Shakespeare for Lawyers: Rhetorical Power in the Courtroom: Volume 2

This is Volume 2 of the “Shakespeare for Lawyers” series and picks up where Volume 1 left off — with Rhetoric, a topic that you...

Cross-Examination of Expert Witnesses

In this ebook, I will discuss strategies for cross-examining expert witnesses. We’ll begin with an overview of the rules of evidence governing experts as well...

Beyond a Shadow of a Doubt – Harnessing the Power of Psychology in the Courtroom to Win Your Client’s Case

Human expression has always fascinated me. In this ebook, I begin by addressing the “villain” stereotype that is hoisted on a criminal defendant from the...

Unscripted Advocacy: How to Free Your Opening & Closing from the Page and Escape the Tyranny of the Text

Virtually every performance coach would agree that memorized text should be spoken in a way that makes the listener feel that the thoughts are coming...

Silencing the Inner Critic Both In Court and Out

This ebook provides a comprehensive exploration of the theme of perfectionism, the inner critic, and the importance of being present in both personal and professional...

Storytelling in the Courtroom: The ‘Arc’ of Telling a Riveting Story

In this ebook, I will cover the beats that all great stories go through. From there, I’ll discuss the importance of finding the tempo of...

Theater of the Courtroom: Connecting to the Jury and Finding Justice through Dramatic Technique

dated: Aug 12, 2025 At first blush, the similarities between the theater and the courtroom might seem as disparate as the difference between the lightning...

Sharpening the Five Senses through “Sense Memory” for Rich and Layered Storytelling in the Courtroom

Updated: Aug 12, 2025 To be captivating storytellers, we need to learn to use the five senses when telling our client’s story. The five senses...

From Jury to Judgment: A Modern Guide to Storytelling Strategies for Courtroom Success

As a trial lawyer, what do you really need in order to win your case? Attention — the jury’s attention.   I don’t mean that...

The Field Beyond Right and Wrong: Embracing Authenticity in Law and Life

In today’s world, we are so obsessed by how we are perceived by others. Our personas reflect this. In fact, we spend such a disproportionate...

Don’t Get Upstaged: Staging in the Courtroom for Lawyers

Studies show that only seven percent of what we communicate are our spoken words. As much as 93% of what we communicate is nonverbal. Our bodies...

Closing Argument: It Ain’t Over ’til It’s Over

Closing argument is a great persuasive device to help you win your case. It is the most powerful part of the trial. It comes last...

The Hidden Battleground: How Trial Lawyers Win (or Lose) Before the Jury Ever Arrives

Every trial lawyer knows the truth: the real fight happens long before the jury files into the box. The pre-trial phase is where narratives are shaped, leverage...

The Fearless Advocate: Acting, Authenticity, and the Truth of the Moment in the Courtroom

Updated: Dec 1, 2025 The part of you that wants to show and to impress the jury is scared. Those same thoughts that race through an actor’s mind—What if...

Inside the Jury Box: How Great Trial Lawyers Command Every Stage of a Jury Trial

Every trial lawyer remembers their first jury trial—not because they were brilliant, composed, or in complete control, but because they weren’t. Nothing prepares you for...

How Trial Attorneys Can Use the 3 Modes and the 6 Revelations to Win in Court

This is the sequel to, “When Words Become Action: The Physical Power of Speech in the Courtroom.”   I. Using the 3 Shapes or Modes...

The Seven Ways Lawyers Win: Using Classical Style to Persuade Juries

The classical styles of speech were not abstract theories but practical tools, long refined and tested for their persuasive power. Originating in antiquity, preserved through...

How Trial Attorneys Can Use Hermogenes’ Seven Styles to Win Cases

Hermogenes’ Seven Styles describe distinct energetic qualities of speech. In the courtroom, these become strategic tools for shaping juror perception, guiding emotion, and controlling meaning. Each style is...

Cross-Examination in Action: How Listening Changes the Next Question

Below are practical examples showing how each type of listening directly shapes the very next cross-examination question. These are moments where disciplined listening—not scripted questions—creates leverage....

Listening as Advocacy: How Trial Attorneys Can Use Different Types of Listening in the Courtroom

  Trial lawyers are trained extensively in speaking—opening statements, examinations, objections, and closing arguments. Far less attention is paid to listening. Yet in trial practice,...

