The Usefulness of Theater to the Courtroom

 A judge at the circuit court of Cook County, Illinois, Megan Goldish has responsibilities that include reviewing confidential orders and motions, researching and writing orders, and presiding over hearings in court. Judge Megan Goldish loves the theater and acknowledges how instrumental it has been to her legal work.

Many experts consider law as both an art and a science. Litigation (the process of taking legal action) requires the lawyer to perform research, make a hypothesis, and either defend that hypothesis before the court or use it to counter a colleague's argument. Studying acting can help lawyers present and understand emotions and nonverbal signals that they can use to convince the jury that their argument is the reasonable truth.

For actors to convincingly play a part, they must understand the motives of their characters. Similarly, lawyers must understand the intentions of both the prosecution and the defense to present a persuasive argument.

The Usefulness of Theater to the Courtroom

 A judge at the circuit court of Cook County, Illinois, Megan Goldish has responsibilities that include reviewing confidential orders and motions, researching and writing orders, and presiding over hearings in court. Judge Megan Goldish loves the theater and acknowledges how instrumental it has been to her legal work.

Many experts consider law as both an art and a science. Litigation (the process of taking legal action) requires the lawyer to perform research, make a hypothesis, and either defend that hypothesis before the court or use it to counter a colleague's argument. Studying acting can help lawyers present and understand emotions and nonverbal signals that they can use to convince the jury that their argument is the reasonable truth.

For actors to convincingly play a part, they must understand the motives of their characters. Similarly, lawyers must understand the intentions of both the prosecution and the defense to present a persuasive argument.

A Brief History of the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois

 Judge Megan Goldish graduated with honors from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and holds a BA from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She has worked in the field of law in Cook County, Illinois, for over 22 years, including serving as a judge in the Domestic Violence Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County since 2014. In this capacity, Judge Megan Goldish reviews confidential records and motions as well as performs research and writes orders, among other duties. She is a member of various legal associations, including serving on the Board of Directors of the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois.

Established in 1914, the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois (WBAI) is one of the oldest and largest bar associations in the State of Illinois. Founded by nine female practicing Chicago lawyers, the association focused on working with the Public Defenders League for Girls in its early days, a now defunct auxiliary organization. Its current activities are mainly geared towards promoting the interests and welfare of female attorneys, as well as important social and political issues.

It seeks to promote, protect, and advance the interests of women lawyers as well as further the administration of justice by helping pass legislation for the common good. In addition to these objectives, WBAI also helps its members gain employment and is one of the first women's bar associations to allow the membership of male lawyers.

Gerry Spence Method for Trial Lawyers

Presiding over cases in the Domestic Violence Court in Cook County, Illinois, Judge Megan Goldish draws on more than 20 years of legal experience. As both a judge and former attorney, Megan Goldish utilizes techniques from theater training to connect with the people in her courtroom.

Trial lawyers often use theater techniques when giving opening statements or preparing clients to take the witness stand. One technique is psychodrama, which is taught in the Gerry Spence Method. Gerry Spence was a famous trial lawyer who took on high-profile cases defending clients against the government and large corporations.

The Spence Method uses psychodrama training by diving into each attorney’s case and bringing out the emotional human elements. Techniques used often include role reversal, soliloquy, and scene setting. The goal of this training is to make the client’s story more emotionally relatable for the jury.

The Spence Method focuses heavily on the lawyer’s opening statement, as Spence believes the most juries have already decided the case once both sides have given these statements. The opening statement is often made by a lone attorney at the front of the courtroom, much like monologues and soliloquys in the theater.