COURT TECHNOLOGY and TRIAL PRESENTATION

iPad Apps for Lawyers: iJury for Voir Dire

2012-01-24T09:28:00.000-08:00

iJury

After alengthy trial and engaging voir dire without computer assistance, Orlando,Fla.-based attorney Lawrence Williamson teamed up with computer technician SeanHam (who assisted Williamson with trial logistics and document management) tocome up with iJury, an affordable iPadapp that would enable attorneys to "concentrate on the art of voir direand move away from the excessive note taking and paper shuffling."

Digitalconvergence is an admirable charge for any app and fits well with the iPadvision. I've reviewed several apps designed for jury selection (voir dire) andmonitoring and, although they all appear to be helpful, the fiercest competitorto iPad apps remains the venerable Post-it® Notes.

Some thingsjust seem to work better the old-fashioned way. Perhaps one reason is thatentering data on the iPad, although it can be comprehensive, takes most of uslonger than scribbling on sticky notes. While it is likely just a simple matterof adjusting your work flow to input data on the iPad, I still see more peopleusing the familiar little yellow squares than apps such as iJuror, JuryTracker, JuryDuty,or even full-feature software applications such as JuryBox.

One thingsticky notes can't do is perform data analysis, but that is true of most iPadapps for voir dire. Most apps do a decent job of storing and retrieving jurorinformation, but don't do much in the way of looking at the big picture. iJuryis different. Once you've entered personal information on each juror, you'reable to view the bigger picture, literally, in a series of dynamic charts.These bar charts indicate trends in your jury pool, including overallindications of positive, negative or neutral scores for your case, as well as adesktop view of a jury's gender and racial balance and socioeconomic status.

Figure 1

Figure 1shows a high-altitude view of iJury that can help flag potential issues withyour currently seated panel of jurors. Additionally, a sample set of commonvoir dire questions is included, which may be scored positively or negativelyfor each juror according to their responses -- and you have the option to addyour own questions.

Figure 2

LaunchingiJury the first time brings up a nice tutorial video, which you may also viewonline. I thought this was a nice touch, allowing you to get a quick feel ofwhat the app is all about and how to handle each task. The video can also beaccessed again later by tapping the "Info" icon in the Case browser.

Figure 3

Incomparison to other apps for jury selection, iJury requires a similar amount ofinput for each potential juror, and focuses only on the currently seated panelvis-a-vis the entire jury pool. When using the iPad in this manner you wouldcertainly want to enter all of your juror information ahead of time from theirresponses to your questionnaire.

Figure 4

Overall,iJury appears to be a nice alternative for iPad-wielding attorneys and trialconsultants looking to clean up the counsel table and keep it free from stickynotes during voir dire. And at only $14.99, it won't break the bank.

::::PRODUCT INFORMATION ::::

Manufacturer: Dynamis Law
Product: iJury for iPad
Price: $14.99

Review: ExhibitView for iPad

2012-01-16T18:34:00.000-08:00

Author’s Note: I’veadded some additional screen shots and info to this blog version.

I’ve had many people ask, “When will TrialDirector have an iPad app?” The last time I discussed itwith InData, they had looked into the idea but felt that it may not be worththe investment to develop an iPad app. They were, however, exploring remotecontrol possibilities, using an app such as LogMeIn Ignition to control thefull-featured PC version of TrialDirector over a Wi-Fi network.

William Roach, developer of PC-based ExhibitView software,decided it was worth his time to develop an iPad app for ExhibitView. By addingExhibitView iPad to their productline, the company has become the first trial presentation software company tooffer a software application for both the PC and the iPad. Roach says, “Specificallywe wanted to be in the iPad space because of all the excitement. We reallythought about how we could enhance the value of our PC brand and not circumventits sales. With the majority of law firms still having PC’s and everyonegetting iPads, we felt it was a very deliberate strategic move.”

ExhibitView is alsodeveloping a version of its trial presentation software for the Google Androidand Apple Mac operating system. This aggressive development strategy is encouraging to gadget-mindedlitigators. Although I don’t have an Android tablet, I would love to compare ExhibitViewon Android with the iPad version once itis released. For now, I will settle on a standalone review of the ExhibitViewon the iPad.

After several years of battling for market-share with thelikes of TrialDirector and Sanction, ExhibitView iPad joins the ranks of TrialPad,Evidence, and ExhibitA in the iPad apps for trial presentation space. For the purpose of thisarticle, I will not review the PC version of ExhibitView, although I will saythat users of the software will find themselves at home with ExhibitView iPad, whichhas a similar look and feel to the PCapplication. In fact, the PC version of ExhibitView has just added a newfeature, “Save as iPad,” which exports an entire case in ExhibitView on the PC toa file that can be imported without modification into the iPad app.

At the current introductory price of $29.99 (regularly$69.00, or free with purchase of ExhbitView PC version), ExhibitView falls in the mid-range for trialpresentation apps. In the “Wild West” iPad app development game, price does notnecessarily indicate value. It seems that setting a price point for an app is (orat least was) something of an experiment, which Roach and ExhibitViewbenefitted from by coming to the table, or iPad, late.

Opening ExhibitView iPad brings up a screen which features aDropbox link icon. One of the first things you’ll need to do is set up a Dropbox account, because that is theonly way to get exhibits and files onto the iPad and into the app. But don’tfret, Dropbox still has free accounts with a maximum of 2 gigabytes of diskspace allocation. Once you establish an account and link it to the app, you’llhave full access to all of your exhibits stored in Dropbox.

From Dropbox, you may choose individual files or entirefolders to download to the iPad. This can make it very quick and easy to importan entire case file into the app, which you’ve assembled on your PC (or via theSave as iPad feature in ExhibitView). Although file transfer via iTunes is notsupported, connecting via cable to your laptop every time you need to updateexhibits in a case is not a very practical method during a trial.

Another nice feature on the home screen is the Help button.The help file does a nice job at covering the basics, although you couldprobably just jump right in and start using the app by creating a new case,adding exhibits, and trying out all of the tools and features.

Although ExhbitView iPad works in either landscape orportrait mode, which allows for 360 degree iPad rotation, I would recommendusing landscape mode because of the added real estate available to see andselect files listed on the left-hand side of the iPad.

The app handles several file types, but I encourage you towork with PDF files. I tested PDF, Microsoft Word, and PowerPoint files; JPEG and PNG images; and MP4 video. Other than graphic layersgetting a bit whacked in PowerPoint (I’ve seen formatting issues in other apps,and would generally recommend converting exhibits to PDF anyway), it all workednicely, including the Word document. I did, however, notice an issue indisplaying the proper (full screen) image with native PowerPoint and Word. Although.pptx and text files showed up in the file list, they are not supported, anddid not display. In a trial presentation app, it would certainly be helpful tohandle a text file, with options to work with transcripts.

A nice feature I like about ExhibitView’s “database” view isthat there are tabs which will automatically filter and sort exhibits by filetype for you: Documents, Images, A/V Media, and All (to show everything in yourevidence collection).

Connecting the external monitor when the app is runningautomatically connects the iPad, displaying the ExhibitView logo, howeveryou’ll still need to hit the “On-Off” button to begin sending images. Note thatthis button indicates the current state: not what will happen when you tap it.In other words, if you tap the red “Off” button, it turns the presentation on,and then the button turns green, and reads “On.” Maybe it’s just me, but thisseemed a bit counter-intuitive for what appears to be an active buttonsoliciting a state change. Once I tapped “On,” the screen goes to a blank (no logo) dark graycolor, ready to display an exhibit.

The presentation features are nice and the app handles thetwo most important features nicely – Callout Zoom and Highlight, with highlightsappearing a natural, transparent yellow. Although you can only have one activecallout, you can move the callout around and even leave it in place when youscroll to another page of your exhibit.

You can use a pinch-zoom gesture to zoom in on an exhibit andadd a Callout on top of the pinch-zoom, and even highlight the Callout. You canrotate the image (probably should have done that ahead of time anyway) and use astraight-line or free-drawing pen, which you may set to a desired color andthickness. I noticed that the free-draw pen formed a series of short, straightlines (rather than actual curved lines) when attempting to draw a circle. Thereare Undo and Redo annotations buttons, an Eraser to remove part of anannotation, and a Print (Adobe AirPrint) button.

There is also a nice “Screen Lock” feature, which disablesall of the file access options and allows you to hand the iPad to a witness to use like a “John Madden” Telestratordevice (yup, just realized, there’s an app for that, football fans). When your witness is donemarking up the document, you can use the snapshot button to capture the imagein .png format. The flexibility of the iPad would permit you to do this “live”in front of the jury, by keeping it plugged into the system, or you couldeasily disconnect, save the work, and then reconnect to show the completedwork. This could even be a valuable feature when used in conjunction with othertrial presentation software. At least (in my opinion), it beats the heck out ofthose clunky touch-screen monitors.

In addition to all of the annotation and presentationfeatures, you can display two exhibits side-by-side, and annotate or zoom in oneach one.

Many of the differences between ExhibitView PC andExhibitView iPad are actually a result of the limited functionality of the iPaditself. You simply cannot build and manage a complex database on an iPad – atleast not in a practical manner. Also, you’ll enjoy a far greater degree ofspeed and accuracy when using a mouse and keyboard (compared to a finger, oreven a stylus), as well as the ability to handle most common file types, asopposed to just a few. I’ll always agree that doing almost anything on an iPadlooks cool, but that’s really not all that important in most trials.

I would be comfortable using the ExhibitView app in asmaller matter, but only after thoroughly testing and checking it with all ofmy exhibits. I would look forward to the opportunity to have a witness use theExhibitView iPad app to mark up an exhibit. This could also be a nice tool touse in depositions. I feel that ExhibitView is a real contender in the trialpresentation app space, and if you’re interested now would be the time to getit for just $30. I will close by stating that phenomenalsuccess stories notwithstanding, I still prefer to use my laptops insteadof an iPad for trial presentation.

ExhbitView iPadWebsite

ExhibitViewiPad on iTunes

Update: ExhibitView for iPad, BlackBerry's Doom, Android Tablets

2012-01-09T13:43:00.000-08:00

I would tell you that I’ve just finished reviewing ExhibitView iPad, but then I’d haveto tell you that you’re going to have to wait to read it until it getspublished on LawTechnology News. I’ll let you know once it’s up there (follow me on Twitterif you want the quickest and latest updates: http://twitter.com/litigationtech).Without spoiling, I can tell you that I was impressed, and look forward toseeing other developments from them.
Update: The review has been published and is now live on Law Technology News.

Speaking of Law Tech News, I’ve been quoted in a fewarticles there recently. One was an interesting piece by Brendan McKenna, LTN'snews editor, entitled “2011'sTech Folly of the Year”. That “folly” was none other than the once-ubiquitousBlackBerry, so addictive it was even referred to as the “CrackBerry.” Read theentire article for some additional insight, but here’s my prediction of doom.

In May, our own TedBrooks announced his defection from BlackBerry here in the pagesof LTN, saying,"BlackBerry has been losing market-share in a big way recently, and Isuspect I am a classic defector. Although I've been a BlackBerry user fornearly 15 years, I am weary of screen-envy, and since the next version ofBlackBerry OS for the latest BlackBerry device won't support my current device,I'm done with it." He adds that he feels no desire to purchase thePlayBook, for the reasons cited above. In August, Brooks again suggested that RIM's days were numbered: "Eventhough Research In Motion has owned the legal market for many years, unlessthey once innovate instead of renovate, the BlackBerry's days arenumbered." While not necessarily indicative of a trend, Brooks is knownthroughout the legal technology community for his Court Technology andTrial Presentation blog, so when he defects in such a public manner,it may be right to presume that RIM has one foot in the grave.

