Through Testifying Made Simple, Attorney Michelle Santamaria Prepares Witnesses For The Courtroom By Julie Unger
Attorney Michelle Santamaria used her criminal prosecutor experience to create her successful company, Testifying Made Simple. “That’s where I found my niche. It’s a system that I’ve worked in personally,” she explained. “I’m passionate about trials in the criminal system, and I’ve focused on that audience.” Her name might seem familiar. She has worked for television news stations, the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office and even run for the Palm Beach County Commission seat previously held by her father, Jess Santamaria. Santamaria brings a long list of accomplishments to Testifying Made Simple, a company designed to help law enforcement witnesses. A quick glance at her résumé, and you might expect Santamaria to be much older than 39. Not only did she earn a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida and a law degree from Stetson University, she earned an MBA from Rollins College and has studied at several other institutions, including Harvard Law School and Palm Beach Atlantic University.
Aside from her work with the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office, she has worked with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Training Force USA, the Florida Public Safety Institute, the Regional Organized Crime Information Center and more. She worked as an assistant state attorney in West Palm Beach and, in 2009, started Testifying Made Simple, which has trained witnesses from more than 100 law enforcement agencies, academies and organizations, including the FBI. At Stetson, Santamaria was drawn to its top-rated trial advocacy program, she said, adding that their “competition program… really helped me prepare for what I do now, because it’s such a phenomenal program.”
Santamaria’s volunteer work has spanned many venues, including volunteering at Youth Court and American Heritage High School’s Mock Trial competition, emceeing for My Brother’s/Sister’s Keeper Scholarship Foundation and working with many other organizations. “I’ve always been interested in public speaking, and trial advocacy is a great way to get in front of the people, get involved, and do something more active in the court system,” she said. After graduating from law school, Santamaria became a criminal prosecutor. “I loved being involved in the court system and helping people, along with doing trials,” she said. When working on trials, Santamaria noticed that witnesses sometimes have a difficult time expressing themselves. After each trial, she’d receive feedback from the witnesses and discuss what needed more work. She often asked whether anyone wellington the magazine | may 2016
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