to his clients. As a graduate of the National Criminal Defense College, Michael has trained under some of the best known criminal defense attorneys in the country. That experience has taught him that justice for a person accused of a crime is only won through a full understanding of the client and the case. To that end, Michael attempts to understand each client’s case as a convincing narrative, not just as a set of innocuous facts and arcane legal rules. When he's not in the courtroom, you can find Michael on stage. As a professionally trained actor, Michael's passionate about helping trial lawyers harness the power of persuasion and positive communication in the courtroom in order to connect to the jury on a human level. Michael's training as an actor allows him to combine a unique blend of left-brain thinking with right brain artistry to make even the most dull and abstract areas of the law come to life. This burst of creativity has contributed to Michael's success as a distinguished author and sought-out speaker. Michael has written articles that have been published in leading tax journals, such as "CCH Journal of Tax Practice and Procedure," "EA Journal," "Global Tax Weekly," and "ABA News Quarterly" and is a columnist for "Law360." He has been featured on the media affiliates of several major media networks, including NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, and CNN. Michael is a living example of the tremendous power that comes from combining passion, preparation, persuasion, and positive communication in the courtroom. His courage and relentless work ethic have earned him a reputation as a zealous advocate and one of New Jersey's rising stars of the legal profession.