Just last week, Evan Koblentz, a reporter for Law TechnologyNews shared his thoughts on the iPad versus Android tablets, in “iPadMania Aside, Tablets Are Inefficient Work Devices for Lawyers.” Aftertesting the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9, Koblentz finds that “For tech-minded lawyers, Android is worth considering because of themany customization options, various screen sizes, and hybrid laptops, such asthe Asus Transformer series. But for most lawyers, it makes a lot more sense tofollow the herd into Appleville, as LawTechnology News columnist TedBrooks noted recently.”

Also, I’ve just downloaded and started my review of a newapp which claims to be an aid in jury selection, called iJury. Staytuned, and I hope the New Year has been good to you thus far!

Ted’s Top Ten from 2011

2011-12-29T08:47:00.000-08:00

Here are a few of my most popular and favorite articles fromthe past year. Thanks for reading and sharing this blog!

Applesto Apples: Two iPad Apps for Trial Presentation - TrialPad v. Evidence

JANUARY 12, 2011 – This article offered the firsthead-to-head comparison of the first two trial presentation apps for iPad, andquickly found itself at the top position for all-time most popular articles,where it remains today. There are now others, including ExhibitA and ExhibitView for iPad, which I will be reviewing very soon.

iPadApps for Lawyers: iJuror, JuryTracker, Jury Duty, WordPerfect Viewer

JANUARY 24, 2011 – What is it about those iPad app reviews?Readership on this blog increased exponentially in 2011, largely attributed to themany iPad app reviews I’ve written. This article explores several apps for juryselection and monitoring, and is comfortably in the second position forall-time most popular articles.

JudiciaryOpinions on Technology in Trial

MAY 3, 2011 – Often, litigators make certain assumptionsabout the Judge and jury, which are not always on the mark. One such assumptionis that Judges don’t care for the use of technology in court. Here are a fewnoteworthy quotes for the doubters.

SamsungNexus S: BlackBerry Replacement or iPhone Alternative?

MAY 18, 2011 – I’ve never really used a device just becauseit’s the cool thing to do. I do love my iPad, but I don’t believe it is a truelaptop replacement – regardless of what others might say. Same goes for myphone. I did my homework, and found that the Google phone would be a bettertool than the iPhone, and on a better network (Sprint) that still features anunlimited data plan. This particular article was also very popular in thenon-legal tech channels.

CaseyAnthony Verdict: Was it Wrong?

JULY 5, 2011 – It’s hard to believe this happen this pastyear – it already seems so long ago. Our justice system was put to the test, aswas our perception of trial coverage by the media. Whether you agree or not,the verdict stands. This article wasvery popular in both the legal and non-legal audience.

TryingYour Case in 3 Hours: California’s Expedited Civil Jury Trials Act

SEPTEMBER 6, 2011 – Written for CAOC Forum Magazine, thisarticle was mentioned as one of the most-read posts on LinkedIn. While thebasics of trial preparation are similar, you’d better have everything ready togo in an abbreviated trial.

I AmTroy Davis

SEPTEMBER 21, 2011 – This was perhaps the saddest article I’veever written. Regardless of your position on capital punishment, we must notallow our judicial system to be manipulated in the interest of convenience orto satisfy public rage.

Ten Questions to Ask Your “Hot Seat” Provider

NOVEMBER 7, 2011 – Due diligence should go beyond thestorefront. Make sure the person who will actually be working with you isqualified. Don’t just accept the sales pitch.

TenQualities of Top Trial Presentation Professionals

NOVEMBER 20, 2011 – Hmm, looks like I was on a roll here. Ifyou are considering bringing in an outside vendor to assist with your nexttrial, this article offers another check-list of qualifications you should belooking for.

12Top Legal Sites You Should Check Out

DECEMBER 4, 2011 – You can’t accuse me of tooting my ownhorn with this one. In fact, I’ve listed several of my favorite sources oflegal and technology information. In less than a month, it has found a home onmy all-time most popular articles, at number 3. Readers have added several oftheir own suggestions. Feel free to add yours.

Mobile Living: Life on the Road

2011-12-12T07:26:00.000-08:00

No, I’m not talking about hitting the road in an RV. I’mtalking about the out-of-town trial, and a few things you might not otherwisethink about until you need them – which would then be too late. I’ll offer afew thoughts here, and feel free to add yours at the end of the article.

Internet Connection– Honestly, I can’t imagine being without a decent connection these days, whenonly a few years ago, it was a pure luxury. In most courthouses in majorcities, you can get a decent cell-phone signal. If you can do that, and if youhave a smart phone that doubles as a Wi-Fi Hotspot, you’re set for providingaccess to several laptops, iPads, or other devices. There are also servicessuch as Courtroom Connect in many courtrooms, in addition to a free publicservice in some (usually intended for jurors). All due cautions apply to each.

Printing, Scanning,Copying – These common, simple daily functions must not be overlooked, andideally, you will be able to do a decent job of each in both the war room andthe court room. While the war room should have equipment available to handlethe expected volume, you should also be able to scan or print something in thecourtroom, if necessary. There are a number of portable scanners and printerson the market, and mine fit into my carry-on bag which I take to court with meeach day. I’d rather not print 10 copies of 12 different exhibits in a bighurry, but I can handle the occasional (or frequent) emergency.

With that, you might also consider using 3-hole pre-drilledpaper if you’re putting everything into binders, so you don’t have to worryabout punching the pages. One more tip is to bring along a high-capacitystapler, since many exhibits are too thick for a standard staple (over about 20pages). You should also check out local resources for vendors.

Redundancy – You shouldalways have a current backup of your trial database available. When you’re athome, this may be simple, but when you’re on the road, although dealing with the“blue screen of death” is no longer a routine issue, problems still occur. Irecommend have a second laptop of the same make, model and configuration, inaddition to a full copy on an external hard drive, which may be used totransfer from one to the other (leaving a third copy on the drive itself). I’mnot a big fan of data sync software either, and I have seen it fail. There’snothing quite like the feeling you get when you realize something has gonewrong. At least if you’re handling it manually, you will know what you did, andlikely have a quick recovery available. Also, over-writing database files doesn’talways go as expected, so I will first delete the old set, and then copy over theupdated set. Thumb drives and cloud services such as Dropboxcan also be helpful.

Other Devices –iPads, Tablets and other devices can also help to make your life a bit morecomfortable. If you have one, you know what I mean. If you don’t, you probablywon’t understand until you get one. Although there are even apps for trialpresentation which I’ve reviewed here, such as TrialPad,ExhibitA, Evidence,and now ExhibitView (currently onsale for $29.99, which I’ll be reviewing soon), most of the cases I handle arefar too complex for the capabilities of the iPad. On smaller matters, however,using the iPad in trial could be fun. I have successfully used mine in severalCLE presentations.

Use Caution With RoomServices – If you’re looking for an easy way of upsetting an otherwisehappy client, go ahead and turn in your expense report with a long list of topmovies, fine dining, cocktails, and sending out all of your suits you’ve beenmeaning to get dry-cleaned. Just because you’re living in a hotel doesn’t meanyou’re on vacation. Although your extravagant indulgences may be strategically distributedthroughout the duration of your stay, think of how it’s going to look on paper –one right after another.

Okay, off to court. Have a great day!

12 Top Legal Sites You Should Check Out

2011-12-04T20:19:00.001-08:00

Many of us have our own short-list of web sites we checkfrequently to keep current on topics of interest. Whether you found your way tothis site through a web search, clicked on a Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn link,I appreciate that you’re reading the Court Technology and TrialPresentation Blawg. Of course, I also greatly appreciate those who sharethis site with others. Web traffic and readership are pure motivation tobloggers, as are comments and compliments.

I am going to share a few of my favorite blogs which I enjoyreading regularly. I hope you’ll enjoy my list, which will focus on legaltechnology, jury selection, graphics and trial presentation. Feel free to addsome of your favorites in the comments area.

1. Law Technology News-- The mother of all legal technology sites, this site is a Law.com publication,headed up by Monica Bay, a household name in legal technology. Articles areoriginal, fresh and timely, and they also have a print publication available. Authorsinclude a staff of excellent writers, and LTN features many familiar names inthe profession.

2. The RedWell -- This site features a directory and preview links to currentarticles provided by a select group of bloggers. Topics include Jury Selection,Litigation Graphics, Trial Presentation, and Communication for Lawyers.

3. The JuryExpert -- This site is not actually a blog, but rather a veryhighly-regarded monthly collection of articles, provided by members of theAmerican Society of Trial Consultants. Authors vary monthly.

4. LinkedInTrial Technology -- With nearly 2000 members, this is the largest online groupfocusing on the intersection of law, technology, and visual communication.

5. LawyerTech Review -- This site features a bi-lingual (English and Spanish) collectionof articles covering all the latest tech-toys a lawyer could want. A favoriteis the App Friday series, where legal luminaries are asked about the apps theyuse. Attorney Geri Dreiling is the Editor, with Enrique Serrano providing theSpanish version of the site.

6. BowTie Law -- Attorney Josh Gilland explores legal technology and itsapplication in case law, and covers e-discovery frequently.

7. Deliberations -- The “official”blog of the American Society of Trial Consultants features articles by JuryConsultant Matt McCusker.

8. CogentLegal Blog -- Morgan Smith and company offer a great deal of insight on howto communicate visually, using graphics and animations. Smith, an attorney, isthe primary author, with contributions from others.

9. TheLitigation Consulting Report -- Ken Lopez features helpful topics focusingon using graphics to speak to jurors. Some great ideas.

10. igetlit.comInformation Graphics & Litigation -- Jason Barnes offers great insight on visualcommunication techniques based on his years of experience in the profession.

11. LitigationPostScript -- Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm provides perspectives of a Jury Consultant.Lots of great “how-to” info on jury selection and analysis.

12. Litigation SupportTechnology & News -- Joseph Bartolo and Frank Canterino scour the netfor you to offer a collection of summaries of current articles found on manypopular blogs.

I’dgladly recommend any or all of these sites to those who are interested in themodern practice of law. Of course, there are many more, and feel free to addyour own in the comments section, and use the Twitter, Facebook, Google+ andother social media buttons to share this collection. As a disclaimer, I willmention that I have contributed to numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 12 listed above.

Ten Qualities of Top Trial Presentation Professionals

2011-11-20T14:50:00.001-08:00

Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson Trial (see video below)

Back in the day, when I was the firm-wide in-house TrialConsultant for Brobeck, trial presentation software and technology wereactually quite similar to what we use today – at least with respect to the waythe exhibits are organized and presented in trial. Sure, computers and softwarehave come a long way, but the biggest difference is the fact that more lawyersare using it. So, what are a few of the key qualities that seem to be a commonthread among the nation’s leaders in trial presentation? I think you’ll findthat many of these are also the traits shared by successful litigators.

1. TrialExperience
There is a reason this profession is often referred to as the “hot-seat.” There is nowhere to turn, or nobody else toblame when (not if) something goeswrong, and only experience can help develop the knowledge of how toimmediately correct most any issue, and in such a manner than nobody else evenrealizes there was a problem.

2. Confidence
This comes naturally with actual trial experience, as noted in #1 above. Ifthere is a lack of experience, there will also be a lack of confidence.Typically, a lack of confidence is easy to spot, and often, the reasons forthis shortcoming become apparent in trial. A truly confident trial presentationprofessional will appear cool and calm, even when they’re under a great deal ofpressure.

3. Obsessiveness
In addition to trial experience, there is nothing like preparation to bringpeace of mind to the trial team. During trial prep and the trial itself, thereare no adequate excuses for not getting something ready in time. If this meansworking 16+ hour days, and not going to sleep until everything is ready for thenext day, then so be it.

