A Five-Day Trial School Intensive
The Art of Advocacy
An immersive retreat for trial lawyers ready to move beyond scripts and technique, and into authentic communication that actually moves juries.
This is not a lecture. It is a transformation lab.
Great advocacy is not just what you say. It is whether jurors believe you, trust you, and feel the truth of the story you are asking them to carry into deliberations.
Created by Mel Orchard and Jesse Wilson, this five-day intensive integrates trial advocacy with theater, movement, music, voice, and visual art. The goal is not to make lawyers perform. The goal is to help lawyers communicate with restraint, presence, emotional truth, and power.
- Jury Selection
- Opening Statement
- Direct Examination
- Cross Examination
- Closing and Rebuttal
- Theater
- Movement
- Music
- Voice
- Painting and Visual Art
- Morning intensives
- Afternoon labs
- On-your-feet coaching
- Evening performance work
- Final live integration
“The theater is a safe place to be dangerous. The courtroom is a dangerous place to be safe.”
Why this intensive is different
Trial lawyers are often taught to perfect structure, words, and choreography. But jurors do not decide cases on cleverness alone. They decide based on credibility, emotional truth, trust, and whether the advocate is willing to risk going off script.
This program trains lawyers to recognize emotional momentum, manage state under pressure, and use silence, breath, movement, and story with purpose.
What you will work on
Each day builds toward a final live performance of an opening, closing, or “clopening” that integrates the program’s core communication fundamentals.
- Arm the most important juror
- Move from victim to victor
- Use conflict as the engine of belief
- Identify the crossroads moment
- Surface story vs. beneath-the-surface story
- Emotional state before the story
- The persuasive power of silence and restraint
- The greater story beyond the verdict
Teaching faculty
Led by Mel Orchard and Jesse Wilson, with a faculty team that brings together outstanding trial consultants, accomplished trial attorneys, and artists with a deep understanding of courtroom communication.
Mel Orchard
Trial lawyer, teacher, and nationally recognized advocate known for helping lawyers find emotional truth and power in the courtroom.
Jesse Wilson
Communication specialist, trial strategist and best selling author helping trial lawyers connect at their greatest level to story, presence, and authentic persuasion.
Vicki Slater, Jacqui Ford, Eric Ganci, Bryan Ulmer, Lexlee Overton, and additional faculty support.
A retreat setting above the clouds
The Art of Advocacy will be held at Cloudland at McLemore Resort, Curio Collection by Hilton, located at 243 Cloudland Drive in Rising Fawn, Georgia.
The program is designed for a small, immersive group in a quiet retreat-style environment, with dedicated meeting space, group meals, and room for on-your-feet work.
Trial School has secured a discounted room block for attendees at Cloudland at McLemore Resort. We encourage participants to reserve accommodations early, as availability is limited.
Program details
Five full days of immersive Trial School training.
Designed for a limited number of serious trial lawyers.
Step out of the script. Step into the story.
Join Trial School for a five-day intensive built for lawyers who want to speak with more credibility, presence, restraint, and power.