The Old Razzle Dazzle

Jack Cook

TLU New York City | September 20th - 23rd

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If “all the world is a stage,” as Shakespeare once quipped, then a courtroom during trial is center stage under the bright lights of Radio City Music Hall. In the hit musical Chicago, we find attorney Billy Flynn, the silver-tongued prince of the courtroom who has created a cottage industry of getting jazzy women off for murder. The 11 o’clock number in that show, “Razzle Dazzle,” features Billy singing about how a little “razzle dazzle” will keep the jury focused away from the true facts of the case on their way to falling in love with the accused and clearing her for murder. As he sings “as long as you keep them off of balance, they’ll never know you’ve got no talent,” acrobats descend from the ceiling on ropes, contortionists do tricks on the witness stand, and scantily clad dancers take turns turning, bending, flipping and smiling to avert the juror’s gaze. While the metaphor is at its extreme during the song, it wisely recognizes the power of the performer to direct the jury’s gaze in any direction with a touch of razzle dazzle.

Have you ever been to a bad play or musical? Some are unbearable, and others are unwatchable. Bad trials are the same. A jury, very much like an audience, probably has little to no familiarity with what they are about to watch. In both situations, theatrics are anticipated, if not expected. In both situations, it is the role of the performers/presenters to set the stage, set the scene, set the mood, and deliver content designed to spurn emotion. In both situations, the goal is to suspend the viewer’s reality, and replace it with the one you have created, with the added challenge of never letting the audience see the strings. t is only in these moments that they will be fully focused on the message, and receiving in the way you chose to present. Take the ventriloquist. Everyone in the audience knows the man is the one speaking, yet our eyes are fixated on the puppet.If the ventriloquist is good, we may never look at him/her. Like all tools in your trial bag, performance and theatrics are ones that need to be constantly refined, sharpened, and reshaped. If these are tools missing from your bag, it’s time to embrace the reality that good evidence alone will not win a case absent a good performance.

Join me in New York City for a dynamic and groundbreaking workshop where we will explore the lost art of the Razzle Dazzle and break down every aspect of trial in terms of Sizzle v. Steak. This workshop is for anyone who considers themselves to be a trial lawyer, as well as those litigators who need polish in their mediation game. I bring over 40 years of experience in the Performing Arts as an actor, singer, dancer, comedian, and director. While I currently practice law full-time as the Managing Partner of Morgan & Morgan’s Birth Injury Department, I still routinely engage in performing to include stand-up, improv, musicals, plays, dinner theater and fronting a band. Each performance helps sharped my performance game for trial. Find out how doing the same can step up your game and help you develop skills that translate to winning performances. Like the arts, the foundation is passion.

As with any play/show, while it all looks very easy, in reality it represents thousands of hours and thousands of dollar of preparation to get every detail right. A flawless performance is one where that hard work produces a seamless break from reality for the viewers, one which puts them in the best place to receive the message and emote as you intend them to. This workshop will include the following:

• Costumes: How your and your client’s trial fashion can set an early dynamic.
• Scenery: How dynamic presentation can help tell the story through use of graphics and technology, and the importance of courtroom layout.
• Props: How good props translate into winning issues, and how bad props can deliver the wrong message.
• Blocking: How to make dynamic and meaningful movements around the courtroom, including during voir dire, opening/closing, and questioning of witnesses. How to effectively use your hands and body to tell the story.
• Dialogue: How to use communication with witnesses, the Judge, opposing counsel, and your own staff to your advantage.
• Directing: How to choose what scene you want to create, and how to create it to advance the performance you want in your case.
• Improv: How to take advantage of spontaneous moments by turning them into performance pieces which advance your agenda.
• Monologuing: How to use Shakespearean dynamics to be the most compelling and persuasive performer on the stage.

If you have tried 5 cases or 50, this is an area of your craft that needs a dust-off as juries are forever changing. This workshop will focus on the little nuances that will help take your trial game over the stop with regards to performance and presentation. As I always say to my associates, be short, be long, be right, be wrong, just please do not be boring, because they will never forgive us for it. See you under the lights!