4. Makes itLook Easy
Maybe you’ve seen at attorney working with a trial professional, and notedhow it appeared as if every step was rehearsed – almost as if they both knewexactly what to do, and when. On the other hand, perhaps you’ve witnessed (orbeen part of) of a trial presentation meltdown, where exhibits weren’t presentedin a timely manner, and frustration was apparent on the part of the attorneyand trial presenter – not to mention the Judge and jury. The best trialpresentation professionals are able to anticipate where the next callout orhighlight should be, and will just make it happen.

5. Above-averageWork Ethic
One thing I have learned in my years working with some truly greatattorneys is that you must be willing to work harder than opposing counsel.While hard work won’t turn a bad case into a good one and win, laziness can makeyou lose. Great attorneys are relentless. So are their trial teams. GerrySchwartzbach once told me quite simply, “We will out-work them.” David Boiesonce asked his weary trial team, “Do you want to sleep, or do you want to win?”

6. DataManagement Expert
One problem with those who find that trial presentation software isactually pretty easy to learn (at least the basics), is that it doesn’t makeyou a file management expert. Unless you are capable of organizing tens ofthousands of pages, you shouldn’t attempt to do so. One of the most commoncauses for problems in trial presentation is poor data management.

7. Computerand Software Expert
While nobody can know everything, an experienced trial presentationprofessional will be familiar with most programs used by law firms, including litigationsupport applications. They will also be able to assist with computer problems,spreadsheets, and graphics. They will certainly be intimately familiar withtheir trial presentation software, and will know how to make the most of allfeatures. Paralegal skills and experience can also be a plus.

8. Resources
One life-lesson I learned many years ago was that the smartest people arenot necessarily those who have all of the answers – but rather, those who knowwhere to find the answers. Whether that means knowing where and how to searchthe Internet, or having a list of fellow professionals handy, there shouldrarely be a situation that cannot be resolved. It can also mean finding a wayto get 3 copies of 20 exhibits scanned and printed at 2:00 AM.

9. IT Expert
One quality that is often overlooked is the ability to simply “make thingswork.” This can mean installing and wiring an entire courtroom, setting up theremote war room, or getting everyone connected to the network. When working outof town in a remote war room, chances are you didn’t bring along your ITdepartment with you. There is far more to this business than putting exhibits upon a screen.

10. Top Firms and Cases
Never hesitate to check the background of your provider. If you’ve neverheard of them, and/or if they don’t have an impressive list of clients and cases,chance are they don’t have the experience necessary to support your trial. Unless you’re willing to provide trainingwheels, don’t waste your time with someone who is just getting into thisbusiness.

Here’s an example of a total FAIL in the recent MichaelJackson trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, as described in #4 above, courtesy of ChrisBallard, of Video and the Law.

A Day in Trial

2011-11-15T09:51:00.001-08:00

There is an increasing interest in using trial presentationsoftware to help persuade jurors in litigation of all types. Once considered the domain of themega-firms with their billion-dollar clients, trial presentation technology hasnow trickled down to the point that it can be used in most any matter. Thedecision is no longer whether or not to use it, but how to get the most out ofit, while staying within the budget. There are a few common options.

You may want to have an attorney handle it. At first glance,this appears to be a perfect match. Another attorney billing on the case, andthey are already familiar with the exhibits and the case. From a client’sperspective, however, the billing rate is likely quite a bit higher than thatof a trial technician, but even more importantly, it takes a great deal of timeto manage the database, prepare exhibits and deposition clips, and present theevidence. If the assigned attorney has little else to do, it could work. Ifthere are other “normal” trial responsibilities, adding a menu of tasks thatrequire constant attention and maintenance may not be a good fit.

Another way to staff your trial presentation is to pull aparalegal and have them do it. However, as in the example above, chances areyou’ve already assigned a full day’s workload on your paralegals, and unlessyou’re able to relieve them of all of their other chores during trial, burnoutmay be on the near horizon. It is notrealistic to expect anyone to work two full-time jobs, and that is about whatit amounts to.

Other considerations are familiarity with the software,protocols, and the case itself. Trial presentation software is not unlike manyother specialized programs that unless you use them regularly, you are notreally comfortable or familiar with the features. In trial, you don’t have time to search the Help Menu for solutions,or call for support when you have a problem. It’s all on you, and if youcannot make it work in a matter of seconds, you may find yourself using the hardcopy exhibits.

Whether in-house oroutsourced, a full-time trial presentation technician or consultant isgenerally going to be the best option available. Someone whose solefunction is to ensure that every exhibit is accessible, and presented to thejury as needed. The more experience they have in this role, the better thingswill flow, and the trial presentation database should be their primaryfunction. All other tasks should take secondary roles, as it often requires14-16 hours per day or more during trial to keep everything rolling smoothly. Oncecounsel is finished preparing for the next day’s witnesses and retires for theevening, the trial tech goes to work, getting all exhibits and testimony readyto go, backing up the database, and adding new documents. They will also befamiliar with the courtroom presentation equipment, and how to deal with theCourt staff.

Although it may seemcounter-intuitive to bring in someone who isn’t already familiar with yourcase, this can actually be one of the greatest assets of a consultant. Itis true that they don’t know the case, or how you view things. Neither willyour jurors, and if you have someone willing to share an objective “outsider’s”perspective, that’s the closest you can get to the mind of your jurors. Don’texpect (or ask) them to see it your way, and don’t attempt to convince them. Youdon’t need another pat on the back or a “yes-man.” Just ask for their feedback,and take advantage of any insight they have to offer.

Ten Questions to Ask Your “Hot Seat” Provider

2011-11-07T07:59:00.000-08:00

First, I’ll define the term “Hot Seat.” In litigation, thisis used to describe the role of the trial presentation technician or consultant– the one responsible for managing and presenting the evidence to Judge andJury. Any delay in presenting the requested exhibit can seem like an eternity. One miscue on their part, such as bringingup the wrong exhibit, can immediately result in a mistrial – hence the term, “hotseat.”

1. How much will it cost?

Make sure to get the “real numbers” in any estimates you receive, and see ifthere are hidden extras, such as overtime, travel, equipment, weekend orholiday charges, project management fees, etc.

2. How much do you personally make?

Cost does not always equal value, and hourly rates do not necessarily indicatethe level of competency of the individual actually providing the services. Thismay be a very personal question, but if the hourly rate is $250, and yourhot-seat tech is making $25 of that, there’s a problem.

3. How many actual court trials have you personallyhandled the “hot seat” in?

This should be a realistic number, and is not the same question as, “How manycases have you worked on in any capacity?”

4. Have you ever been involved in a trial similarto this?

Your “hot seat” person will be comfortable, and thus more effective, infamiliar surroundings. Although it would be unrealistic to expect experiencewith the exact case type, things like the size and value of the matter, venuetype, data formats, and general type of litigation are all helpful qualities.

5. What extra value do you have to offer the trialteam?

In some cases, the answer may be zero, and that is fine. In others, similarcase experience, case feedback, jury monitoring, or other extras may help makethe decision whether or not to hire.

6. May I see your bio?

Don’t expect to see a résumé, as you’re not hiring an employee. However, youhave every right to request a bio of the person(s) who will be assigned to yourcase. Make sure you’re getting what you pay for.

7. How long have you been doing this type of work?

A few years can be a reasonable amount of time to master most of this. Unless you’re knowingly hiring a trainee(can you spell m-a-l-p-r-a-c-t-i-c-e?), make sure they’re not learning on yourdime, and at the expense of your case.

8. Can you assist with Opening Statement andClosing Arguments?

Depending on the case, it can often be helpful to have another set of eyes lookingat things, and offering ideas on how to tell the story visually. This may ormay not be something you need or are willing to pay for in your case.

9. Are you capable of producing on-site graphics?

Any hot-seat technician should be able to make at least minor changes on thefly as needed. There’s simply not always time to engage the “graphics team,” regardlessof wherever they may be located.

10. What sets you apart from your competitors?

This can apply both to the company, and the individual(s) assigned. However, hiringa well-known company does not necessarily mean that the person they will assignis the best for you. Make sure it’s a good fit from top to bottom.

Trial Presentation: Greatest Hits Volume 3

2011-10-31T12:47:00.000-07:00

As I have explained in the past, this blog is my passion and hobby, but not my profession. As a result, you will periodically see uneven posting schedules at times, when professional demands require more time. Even so, although the level of traffic during the longer gaps decreases somewhat, it still remains strong. The best compliment I can get on my blog is that people read, enjoy, and share. Thanks for your ongoing support!

Here are few of the most popular articles recently on Court Technology and Trial Presentation. If you're interested in a topic you don't see here, try the Search feature. If it has to do with trial presentation and technology, chances are you'll find something on your topic.

Courtroom Projectors, Screens, and MonitorsA few tips on what works in the courtroom, and what doesn’t. Should you rent or buy? Do courtrooms already have everything you need?

Presenting Evidence in Trial - The Belli SeminarThis article features the importance of visual evidence presentation. The best in the profession seem to share a common thread. Comments like “It looks too flashy,” or “I want the jury to focus on me” just don’t make much sense these days.

iPad Apps for Lawyers: iJuror, JuryTracker, Jury DutyA few top apps for voir dire and jury monitoring are covered here. There is a great deal of interest in bringing the iPad to trial, and it weighs less than a box of books and legal pads.

Can't See the Forest For the TreesDuring preparation for trial, a team learns the fine details and strengths of a case. What is often overlooked during trial is that jurors may not understand even the most basic elements of the case. To make assumptions in this regard may lead to disaster.

Comparison of TrialDirector, Sanction, and VisionaryI am often asked which is better, or which do I prefer. Although my personal preference is TrialDirector, I am always happy to use whatever the client needs. Trial presentation software is a tool, and is only as good as the person working with it.

Presenting Evidence in Trial - The Belli Seminar

2011-10-17T07:23:00.000-07:00

I had the honor last week of speaking at the Belli Seminar,an event organized by the Santa Clara Trial Lawyers Association, held at the Lincoln Law School, in San Jose. A day-longcollection of non-stop 10-minute presentations, the seminar was moderated bynone other than Melvin Belli Jr., and featured many well-known speakers,including Mark Geragos, Jury Consultants Amy Singer and Tammy Metzger, Tommy (Princeof Torts) Malone, Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College President Jude Basile, andseveral top Plaintiff’s attorneys from California, Washington, Texas and NewYork. I can honestly say that this was one of the best and most educationalevents I’ve ever attended.

While any of the faculty could have easily covered the entire dayon their own, the unique part of this program was that it truly forced eachpresenter to give the “best of their best,” since we all had only 10 minutesfor each presentation, followed by five minutes for questions. My notes and “take-homes”are likely nearly identical to what they’d have been, had each speaker coveredan hour or more.

What was interesting to me was that many of the presentationscovered similar topics, but each showed a unique approach to the same end goal.Some used no technology at all, while others did. One interesting point broughtout by one of the speakers was the desire to put an “image” into your jurors’minds. I helped to demonstrate how to do that, and how to make sure it’s theright image, and that they all have the same image in mind. Carefully-craftedwords often cannot replace a visual display of the evidence.

Image by LegalVision, San Francisco

Jury Consultant Tammy Metzger covered the Reptilian Brainand reading micro-expressions. This was fascinating stuff that you may not even notice – even though you can “feel”the emotions of others around you.

Jury Consultant Amy Singer discussed the Casey Anthonytrial, and how she directed the analysis of over 40,000 social media followers.She also shared a demonstration on how to do it even on smaller or low profile cases.

The program wrapped up with a brief Voir Dire of 8 jurors. Thiswas a great learning experience, as was the discussion afterward.

I’ve never seen this type of program presented before, butleave it to Silicon Valley to drive the innovation. For the record, I was theonly one presenting from my iPad (using TrialPad). When I asked, well over halfof the attendees raised their hands, claiming to own an iPad. The Silicon Valley Plaintiffs Bar is certainly ahead of some other groups I've presented to. Thanks to EdVasquez for putting this together and inviting me. After a long week in trial,it was time well spent.

