I first discovered the TLC method after reading the book Win Your Case by Gerry Spence in 2007. The book resonated with me because it didn’t talk about the law but offered an alternative to the legalese I had come to expect from law books. The objective of the book was simple: in order to persuade a jury to do what you want them to do, you had to be real. You can’t be real however unless you get to know yourself. Once you get to know yourself you have to be willing to share of yourself with the jury in order to get the strangers sitting in the box to share themselves with you. That process is called building a tribe. A lawyer that can show himself to the jury will be rewarded with the jury showing themselves to him. The gift the jury gives to the lawyer may not be the what the lawyer wants but the lawyer accepts it with genuine gratitude because by doing so the lawyer shows the juror that no judgment is being passed. The juror might disclose that he harbors fears or biases or she might say that feels a certain reservation about a charge or a fact in the case. Such disclosure is accepted and honored. The juror isn’t punished by being excused but engaged in conversation to be included in the jury. By doing so the juror experiences the joy of being selected to be a member of the tribe and shows her gratitude by voting for her tribe leader, the lawyer who kept her in the tribe.
The ideas included in Win Your Case kept playing in my mind. In the summer of 2007, I attended a regional TLC seminar. At that seminar I discovered the power of psychodrama in facilitating the discovery of the self. It was through that process of self discovery that I began to learn about who I really am and what it is the drives me in life. The more I learned about myself, the more I understood jurors and could identify and role reverse with them. I went to another TLC seminar in October of 2007, this time at the Thunderhead ranch. The experience left me somewhat dazed because of the power of the psychodrama and the beauty of Thunderhead Ranch in Dubois Wyoming. It was then that I decided to apply to the full three week college. In the fall of 2008 after leaving the Marine Corps, I applied for the three week college. I was accepted to the July class of 2009. The three week college is one of the intense and satisfying experiences I have undergone. One of the three weeks is dedicated to psychodrama, a week is dedicated to trial skills using the TLC method which requires that everything be put into action, a day is dedicated to the walk in silence where students spend the day reflecting in a special place of their own choosing in silence. It is through that silence that we discover our inner voices which speak a louder truth than any verbalized words we say or hear. In addition to the trial skills and psychodrama, a fair amount of time is spent learning how to better communicate effectively, to pushing limits and taking risks in court and in representing our clients. Graduation is a memorable ceremony that honors the native American presence that occupied the land before the ranch.
I have taken an aggressive approach to developing my TLC skills and learning to direct psychodrama. I have found a powerful truth in the TLC method that allows me to connect with a jury through being open honest and real. The jury honors my openness by accepting that human failures of my client and forgiveness.
In 2010, I was selected to become a staff member at the college. Staff donate their time by volunteering to give back and teach students who seek to learn the TLC method and join the tribe. Staff are usually invited to staff a seminar or one week of the three week college.
From: Puckett Neal [mailto:neal@puckettfaraj.com]
Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2011 12:20 PM
To: Faraj Haytham
Cc: Atwood Marcy
Subject: Info for website
Partner,
Can you detail the dates and substance (from your first encounter with TLC) of all of your TLC training? Marcy is modifying content (important for SEO) and she wants to add those details about you.
N
1800 Diagonal Rd, Suite 210
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