You Can’t Handle the Truth—But You Can Cross-Examine It: What Hollywood Courtroom Showdowns Still Teach Trial Lawyers

  Trial lawyers love courtroom dramas for the same reason jurors do: conflict, control, and revelation. But beneath the theatrics, the best courtroom scenes in...

Acting for Lawyers: Connecting to the Jury & Finding Justice Through Dramatic Technique

What if the most powerful trial skill isn’t legal knowledge—but presence?   In Acting for Lawyers, trial attorney and trained actor Michael DeBlis III, Esq. reveals how the...

Sentencing Joe Goldberg: Mitigation When the Monster Is Human

What Criminal Defense Attorneys Can Learn from Netflix’s You     Premise: Assume Joe Goldberg—the obsessive, lethal protagonist of You—has been charged with all known killings, convicted after trial,...

When Words Become Action: The Physical Power of Speech in the Courtroom

Michael J. DeBlis III, Esq. Dec 9, 2025 4 min read In the courtroom, speech is never just words—it is action. Every sentence a trial...

Justice on the Move: Trial Advocacy Lessons from The Lincoln Lawyer

Quick Series Primer (For the Uninitiated) The Lincoln Lawyer (Netflix) follows Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller, who famously runs his law practice out of the...

Silent Persuasion: How Trial Lawyers Can Use Hand Gestures to Influence Juries (Without Saying a Word)

Michael J. DeBlis III, Esq. Jan 15 4 min read   Jurors do not just listen to lawyers—they watch them. Long before a jury consciously evaluates your argument, their...

The Laws of Motion in the Courtroom: Using Physical Storytelling to Persuade Juries

    Trial lawyers are storytellers first and technicians second. Jurors do not experience a trial as a stack of briefs or a checklist of...

“Turn Off the Radio”: Why a 1959 Letter Still Speaks to Trial Lawyers in 2026

On December 14, 1959, C. S. Lewis wrote a short letter to a schoolgirl in America who had asked for advice on writing. His eight...

The Five Beats That Win Verdicts: Advanced Storytelling Techniques for Trial Attorneys

Trial lawyers love facts.   Jurors love stories.   And the verdict is rendered by jurors—not lawyers.   The Five Beats storytelling framework taught by Michael...

From Instinct to Influence

e Michael J. DeBlis III, Esq. Mar 6 2 min read     This reaction has a name: the startle reflex. Humans share it with every...

From Accused to Understood: Using the Hero’s Journey to Win the Story at Trial

Trial lawyers are trained to master facts, evidence, and legal standards. But jurors don’t decide cases based on information alone—they decide based on meaning. And meaning...

Your Most Powerful Trial Tool Isn’t What You Say—It’s How You Say It

Trial attorneys spend countless hours refining what to say in an opening statement—facts, themes, structure. But jurors don’t experience your case on paper. They experience it through your...

Direct Examination Is Your Star Witness: How to Make Testimony Come Alive in the Courtroom

By Michael DeBlis III, Esq.   Most trial lawyers obsess over cross-examination. It’s flashy. It’s confrontational. It wins headlines.   But trials are rarely won...

Objectives, Obstacles, and Tactics: What Trial Lawyers Can Learn from Human Behavior About Cross-Examination

    Most trial attorneys were taught that cross-examination is warfare.   Attack the witness. Control the witness. Corner the witness. Expose the witness. Destroy...

Poor Theater, Powerful Trials: What Jerzy Grotowski Can Teach Every Trial Attorney

  The greatest trial lawyers do not win because they have the flashiest PowerPoint presentation, the most sophisticated trial technology, or the slickest courtroom graphics....

The Magic That Cannot Be Scripted: Why Every Trial Lawyer Should Think Like an Actor

  There is a mystery at the heart of every great trial. It cannot be outlined. It cannot be rehearsed into existence. It cannot be...

Silent Persuasion: How Trial Lawyers Can Use Hand Gestures to Influence Juries (Without Saying a Word)

From Instinct to Influence

The Most Important Trial Happening Isn’t in the Courtroom—It’s Inside You

What Richard Schwartz’s Internal Family Systems Model Can Teach Trial Lawyers About Presence, Persuasion, and Professional Resilience Every trial lawyer knows the feeling. The courtroom...

The Most Important Trial Happening Isn’t in the Courtroom—It’s Inside You

What Richard Schwartz’s Internal Family Systems Model Can Teach Trial Lawyers About Presence, Persuasion, and Professional Resilience Every trial lawyer knows the feeling. The courtroom...