Just received a nice thank-you note John Shepardson, Belli Seminar Chairman:

Thankyou so much for presenting at the seminar. The visuals are huge in whatwe do, andMel Belli was a pioneer in Demonstrative Evidence. Please keep in touch. The feedback fromour members has been hugely positive.

Courtroom Projectors, Screens, and Monitors

2011-10-03T08:08:00.000-07:00

Many courtrooms today are set up with nearly everything you’llneed to simply plug in to the system and present your evidence. Judgesgenerally encourage and appreciate the use of technology, since it tends tospeed up the trial process, and has the added benefit of making the evidenceeasier to follow and understand for the jury. Although it is sometimes assumedthat jurors will think electronic trial presentation looks too flashy, or that your client has spent a lot of money, post-trialsurveys prove that this is not the case.

Projector

A popular article I’ve written covers one simple item: BestProjectors for Courtroom Presentations. I discussed there that you wouldneed a minimum of 3000 lumens in a well-lit courtroom, and that you shouldavoid anything with DLP technology, since it will turn your nice yellowdocument highlighting to a pea-soup green color. There is no point in usinginferior equipment when the exhibits cannot be clearly viewed by the entirejury.

Another issue today would be whether to purchase awide-screen or standard projector. Although it would appear that thewide-screen, or 16:9 format already dominates the television market, it’s notquite there when it comes to available screens. Most screens you’ll find arestandard (or 4:3) format, meaning you’ll end up with a blank band on top of andbelow your exhibits. Fortunately, there are some models that will accommodate either.I would recommend considering one of those.

Also, you might want to consider a short-throw lens. Someprojectors come with them, and some have optional extra lenses which may beused. The benefit here is that the projector may be placed only a few feet fromthe screen, making it less likely that you will continually be walking betweenthe screen and projector. Although you probably won’t notice when part of the imageis on your suit, others will, and it is very distracting.

Screen

Many courtrooms have a screen installed. Some are largeenough, and some were apparently installed by the lowest bidder, regardless ofsize. Generally, you’ll want at least a 7 or 8 foot screen in a courtroom. Onemodel I like is the InstaTheater, by DaLite. It stores in a tube, and does notrequire a tripod, so it fits well in a congested courtroom. It may also beplaced on top of a table, if necessary.

Large Plasma or LCDMonitors

Another option you will find installed in some courtrooms isa large monitor, instead of a projector and screen. While they may be adequatefor watching the news, sports, or movies at home, when you consider that theyare only about half as large as a standard screen, you will likely find thatthey’re not really the ideal solution for trial presentation to a largeaudience. You can use more than one, but you also lose the effect of having onecommon focal point for all to view, and you can forget about using a laserpointer on it. Some cases require the color and clarity that only this type ofmonitor can provide.

Individual Monitors

You may want to install separate monitors for the Judge,witness, and each counsel table. This will allow everyone to view an exhibitright in front of them, which is necessary in some courtrooms, where noteveryone will have a clear view of the screen. The added benefit is that thissystem may be used to preview evidence before it has been admitted intoevidence, leaving the projector off. Once an exhibit has been admitted, theprojector is then turned on for the jury.

Audio System

Don’t forget this critical detail if you have anything thatyou want others to hear. One example that is frequently overlooked is thevideotaped deposition. Unless you have a decent speaker set connected, nobodywill hear the audio from your laptop.

Switcher

In order to control which party has access to the courtroomsystem, some sort of switching device must be installed. A matrix switch orswitchable distribution amplifier may be used for this purpose. Some judgeswill also want their own “kill switch,” in order that the might disable theprojector if necessary, although this was more common several years ago, whenthe use of technology was new and untested.

Gaffer’s Tape

Don’t even dream about using anything but professionalgaffer’s tape to secure all of your electrical, video, and audio cables. Gaffer’stape is designed to not leave any residue, nor to pull the fabric from thecourt’s carpeting. Duct tape will certainly hold the cables in place, but youmight find yourself replacing the carpeting if you try using it.

Equipment Rental orPurchase

Most Trial Presentation Consulting firms have all of thisavailable, which means that you don’t have to ship the equipment, install thesystem in the courtroom, tape cables, and make sure that everything is in goodworking order. You can also purchase and handle of this yourself, if you’reso-inclined. No matter whether you rent or purchase, make sure you install andtest it before trial. You and your client do not want the Judge to tell you thatif you can’t make it work, you’ll not be able to use it.

Related Articles

Top Ten Trial Presentation Laptop Specs

First Review: TrialDirector 6

TrialPad 2.0 Reviewed

Exhibit A: iPad App for Trial Presentation

Can't See the Forest For the Trees

2011-09-26T08:36:00.000-07:00

As a trial team develops a case, going through discovery,depositions, and possibly several attempts at settlement, each step in theprocess takes them deeper into the fine details of the matter. Mock Trials,Focus Groups, Settlement Conferences, Mediation, and other forms of AlternativeDispute Resolution can all be helpful in further sharpening the level ofunderstanding and knowledge of the case. By the time a case is ready for trial,the entire team will know the case inside-out, and will likely be familiar withits technical aspects, events which may be plotted onto a timeline, and whichwitnesses will be most helpful to your case. You should also have a good ideawhich witnesses are good candidates to be set up for impeachment, and will havetheir depo testimony excerpts ready to attack their credibility.

You might also have a series of demonstrative graphics, andmaybe even an animation to help convince your jurors that yours is the"right" side in this case. All of this preparation and review canmake you so familiar and knowledgeable about the case that you may evenunderstand it better than your client. One thing is certain -- you will view itdifferently than your client, since you also understand how everything fitsinto the litigation process, and what is permissible in court. As part of atrial team, you are also likely to view things a bit more objectively.

Can't See the Forest For the Trees

If you have retained a Trial Presentation Consultant, youwill have the advantage of working with someone who is extremely familiar andcomfortable with stress, the trial process, and handling many different tasksat once. Unlike many attorneys or other in-house legal professionals who are intrial only once or twice a year, a professional Trial Presentation Consultant isinvolved in many trials each year. The high stress of trial is something theydeal with on a daily basis, and this too can be valuable to the team. So is itworth spending the extra money on a consultant who bills as much as someattorneys? Do they bring so much knowledge to the case that they are criticalto the efficient presentation of the evidence?

While I would love to try and convince you that I am sosmart and know so much that I can guarantee you will win your case if you hireme, the truth is, one of my greatest assets to your client and trial team isnot what I know. Rather, it is what I don't know. I bring no assumptions of thebasic facts, no knowledge of what is important in the case, and no biasedperspectives. A good Trial Presentation Consultant brings a fresh pair of eyes-- not yet tainted by months or even years of preparation. They can be theclosest thing you have to a juror, and in fact, will generally offer dailyfeedback during trial, from the perspective of a shadow juror.

If you do bring in an outside consultant, you should providethem with a set of trial briefs -- but not only from your side. In order tohelp identify issues which might be overlooked, or to help spot holes in thecase, it is helpful for an objective observer to see what the other side has tosay, as well. A good consultant comes in with a fresh perspective, and theiropinion should not be taken lightly.

In addition to trial preparation, graphics, war roomsupport, and trial presentation in the courtroom, a good Trial PresentationConsultant can act as a thirteenth juror. Even with all that, the realvalue-added service is often not as a result of what they know -- it's whatthey don't know.

TheStress of Trial

TrialPresentation in Large and Complex Cases

EffectiveUse of Exhibits in Closing Argument Helps Win $12.2 Million Verdict

Isit worth the risk not hiring a Trial Presentation Consultant?

I Am Troy Davis

2011-09-21T18:21:00.000-07:00

Update 9/21/2011 11:08 PM EST RIP Troy Davis. In his final statement, he stated he was sorry for McPhail family loss, but that he did not do it. He encouraged the family to dig deeper and find out who actually did it. Unfortunately, case closed - nothing more will be done. They say they got their man. This is one sad day in the history of this country. This is not how this article was supposed to end.

Update 9/21/2011 10:21 PM EST Supreme Court has refused to stay the execution of Troy Davis.

I am Troy Davis. You are Troy Davis. Someone you know is Troy Davis.

RIP Troy Davis - Executed 9/21/2011

In the event you’re not aware who Troy Davis is, I willbriefly share that he is a man who has just received a reprieve from executionin Georgia. How long that is for is unknown at this point, but it is not a stay.It can mean only a matter of hours or days. Troy is an African-American man, accused andconvicted of killing a white police officer, and without any physical evidence.

An email form which appeared on DeathPenalty Focus provides a summary:

To the Board ofPardons and Paroles and District Attorney Larry Chisolm:

I am writing you todayto ask you to reconsider the decision to deny clemency for Troy Davis. There isa severe lack of physical evidence. Seven of nine witnesses have recanted orchanged their testimony. Multiple jurors who originally voted in favor of thedeath penalty have asked that Troy not be executed.

The execution of a mandespite serious doubts about his guilt undermines the credibility of theGeorgia justice system, and is a risk that should not be tolerated.

Please do the rightthing and stop the execution of Troy Davis.

Larry Chisolm, the District Attorney, washed his own handsby simply stating, "We appreciate the outpouring of interest in this case;however, this matter is beyond our control."

"He has had ample time to prove his innocence,"said MacPhail's widow, Joan MacPhail-Harris. "And he is notinnocent." This struck me as absolutely contrary to our judicial system –the fact that one had to prove innocence, rather than being presumed innocent.

AmnestyInternational offers further insight:

The high court set atough standard for Davis to exonerate himself, ruling that his attorneys must"clearly establish" Davis' innocence — a higher bar to meet thanprosecutors having to prove guilt.

The case against himconsisted entirely of witness testimony which contained inconsistencies even atthe time of the trial. Since then, all but two of the state'snon-police witnesses from the trial have recanted or contradicted theirtestimony.

Many of thesewitnesses have stated in swornaffidavits that they were pressured or coerced by police intotestifying or signing statements against Troy Davis.

One of the twowitnesses who has not recanted his testimony is Sylvester "Red" Coles— the principle alternative suspect, according to the defense, against whomthere is new evidence implicating him as the gunman. Nine individualshave signed affidavits implicating Sylvester Coles.

For me, I was riveted to the Twitter feed, as that seemed tobe the best source for live coverage. I then discovered Democracy Now! as a result of readingeverything I could, and Amy Goodman tirelessly provided the only live feed thatI could find.

CNN seemed to be a bit slow with their updates (at leastcompared to Twitter), and Fox News correspondent John Roberts reportedly claimedto be “inside,” awaiting the death announcement, and then apparently reportedthe execution at 7:11 EST. White Supremacist James Byrd was executed in Texasat 7:21, so maybe he just got confused?

Regardless of your position on the Death Penalty, all wouldagree that no innocent person should ever be executed. If there is even a slimchance that an error has taken place with the prosecution and conviction ofTroy Davis, it must be explored.

In any event, this story does not end here. ApparentlyJustice Clarence Thomas will determine the next move, but one thing is certain-- there is no room for this type of injustice in America. Many will now knowwho Troy Davis is, and perhaps more importantly, that something needs to be donewith the judicial system in Georgia.

He Who Is His Own Lawyer Has a Fool for a Client

2011-09-19T14:06:00.000-07:00

"He Who Is His Own LawyerHas a Fool for a Client"

This proverb is based on the opinion thatself-representation in court is likely to end badly. As with many proverbs, itis difficult to determine a precise origin, but this expression first beganappearing in print in the early 1900’s. An early example appears in 1814, in The flowers of wit, or a choice collection ofbon mots, by Henry Kett, wherein the eminent lawyer states, "I hesitatenot to pronounce, that every man who is his own lawyer, has a fool for aclient.”

