in behalf of

Under state law, companies can be held criminally accountable for crimes of its top executives if they acted "in behalf of" the company, which Merchan says prosecutors must prove by showing Weisselberg didn't act in his sole interest, but also that of his employer.

“Now the prosecution’s case rests on one thing: convincing you, the jurors, that Mr. Weisselberg’s actions were done in behalf of the company.”

The company’s lawyers have argued that the prosecution must prove that Weisselberg intended to benefit the corporation when he engineered the scheme — and that “in behalf of” can mean nothing else.

In addition to proving that Weisselberg was acting “in behalf of” the Trump Organization, New York criminal law requires that prosecutors establish that he was a “high managerial agent” of the company and that he committed the crimes “within the scope of his employment.”

The dictionary’s website, originally cited in the defense’s court papers, suggested that — unlike the phrase “on behalf of” — “in behalf of” essentially means “for the benefit of.”