This phrase remains relevant today, as it was nearly 200years ago, successfully standing against the test of time. It makes a clear andsimple statement to one who might think they are smart enough and know thefacts of their case well enough that they might save several thousand dollarsby handling their own legal affairs. While handling your case Pro Se mightactually work in some instances, the odds are against it.

In a recent article on Lawyers.com (GoingPro Se: Handling Legal Problems on Your Own), David Baarlaer explains that you can indeed win a Pro Se case, but alsoshares that statistics seem to indicate that those who “lawyer up” stand abetter chance at achieving a favorable outcome. Even though youmight be able to represent yourself, you would, in effect, be knowingly andintentionally taking unnecessary risks in the litigation of your case.

Sharpen Your Focus

Does this old saying apply to lawyers too? Today’s economicclimate encourages attorneys to do everything they can possibly do themselves,or keep the work in-house, in order to keep working (billing) on a matter.While this approach will increase your billable hours, it can also upset your clients.A quick search on alternative fee arrangements or the billable hour will show thatlegal fees are a hot topic. LarryBodine shared an interesting article about AFA’s (alternative fee arrangements),in which he points out that those who don’t get it right will see clients startwalking and talking to other firms to take on their work. Corporate counsel andother clients are all under pressure to reduce costs, and legal fees are at thetop of their list. Just because you have the ability to purchase some softwareor other new toy, spend time to learn it, and then do something with it doesnot mean that you should. If you insist on doing everything yourself, in theshort term, you might make more money per client. In the long term, you’re likelyto end up with fewer clients.

Experts are Experts

Most clients won’t appreciate that special talent you bringto the table which allows you to personally do things that others can docheaper, faster, or even better. If you’re trying a case, you shouldn’t beconcerned with how the technology works (or doesn’t work). If your case andclient are valuable to you (not to mention your reputation), there are not manygood reasons left to do everything by yourself. You might be retained to “getit done,” but that doesn’t necessarily mean you were retained to do ityourself.

I have seen a growing trend of cases coming in that are economicallydriven, in that lawyers are hired to try the case, while my firm is hired bycounsel to assist with trial preparation and presentation. No, the law firmsare not marking our services up for a profit, but the clients are happy withthe lower costs, and the fact that these services are being handled byexperts. While there are certainly exceptions, the lawyer who insists on doingeverything, in addition to practicing law, may not be too far removed from theclient who represents himself.

Please feel free to add your thoughts and comments on this topic.

Blawgs: Quality or Quantity?

2011-09-14T18:31:00.000-07:00

First, I would like to thank everyone who has ever read anyof my articles. Many of you have also offered words of gratitude and helpfulcomments. You have no idea how motivational it is to receive an email, commenton a post, or a tweet, commenting how something was helpful or appreciated. Ijust happened to be checking my stats this morning (something us bloggers do inorder to make sure we’re serving up the right stuff), and I noticed a linkfrom the LinkedIn Blog (the actual Blog written and published by LinkedIn),meaning that there was a link leading to my blog from there. I was (verypleasantly) surprised to find my blog listed as one of the top blogs on all ofLinkedIn, according to LinkedIn traffic and reads.

While I wasn’t actually upthere with Mashable or TechCrunch (two major commercially-producedweb sites), this blog was listed in the “Other top-shared stories you may havemissed” category as the lone representative for the legal community. Appearingsecond in a list of three, along with a design professionals article, and aWall Street Journal article which was popular among Recruiters and ITprofessionals this blog was mentioned:

Lawyers took to “TryingYour Case in 3 Hours: California’s Expedited Civil Jury Trials Act” (TheCourt Technology and Trial Presentation Blawg), which discussed how to wage afast-paced trial in a new method being proposed in California.

For that, I must again say, “Thank you.”

We all have a finite amount of time each day in which wehave a chance to go online to catch up on news, articles, social media, orother items of interest. Given that we do have limits on how much time we havefor this, we must often make choices on what we’re going to read. Whether it’sthe latest local or world news, recreational reading or professional articles,we’ve all found our preferred sources that we tend to go back and visitregularly. Why? Often, it is because we know what to expect when we get there.We’ve enjoyed it in the past, and expect more of the same. It is often unique,original content, rather than a re-post of someone else’s articles (althoughthere are a few decent sites that offer a summary along with an article ofinterest, which was written by someone esle). That is a good definition ofquality content.

I wish I had enough time to write a new article every day,but that’s simply not the case. Sometimes, I barely have enough time to sleep,during trial. I’ve opted for quality, rather than quantity. I don’t really wantto just slap something up there to keep some fresh content to drive moretraffic. I’d rather spend the time it takes to do it right. Apparently, you whoread this must appreciate this – at least you’re reading it. And, your commentsare always welcome. Again, thank you.

Trying Your Case in 3 Hours: California’s Expedited Civil Jury Trials Act

2011-09-06T07:59:00.000-07:00

Note: This article was mentioned by LinkedIn as one of its most-shared for the first week of September. That (at least in my opinion), is a huge distinction. Thanks for reading and sharing! See Blawgs: Quality or Quantity?

This article was originally published in Forum, a publication of the Consumer Attorneys of California.

AB 2284, California’s new Expedited Civil Jury Trials Act, is gaining momentum -- as is the U.S. District Court's version, under General Order No. 64. With only 3 hours to present and argue your case, 8 or fewer jurors with only 3 peremptory challenges, and no right to appeal, you’d better be prepared to move quickly through the evidence when you appear for trial. This new law might be a great opportunity for those desiring to gain trial experience, or possibly enabling the veteran trial lawyer to offer a greater number of clients their “day in court.” It appears poised to be an effective alternative to other forms of ADR (alternative dispute resolution) as well. One thing is certain – both plaintiff and defense firms have a great deal of interest in this, and the “slam-dunk” settlement in many cases may soon become a thing of the past.

The ideal case for AB 2284 may be a smaller or less complex matter (although there is no maximum case value limit), and an optional over-under verdict agreement might ensure that a plaintiff gets something, but also sets a cap on that amount. This is, in effect, a form of settlement in itself. The Expedited Civil Jury Trials Act should dramatically reduce the cost of going to trial – at least that’s the intent.

So, what is the best way to make sure you are able to get your story to the jury within the 3-hour time limit? In addition to a good set of motions and stipulations to help prevent unnecessary delays during the trial, you’ll benefit by preparing in the same manner as you would for a scripted and rehearsed opening statement or closing argument. Most witnesses should be presented via tightly-edited portions of videotaped deposition testimony. One or two expert witnesses on the stand could easily drain a lot of precious trial time. Trying an expedited case will require nearly the same level of preparation (if not more) as a standard trial, and a method of quickly getting the evidence before the jury is essential. Stipulations should address the time-consuming evidence-authentication process, similar to a bench trial. You won’t have the luxury of time to allow digging through binders to locate an exhibit, passing hard-copy exhibits to the jurors for review, or frantically searching a transcript for that critical piece of deposition testimony. With all that in mind, here are a few ideas to help you prepare and present the expedited trial. These suggestions could also be applied to mediations, settlement conferences, and other forms of ADR.

Get Digitized

In order to have immediate access to all of your exhibits, photographs, demonstratives, and other evidence, you will need to have an electronic version of everything. This includes all of your discovery, deposition exhibits, transcripts, and demonstratives.

The PDF (portable document format) document is one of the most common formats used in law offices today. A PDF can be created by scanning exhibits, photographs, or other hard-copy exhibits. It will handle color, as well as black & white images. If you have ESI (electronically stored information) native files (i.e., e-mail messages, Word documents, PowerPoint, etc.), these may also be converted directly to PDF format. It may also be necessary to have the native files available for display in court.

Depositions should all be videotaped and synchronized with the transcripts. Witnesses should be presented to the jury via carefully selected designations. Objections should be avoided by meeting and conferring with opposing counsel regarding these designations, so a witness testifies with both parties’ designations at the same time, rather than confusing the jury with each party attempting to present only their own side of the case. This is the same format that is used in “normal” trials, and is usually what the court requires. A stipulation may be helpful here, stating that the length of each party’s designation shall be charged against its trial time, rather than charging it to one party or dividing it equally. Trial presentation software, such as TrialDirector, enables calculating the designations and charging them to the proper party.

Get Organized

Exhibits should be assigned a unique identifier, such as a Bates number, at the time of scanning. This will enable the organization of many exhibits. A numbering system might include a two or three letter prefix, followed by a series of numbers, padded with enough digits to prevent computer-sorting (i.e., 1, 10, 11, etc.). If this is all too geeky for you, speak with someone who can assist, rather than handing over a mess that can take longer to fix than to do over.

Trial exhibits should normally be pre-marked, rather than wasting time in court. While this is the trend of most courts today anyway, it should be agreed upon that this is necessary, in order to maintain the “expedited” aspect of the trial. There is no need (nor time) to wait for the clerk to mark an exhibit as “next in order.” Trial presentation software allows you to apply an electronic exhibit sticker, which may be displayed or printed. Bear in mind that even though the evidence will be displayed on screen, a hard copy set will still be required for the court and jury. There may come a time where we submit a CD or DVD with all of the admitted evidence for deliberations, but we’re not there yet.

Get Prepared

A trial presentation database will be your evidence storage, management, retrieval, and presentation system. Several applications are available, including TrialDirector, Sanction, and Visionary (the top 3 in market share). There are even a few iPad apps which are very cool (TrialPad, Evidence, Exhibit A) for trial presentation, but they’re not ready for prime-time, in my opinion. I’ve reviewed them all on my Court Technology and Trial Presentation blog. Unless looking “cool” while using your iPad for trial presentation is more important to you than connecting with your jury and getting the most out of your evidence, you may want to avoid bringing a spork to a gunfight. When handled properly, one of the best parts of incorporating technology into trial is that it can be an invisible transition for you. You can handle your evidence in any manner you wish, and someone else can worry about the database.

As mentioned above, videotaped deposition designations should be made, countered, and ruled upon prior to trial. Trial presentation software will enable you to designate a section of the transcript, and identify whose designation it is. A report can then be generated from the database, showing the total time, and breaking it down by designating party. Needless to say, hours of testimony must be refined to only a few minutes.

Demonstrative exhibits should be prepared, in two versions – one for opening statement and possible use with a witness, and another with an argumentative title added for closing argument. One simple, but effective demonstrative can include an image of each videotaped deponent, thus “introducing” them to the jury.

Don’t forget about the courtroom presentation equipment. It would be a simple, but tragic, error to show up in court, ready for trial, only to realize that the court didn’t have any presentation equipment, or that you had no idea how to use it. Again, a good trial presentation consultant can just “make it happen” for you.

Get Rehearsed

You should not enter the trial courtroom without having a plan, and having rehearsed that plan to check timing and flow of everything. It would be a bit of a disappointment to realize you hadn’t yet covered damages, with only 3 minutes remaining. I’m guessing that the courts are going to be pretty strict on timing for this type of trial. You will probably want a very brief opening, followed by your case, and then concluding with your closing argument. You should decide how much time to allow for each, and closely monitor your progress. You may want to rehearse the entire trial, giving you a good idea of how much time you’ll actually need to spend on each issue. This won’t be the forum for slow, condescending explanations. You’re going to have to trust your jury to put it all together for you – making the shortened voir dire process even more important.

Get a Jury

Parties are encouraged to file a Joint Form Questionnaire, to help expedite the voir dire process. You may want to have a jury consultant prepare this for you, in addition to getting some assistance during your selection process. Reviewing the questionnaires, in addition to checking social media profiles can be very helpful. You have a total of one hour for voir dire, with 15 minutes specifically allotted to the judge, and 15 minutes for each party. There are only 3 peremptory challenges allowed to select a jury of 8 or fewer jurors, with a verdict requiring 75% of the panel. You won’t have time to spend asking each prospective juror questions like, “Can you be fair?”

Get a Verdict

With no appeal allowed, you get only one bite at this apple. If you’ve done all of the prep correctly, and are ready to try your entire case in 3 hours, you’ve done your best. If you’ve taken shortcuts, or attempted to work with too many live witnesses or hard-copy exhibits, you might walk away wondering why you only covered half of your material.

It is crucial to keep your jury engaged, and the best way to do that is the keep their minds active. Simply narrating or reading from bullet-point slides won’t cut it. You will need to use trial presentation software, specifically designed for presenting randomly-accessed evidence to the fact finders. Since you will be dealing with documents and deposition video excerpts, you will want keep the flow moving along quickly enough to tell your entire story, yet not so fast as to make it impossible for the jury to piece together. Every document page or deposition excerpt should be clearly identified for the record, and quickly zooming on a key paragraph, highlighting the critical text within the paragraph. This is the stuff note-takers are following. General descriptions and too much information can tend to become “noise” to jurors. You may be able to stipulate that highlighted versions of the exhibits be admitted into evidence. Although this is often considered demonstrative evidence, I have seen it happen. It could be extremely helpful for the jury during deliberations, especially in this setting. This is easily done with the trial presentation software. Note that while time limits are set for the trial, there are none for the jury to reach their verdict.

If you’ve seen a trial presentation that looked easy, it’s because the attorney and trial presentation consultant both knew what they were doing. While you may feel that you might save yourself and your client some money by handling the trial presentation yourself (never recommended), or even having someone in your firm do it, unless this individual does trial presentation regularly, a one-day trial does not justify the risk – especially under the rigid time constraints. Not that a longer trial of greater value really does either, but that’s another topic. Trial is no time for training.

Ted Brooks is a Trial Presentation Consultant, with offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Related Articles:

Five Steps to Creating a Compelling Mediation Presentation DVD

How to Prepare for Shortened Litigation: Mediation, Settlement Conferences, and Expedited Trials

AB 2284, The Expedited Civil Jury Trials Act

ADR and the Art of High-Speed Trial Presentation

iTestimony: iPad App for Witness Management

2011-08-31T08:28:00.000-07:00

iTestimony is an app designed to help you keep your witness information handy and updated. It is developed by Scott Falbo of Front9 Technologies, developers of iJuror, the first app designed to assist with voir dire (see review).

If you've tried iJuror, the clean and simple interface will look familiar. Like the majority of apps available for lawyers, iTestimony serves a limited, but useful purporse -- keeping track of all of the witnesses in your case.

While you’re not going to find a long list of things that this will do, it does a nice job at organizing information about your witnesses, and allows you to sort by a few basic parameters, including whose witness it is, how helpful they are to your case, and whether you still need to follow up on something with them. You can also add your own notes, as well as filling in fields such as name, occupation, and rating their importance to your case.

If you’re on a mission to save trees and/or stop carrying lots of books and legal pads, the iPad is probably something you’re using these days. iTestimony can help in the reduction of legal pad use by keeping all of your witness info handy. This can be very helpful – especially in larger cases and long trials. And, you can email this info as a report.

Perhaps someday we’ll see apps that cover several related purposes in one app. But then, maybe that’s just part of the simplistic beauty of the iPad. In any event, iTestimony and iJuror would be a good set for a Trial Lawyer to have on their iPad.

iTestimony, $9.99 in the iTunes Store,available for iPad only

Five Steps to Creating a Compelling Mediation Presentation DVD

2011-08-25T10:44:00.000-07:00

In this economy, litigants are extremely cost-conscious, and have been successful in forcing many law firms to develop creative fee structures, and driving the rates of legal fees downward, deflating what some have even referred to as a legal fee bubble (see Are We In A Legal Profession (Pricing) Bubble?, by Susan Cartier Liebel).

One way to lower the costs of litigation is by using technology every way possible for evidence management and trial presentation. Another is to avoid trial altogether, when possible -- although I generally try to encourage going all the way to trial by initiating a group-chant session with my law firm clients: “Settle is just another way to spell Sell-Out.” That doesn’t always fly with the parties in the matter, however.

So, preparing a DVD for Mediation or Settlement Conference can be a very effective method of presenting your case to opposing counsel and their client. Rules of Evidence aren’t really an issue, so you can go a little over the top, but should not over-do it. Here are a few steps to creating a compelling presentation, aimed at convincing opposing counsel that it would be advantageous for them to avoid trial. While this topic certainly includes some ideas specifically related to Plaintiffs in Personal Injury cases, many of the basic principles may be applied to most any matter.

1. Gather the Evidence: You should consider all of the available evidence in the matter for inclusion in your DVD. Although you won’t want to clutter it up with duplicative or relatively mundane exhibits, you should be sending a clear message that you are preparing to go the distance. This can even include subtle hints, such as Bates numbering of documents and the manner in which your exhibits are organized.

2. Film a “Day-In-the-Life” of Your Client: While this is not unusual for Plaintiffs in Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice suits, it can also be an effective tool for Defendants. You might obtain the entire video via subpoena, or you might even consider filming your own, so you can spin it your way. In any event, the “more is better” rule definitely applies, in order that you might have some good options to work with. An article by Robyn Weisman appeared recently in Law Technology News, Prime Time, sharing how litigators use 'Day in the Life' videos to sway insurers and jurors.

3. Edit, Edit, and Edit Some More: This is really more about art than science. Every video editor/producer has a different feel for the way things will work, what is important, and how best to present it. I have seen many “styles” of Day-In-the-Life videos. Some include music, some will have a lot of narration or witness statements, while others will appear more documentary. My personal style is the latter – I’m not generally a big fan of drama and attempts to play on emotions when it comes to legal video productions. That is likely influenced by my extensive use of media in the courtroom. I will say that you’re not going to be allowed to play “All By Myself” in court to the jury, as a series of tear-jerking images are displayed.

4. Adding Demonstratives: Although you might think it would be a bit early in the game to be developing some visuals, they can be very effective in summarizing key points, a timeline, or even testimony. The idea here is to give opposing counsel some choices, and no matter what they choose to focus on, they will be getting your message. You may add some of these into the video itself, but also include them as PDF files on the DVD.

5. Deposition Testimony: If you’ve videotaped your depos, you can easily include helpful sections of testimony via video clips. Again, you can add them to a Day-In-the-Live video, and/or you may include them as individual files. Even if you have not videotaped your depos, you can still include a PDF version of your excerpts.

Your final product might be a standalone Day-In-the-Life DVD, or it might be a collection of things, including the video, exhibits, testimony and demonstratives. The latter is generally my preference – show them what you’ve got, and don’t expect everyone to view everything. Also bear in mind that this type of project can be very complex, so allow plenty of time for gathering all of the parts, and then the production of your Mediation Package DVD.

Here are a few examples of relevant video excerpts. None of these are intended to serve as a complete package, but are shared here to help provide an understanding of the impact of video.

Title Test Mediation Video DVD Package: This shows the effective use of silence and titling to make a very powerful statement.

Day-In-the-Life excerpt 1: This allows the viewer to experience the frustration of doing simple things we take for granted.

Day-In-the-Life excerpt 2: This shows the effects of solitude, and resulting slow passage of time.

Belli Seminar: "Cutting-edge Trial Techniques for the 21st Century"

2011-08-22T05:20:00.000-07:00

For Immediate Release:

Belli Seminar

"Cutting-edge Trial Techniques for the 21st Century"

Pass this on to a colleague! On Friday, October 14th at Lincoln Law School, Santa Clara County Trial Lawyers Association presents a plaintiff-oriented program, “Cutting-edge Trial Techniques for the 21st Century”, moderated by Melvin Caesar Belli, son of the late "King of Torts". In the tradition of the late Melvin Belli, the seminar is a venue for top trial lawyers, consultants and experts to share with plaintiff attorney’s cutting edge trial strategies, tactics and techniques. RSVP Now for early bird pricing. The 5 hour event is fast-paced. Each of the 20 presenters is given 15 minutes, 10 for the presentation and 5 for Q & A. Selected presenters will videotape an in depth one on one interview that will be given to the attendees. Learn the latest winning strategies from top presenters.

Technology consultant Ted Brooks will be one of the 20 Belli Seminar presenters. Brooks has consulted for David Boies in the divorce trial of the McCourts (LA Dodgers owners), for attorney M. Gerald Schwartzbach in the Robert Blake murder trial and has worked with many big name corporate and plaintiff law firms.

Other top presenters include:

Attorney Mark Geragos: The only lawyer besides Johnnie Cochran ever named "Lawyer of the Year" in both Criminal and Civil arenas. He has also been named as “One of the 100 Most Influential Attorneys in California" three years in a row.

Amy Singer: Jury consultant in the Casey Anthony trial. Analyzed tens of thousands highly-charged social media opinions, and used them to help the defense craft their trial strategy. The Innovative tactic shows how social media sites may revolutionize the way lawyers defend clients.

Howard Varinsky: One of the country's preeminent trial consultants. Involved In many of the nation's most well-known trials, from the defense of Bernard Goetz & Dr. Jack Kevorkian to the prosecutions of Timothy McVeigh & Michael Jackson. Learn how Engineer jurors think, what works, and what doesn't.

Attorney Tom Brandi: "Taking a New and Different Approach with Demonstrative Evidence". Brandi won a $29 million Sonoma County jury verdict In July 2011, holding the State of California accountable for a head on crash on a section of state Highway 12 that did not have e median barrier.

RSVP Now for early bird pricing

I truly look forward to participating in this one-of-a-kind event, and certainly feel like the little fish in the big bowl. Hope to see you there!

iKeyboard Update: Touch Typing On Your iPad

2011-08-18T06:15:00.000-07:00

Today's post will be a little different, in that I will be typing it entirely with my iPad 2 (first time for that, although I have written one on my old iPad before, while on a long flight), and also using a prototype (no pun intended) of the new iKeyboard.

So, how does it feel? Well, I can tell you that I am touch typing, rather than staring at the keyboard on the glass, no longer forced to having my fingers hover uncomfortably over the keys. While using the iPad for typing takes a little practice anyway, the iKeyboard is a great addition. I'm not able to type quite as fast as with a regular keyboard, but part of that is just learning how to use the iPad's keyboard properly.

As I mentioned in my recent article, comparing the iPad with other tablets and their use in law firms, I remain convinced that since the iPad enjoys the biggest share of the market, that keeps the extra innovative accessories coming.

The iKeyboard should be available for purchase (under $50) within a few weeks, and I look forward to trying the production version. If you blog or type quite a bit, and want to use your iPad, it would be worth the money, and you don't need to carry another piece of hardware.

Final note: I did have some trouble getting the image to line up correctly with Safari browser on the iPad. Copying and pasting are certainly more trouble, and scrolling the text in the Blogger window was also difficult. So, the image placement and the last three sentences are courtesy of Chrome browser on my Dell laptop.

Are iPads the Best Option for Lawyers?

2011-08-15T01:00:00.000-07:00

First, if you do enjoy this blog (and I hope that's why you're reading this now), please consider this request to nominate Court Technology and Trial Presentation to the ABA Blawg 100.

I was asked recently about my opinion and recommendations for law firms considering the purchase of iPads or Android tablets, such as the Samsung Galaxy 10.1, and the availability of apps for lawyers. Well, considering the fact that Apple just got an injunction against the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 in a German court, firms leaning toward an Android tablet standard may want to wait. While the German injunction doesn't guarantee that the U.S. Courts will follow the decision, it does mean that distribution of the device is now prohibited in the entire European Union, except for The Netherlands, and it was Britain's second-fastest selling tablet compared to the iPad 2.

Another tablet that could be considered is the BlackBerry Playbook, but even though the folks in the IT department might tell you it would be the most secure and easiest to bring into "the system," it has some serious shortcomings, such as the need for the BlackBerry phone to be near the tablet for it to view e-mail. This means if you want to read in bed, you'll be sleeping with your phone as well as the Playbook.

Even though Research In Motion has owned the legal market for many years, unless they once again begin to innovate rather than renovate, the BlackBerry's days are numbered. And that's without regard for the fact that the BlackBerry Messenger System is now being tied to the London riots, which might actually cause new security concerns.

USABILITY AND INTERFACE

Just as phones tend to morph into similar designs, tablets do too -- sometimes too much, according to the German Court. The way in which the devices operate is very similar across platforms. If you can operate one, you can operate another. So perhaps the choice should be based more upon other factors, such as availability of apps and accessories.

There's nothing wrong with the Android tablets, but they are so far behind in market share now that it discourages development of accessories by third-party vendors. Why spend the same amount of money developing something for a much smaller market, and for so many different devices? If you're making an accessory for the iPad, it needs to work with the iPad, iPad 2, or both. That's it.

A good case in point (no pun intended) was noted in my recent review on some innovative iPad cases, including one model that protects the iPad from dirt and dust (read: beaches, frozen drinks, and suntan oil). Another example is something I expect to be testing soon called the iKeyboard, a thin-film layer that allows you to use your touch-typing skills on the iPad without having an external keyboard, which in my opinion is getting close enough to a laptop that you might as well use a laptop. Neither of these are available on an Android tablet. Sometimes it's the extras that can influence a decision on otherwise similar products.

Although I'll admit to a love affair with my iPad, I am not a true fanboy, i.e., a zombie-like being who is convinced that anything made by Apple is better than anything made by anyone else, regardless of the facts. I use Windows on my laptops and aSamsung Nexus S phone.

APP-CESSORIZE

There are many legal-specific iPad apps and I've reviewed several for Law Technology News and on my blog, but there are only a few available for Android. Some of these iPad apps for lawyers are TrialPad, Deponent, Exhibit A, Evidence, JuryTracker, Jury Duty, Litigator, CourtDaysPro, idoc REVIEW, and iJuror; and these are just some that I've reviewed, to name a few.

With a wide variety of accessories and legal-specific apps available from Apple and third-party vendors, the decision is not difficult. At this point, my personal choice and recommendation for anyone in the legal profession would be to go with the iPad and app-cessorize to your needs and heart's content.

Ted Brooks is a trial presentation consultant, author, and speaker, with offices in Los Angeles & San Francisco. E-mail: ted@litigationtech.com. Blog: Court Technology and Trial Presentation.

Trial Briefs (an update on your intrepid blogger)

2011-08-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

Trial briefs? I mean to say that I'll keep this brief, because I'm prepping for trial, working on several cases. Having to manage a lot of work is a good problem to have, generally.

So, a couple quick notes. First, if you do enjoy this blog (and I hope that's why you're reading this now), please consider this request to nominate Court Technology and Trial Presentation to the ABA Blawg 100. It’s possible that nobody else has done so yet, so I’d really appreciate it. Here's a link to my Blawg listing on the ABA site.

Next, I’ve just written a new article for Law Technology News, Is the iPad or Android Tablet Better for Law Firms?, in which tablet options for law firms are discussed, including the iPad, Samsung Galaxy, and BlackBerry Playbook.

Other items of note which I’ll cover in coming weeks include major updates to NoteTaker HD, Jury Box, and a new app called iTestimony, by the folks who brought us iJuror. Also, I should have an iKeyboard prototype to test soon, although I may not be able to review it until it’s ready for the public.

Finally, I’m giving away a Hard Candy iPad case. No big deal, not trying to gather personal info so I can spam-bomb you (that’s not my style), but just thought it would be cool to share one of the nice products I have received for review. Details are in Hard Candy: iPad Cases and Stylus.

Hard Candy: iPad Cases and Stylus

2011-08-08T01:00:00.000-07:00

Adding to my ongoing coverage of iPad Apps for Lawyers, Paralegals and Legal Professionals, I have been testing a few new iPad cases and a stylus by Hard Candy Cases. There are a number of options available, with some offering little more functionality than a book cover. Hard Candy and their GumDrop line both offer several nice options – especially for those who are rough on their toys, or have unique uses for their iPad – some models are also available for the iPhone.

NOTE: Make sure to see how you can win one of these in a Twitter contest – details at the end of this article.

Candy Convertible iPad Case

Apple iPad Case

Candy Convertible iPad Case (Available for iPad 1 or iPad 2, $44.95)

Comparing with the Apple iPad Case ($39), although the Hard Candy case is about $6 more, if you’re into watching movies in the upright position (as depicted in the photos), the Apple case isn’t quite as stable, since the Hard Candy case has a slightly wider bend section. This extra little bit of lift angle is also nice if you lay your iPad on your lap, or maybe an airline tray. The Hard Candy does feel a bit heavier, but not by much, and has an inner pocket for a few business cards.

Bubble Sleeve iPad 2 + 1 (fits iPad 1 or 2, $49.95)

Bubble Sleeve iPad Case

I really like this case, and if you’re the type who doesn’t like to add a “sleeve” to your iPad, you will too. It is a nicely padded case, with a double zipper to keep it safe. Although you could use your iPad in this case, one of the benefits is that it is not fastened in, so removing the iPad is as easy as just lifting it out. This feels good in the hand, and would be easy to carry around, giving you a great deal of protection, if you should happen to get clumsy, have it outdoors when the weather gets ugly, etc. It has enough room for your iPad and a stylus, and there is room underneath for a few business cards and a lens cleaning cloth.

Candy iPad Stylus + Pen (for iPad, iPhone, Android Phones, etc., $34.95, shiny chrome finish, also available in white)

Candy iPad Stylus + Pen

This stylus is the nicest one I’ve seen yet. Jeff Richardson recently posted a review of several styli on his iPhone J.D. blog, and included a handy photo lineup for size comparison. Building upon his comparison, I've added a lineup here for reference. I agree with Jeff that it is not comfortable writing with a short stylus, and I will add that the thinner profile of most of them also takes some getting used to.

Top to bottom: Kensington Virtuoso, Hard Candy Stylus, Montblanc Pen

The Hard Candy Stylus includes both a pen and silicone stylus. It is the only model that protects the stylus tip along with the pen, and it has the shape and feel of a fine writing instrument, such as the Montblanc pen, as shown. It does not have a pocket clip, so it may wobble around a bit in your pocket protector, however. The end caps are both securely fitted with an o-ring seal, similar to the Kensington design.

Drop Tech Series iPad 2 Case (for iPad 2, $59.95, iPhone 4, $44.95)

Drop Tech Series iPad 2 Case

I visited my local Apple store this weekend, and purchased an iPad 2 (an extremely pleasant and brief experience, by the way), and so I was able to actually test this case. This demonstrates my love and devotion to this blawg, and to you, my reader! Although it’s not the type of case I would use daily, I can think of times I would want the added protection the Drop Tech offers. I can also think of many uses in which you don’t really want to get the iPad dirty, such as in medical, restaurants, dusty or dirty conditions, sports events, at the beach, etc. What you can see in the photo is the rubberized frame in which the iPad is securely locked in. It looks sort of like an off-road tire tread. What you cannot see is that there is a clear (replaceable, $15.95) cover over the display itself, and the iPad works just as if it weren’t there. This case allows the iPad 2 to be used in far more hostile environments, and thus, may even be a good reason for even greater adaptation among various professions. It is random innovations such as this that will keep the iPad the King of Tablets for some time to come.

Overall, this company has the right idea when it comes to unique and innovative product design. It’s all made well, and they take functionality seriously.

Twitter Contest: Win a brand-new (tested briefly by me for review purposes) Candy Convertible iPad Case for iPad 1, value $44.95! Just send out a Tweet (or as many tweets as you wish), with a description and link to this review, and include the words “iPad Case Review by @litigationtech” in the body. You must follow my @litigationtech and @ted_brooks Twitter accounts to be eligible, and the winner will be selected randomly by me from the most recent post at the time I check it sometime this week. Winner will be announced Friday, but may be selected at any time during the week. Shipping only to U.S. or Canada (sorry, this is coming out of my pocket). There's even a convenient Tweet button below this (and every) article.

Legal Technology Marches On

2011-08-04T09:23:00.000-07:00

I recently enjoyed the opportunity of speaking to a group of Law Firm Managing Partners for the Northern California Association of Defense Counsel, a branch of the DRI (Defense Research Institute). The most impressive part of all of this to me was that these law firm leaders all attended a series of cutting-edge presentations, all designed to demonstrate some of the current trends and options available. In my experience, with a few rare exceptions, law firms have generally been closer to the knife handle than the leading edge, when it comes to adopting technology. Given the inherent risk in dealing with the property and information of others, this is understandable. A recent example was noted in Law Technology News, where a major issue was discovered in the search function of Adobe Acrobat. A “little glitch” like this can bring the litigation process to a full stop.

Peter Hart, who organized the ADC Seminar, started off by sharing the results of a poll taken by attendees. It showed that associates and paralegals were billing more, and that they were increasing in numbers – perhaps an indicator of finding creative ways to bill at lower rates.

Adrian Dayton shared how lawyers and firms can use social media to bolster their web presence, and offered several success stories. Covering Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, he demonstrated the best ways to set up a profile, and how to maintain it. Using specific terms and your real name will help. With the increasing usage of the Internet for research, news, and shopping, it is more important than ever to be “findable.” The Yellow Pages is heading out to the recycle bin, along with the Classified Ads section. Dayton shared the incredible speed in which news can spread. Although he didn’t touch upon Google+, that is certainly one to watch now, as well.

Brian Anderson, of The Performance Edge, delivered an impressive presentation on engaging with your employees and clients. Of particular interest to me was the fact that he noted you should not assume everyone is on your level of technology, when it comes to relationships. Different age groups can have varying comfort levels with all of this. He pointed out that Baby-Boomers (probably the majority of attendees) are immigrants in the world of technology. They were not born into it. While I would probably respond to a Tweet mentioning my name, others may not – especially if they’re not actively on Twitter. So, a phone call may be in order. Even though you may be comfortable with all of the latest apps and protocols in social media, don’t neglect the original form of social media – talking to one another.

I covered a few topics, including visual litigation, expedited trials, and iPad apps for lawyers. A quick “raise-your-hands” poll of attendees revealed that only a few were familiar with AB 2284 (California Expedited Civil Jury Trials Act) and General Order No. 64 (Northern District of California), and the fact that a trial could be completed in only one day. With the pressure from clients and Insurance Companies to keep the budget minimized, this was a hot topic, since it can cut trial costs by as much as 90%. Of course, I presented my topics using my iPad. It would look kind of silly, speaking about iPad apps, using my laptop.

Apparently, the entire program was well-received. A note from Peter Hart:

“I want to thank you all for your participation as speakers at the 2011 Association of Defense Counsel Law Firm Management Seminar in Monterey, California. I say without hesitation that the presentations put on by each of you were very well received by the seminar attendees. I reviewed the speaker evaluations and they were very complimentary of both the content of the program and the direct relevance that each program had for the attendees. I especially liked the way that each speaker built upon prior presentations and the overall theme of the seminar.”

While I always enjoy presenting to various groups of attorneys and legal professionals, it is a special treat to present to law firm leaders, since they are the influencers and decision-makers. I also had the pleasure of meeting with Donna Seyle, who is now working with the California State Bar Technology Section. (Note: This meeting was a direct result of our prior contact on Twitter – we had never met in person). Donna has asked that I help promote her group and Annual Conference Reception. So, here’s the link for more info: CalBar Law Practice Management & Technology Section Networking Reception

And, if you’re in, from, would like to be, or just interested in California, you are welcome and encouraged to join the California Legal group on LinkedIn.

Social Media, SEO, and Haircuts: Enough Already!

2011-08-02T10:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I’ll admit that you can actually get to know people as a result of using Social Media networking. I have actually met (yes, in person) several people who I first connected with online via professional networking. I’ll also admit that good SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can indeed help a website appear higher up in Google (or other) search results. However, it seems you can’t go 2 minutes without being bombarded by the next wave of “adver-articles” on the topics. And, a majority of the news I typically follow is supposedly intended for an audience of legal professionals.

What is Social Media? Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Facebook, and even blogs to a degree, are all examples of Social Media. Although there is certainly room for everyone, not everyone wants or needs to be there. What value is a continuous stream of useless information on every conceivable topic to someone who’s just not interested? On the other hand, if one is indeed interested in a specific topic, and wants to gather info and learn from a variety of sources, it can be helpful. A great analogy I’ve heard many times is that it is like a large, fast-moving river of information. If you jump in this river, you can easily be washed away. If you dip your cup and take a sip, you might enjoy it – but only if you’re thirsty.

If you are interested in learning more about social media, get some help from someone familiar with it, or search the term to get more info. One thing to remember, however, is that anything you say can and will be used against you, and that it should be considered “permanent.” Once you post something, even though you delete it, there are ways to bring it back to haunt you.

What is SEO? It is the use of search-friendly words in various places on a website, including the text you read, title of a page or article, and even “keywords,” which although not visible to the reader, are there strictly for the benefit of being “found” in a search. If you need your web site set up with SEO, get some help from someone who really knows what they’re doing -- and, make them prove it to you. Beware of overly-specific terms which will “guarantee” top placement in the search engines. Yes, I can get a #1 listing for “ted brooks litigation tech,” but what value is that? In other words, is it likely that anyone will actually search for that specific term? If so, will they follow up and contact me, based on what they were originally searching for? Try to think like your own potential client.

If you are concerned with SEO and your Google Search results, and you’re not into web development, have your web team or IT department handle it, or get someone to assist you.

If you are a practicing lawyer or busy legal professional, unless you have a lot of free time, trying to learn, master, and practice SEO might not be the best use of your time. Although I might be able to offer “Top Ten Tips and Tricks on How to Cut Your Own Hair,” you may be among the majority who would probably be better off letting someone else handle it for you.

Greatest Hits Vol 2: Top Five Technology Articles for Lawyers, Litigation Paralegals and Legal Professionals

2011-07-28T12:23:00.000-07:00

It has been a great year so far for this blawg, with readership tripling over the past few months. I try to follow one simple rule here: Publish original, unique, and informative content, as opposed to running an online advertisement campaign, copying other material, or posting just for the sake of posting.

I posted a similar list a few months ago. You’ll see some familiar titles, and some new ones.

So, what has everyone been reading? I am going to share a list of the most-read topics on this blawg, along with a brief background note about the article. It’s kind of a cheat sheet to what everyone else has enjoyed and shared the most. You will find some duplication, since some of the older articles are relevant enough keep getting views. Of course, the newer articles haven’t all been around long enough to get enough traffic to bring them up to the long-term lists. I hope you’ll enjoy this list, and that you’ll consider tweeting, sharing, liking, +1, and whatever else you can to help get the word out. You may also subscribe, with a few options on the right side of this page (no, I don’t collect your email address and then start a spam attack).

NOTE: Any time you wish to return to the home page, simply click on the banner on the top of any page. It really works. Pretty cool? Also, if there is a topic you don’t see in the lists below, you might try the Search on the right side of the page. You just might find what you’re looking for.

Top 5 Most-Tweeted Posts (Stats Collected for only the past few weeks)

How to Prepare for Shortened Litigation: Mediation, Settlement Conferences, and Expedited Trials – Explores AB 2284, General Order No. 64, and how to prepare for the one-day expedited trial or ADR

Top 12 Reasons Attorneys Should Be Using Technology in Trial – A jury was surveyed after reaching a verdict in a rural Arkansas town. Would you expect them to be comfortable with technology? How about the opinions of several Judges?

Casey Anthony Verdict: Was it Wrong? – Plenty of comments came in on this piece. I think most of agree (at least those of us with trial experience) that the jury delivered the correct verdict under the circumstances, even though it was certainly not a popular one.

Trial Presentation in Large and Complex Cases – Let’s face it – if the budget is there and the case is big, there’s really no excuse not to go with every possible technological advantage.

The Stress of Trial – I’ve seen and felt the intense level of stress endured daily by a trial team. Rather than deny it, one should accept it and try to keep it in check.

Pros Make it Look Easy – This began with my viewing a concert video of Eric Clapton and John Mayer, playing the song, “Crossroads.” I was so impressed at how easy they made it look that I immediately pulled out my air-guitar and began jamming with them (okay, not really). But I did want to share that when someone really knows what they’re doing, they can make something difficult look simple.

Roger Clemens Mistrial: Top Ten Tips for Vetting Your Trial Presentation Consultant – Good lessons from this case on knowing when you’re in too deep for your own good? Interesting parallel with the Casey Anthony trial as well.

Top 12 Reasons Attorneys Should Be Using Technology in Trial – A jury was surveyed after reaching a verdict in a rural Arkansas town. Would you expect them to be comfortable with technology? How about the opinions of several Judges?

Jury Box: Voir Dire Application for Mac, PC, and Linux - Joining the ranks of sticky-note replacement ideas comes this software for your computer. A link in this piece lead to The Jury Expert, where the developer responds by stating that version 3.0 will be incorporating virtually every suggestion offered. This is a decent application now, but it's about to get a whole lot better. I just wonder why all of the voir dire apps came out on the iPad first?

How to Prepare for Shortened Litigation: Mediation, Settlement Conferences, and Expedited Trials – Explores AB 2284, General Order No. 64, and how to prepare for the one-day expedited trial or ADR

Casey Anthony Verdict: Was it Wrong? – Plenty of comments came in on this piece. I think most of agree (at least those of us with trial experience) that the jury delivered the correct verdict under the circumstances, even though it was certainly not a popular one.

How to Prepare for Shortened Litigation: Mediation, Settlement Conferences, and Expedited Trials – Explores AB 2284, General Order No. 64, and how to prepare for the one-day expedited trial or ADR

Top 12 Reasons Attorneys Should Be Using Technology in Trial – A jury was surveyed after reaching a verdict in a rural Arkansas town. Would you expect them to be comfortable with technology? How about the opinions of several Judges?

Great Backyard Grilling iPad App – A departure from my typical subject matter, but I got the app, and the timing was perfect for the July 4^th weekend.

iPad Apps for Lawyers: TrialPad 2.0 Reviewed – TrialPad had such a major list of improvements that it warranted a completely updated review. This is one impressive iPad app for trial presentation.

ALL TIME Top 5 Posts

Apples to Apples: Two iPad Apps for Trial Presentation – Things don’t get to the #1 position for no reason. This piece compared two iPad apps head-to-head: TrialPad and Evidence. Exhibit A came out a bit later. All of the apps have seen improvements.

iPad Apps for Lawyers: iJuror, JuryTracker, Jury Duty – Part of the iPad apps for lawyers revolution, these apps for voir dire can help replace the dreaded sticky-notes.

Samsung Nexus S: BlackBerry Replacement or iPhone Substitute? – For a variety of reasons, I decided against the iPhone. Yes, I love my iPad, but there were some important features that the iPhone didn’t offer, and now, with the limits on data from the most popular iPhone carriers, I’m still happy with my decision. This phone is also known as the “Google Phone,” as it was designed for developers and others who don’t want a load of proprietary pre-installed apps.

iPad Apps for Trial Presentation – This is the article that made history – at least for this blog. I had no idea that the topic could be so incredibly popular among attorneys and legal techies. Actually, this was really more “teaser” than article at the time, but it worked.

Top 12 Reasons Attorneys Should Be Using Technology in Trial – A jury was surveyed after reaching a verdict in a rural Arkansas town. Would you expect them to be comfortable with technology? How about the opinions of several Judges?

I hope you’ve enjoyed the articles on this list, and that you’ll consider tweeting, sharing, liking, +1, and whatever else you can to help get the word out. Blawg subscription options are on the upper right side of this page. Thanks for reading!

---Ted

Pros Make it Look Easy

2011-07-25T00:14:00.000-07:00

As I watched this video of Eric Clapton and John Mayer enjoying themselves in a little friendly dueling guitars session, I watched how easy they make it look to rip the guitar solos in the classic Cream song, Crossroads. I play(ed) guitar, and I know from personal experience – it isn’t easy. As I rocked out, I considered how this might also apply to a Trial Lawyer presenting the perfect Opening Statement, or perhaps her Trial Presentation Consultant helping to “argue” the exhibits, by bringing up the correct exhibit on cue, highlighting the key text, underlining a word, or perhaps drawing an arrow pointing to the smoking gun on a demonstrative – all without direction. It just flows – it looks easy. Once again, I know from personal experience – it isn’t. It takes a great deal of training and experience to make it happen.

Perhaps two recent high profile cases turned at least partially upon the fact that the government didn’t seem to think it was necessary to retain assistance for trial presentation consulting.

In the Casey Anthony trial (see Casey Anthony Verdict: Was it Wrong?), it appears the Prosecution may have believed and bought into their own story, and that they didn’t have a good reality check in place. A good Trial Consultant can provide just that. As a thirteenth juror, listening, observing, and offering an objective opinion on the case, before and during the trial. I’m not describing a Trial Technician here, but rather someone who has dozens, or even hundreds of trials under their belt. It is not uncommon for a trial team who has been working for months or years on a case, to begin assuming that the basics are understood and clear to anyone. That is not the case. The jury knows little or nothing about your case. Getting some feedback from the jury would be ideal, but getting a similar perspective from someone on the “outside” is as close as you can get.

In the Roger Clemens trial (see Roger Clemens Mistrial: Top Ten Tips for Vetting Your Trial Presentation Consultant), it appears that whoever was presenting the evidence may have committed an error as well. If so, it could be that the offending testimony was played, when it should never have been available in the database, having previously been ruled as inadmissible. Perhaps it was also an error on the part of the trial presenter to leave the hearsay testimony up on the screen for the jury to read, during the sidebar. This is a good example of what not to do, and also a good example of what can happen when it’s done by someone who lacks the actual trial experience of someone who makes it look easy – just like Eric Clapton and John Mayer.

With that, I close with one final question: Is it worth the risk not hiring a Trial Presentation Consultant?

Roger Clemens Mistrial: Top Ten Tips for Vetting Your Trial Presentation Consultant

2011-07-21T02:00:00.000-07:00

While I have yet to hear directly from someone who was present in the courtroom, I have heard quite a bit about what happened, and the result. Some have speculated that the DOJ did it intentionally, in an attempt to push the envelope of admissible evidence. Others say it was a mistake, and that the defense team “tricked” them into showing it by not objecting prior to trial, and then further by not objecting or asking them to immediately remove it, once it began to play. This was probably identified on the record before they began to play it. Regardless, Judge Reggie Walton called the third strike, and the DOJ was out.

At issue is a video excerpt of testimony deemed inadmissible as hearsay by the Judge. This means that that it is a case of something like Laura Pettitte telling an investigator that her husband, Andy Pettitte told her that Roger Clemens had told him he was doping. The problem is that nobody is directly making the statement.

In my experience, and similarly shared by others on the Trial Technology LinkedIn group, the DOJ has a tendency to be penny-wise and pound foolish when it comes to trial presentation. Several of us have seen inexperienced paralegals or junior attorneys sitting in the “hot seat” at trial, barely capable of bringing up the correct exhibit (at the correct time).

Although the trial tech in the government’s “hot seat” may not have erred in playing the testimony (that may be entirely on the attorneys, although if it were inadmissible and the tech left it in the database, that’s a problem, as well), it appears as though the text was left on screen for the jury to view during the sidebar (when the Judge called counsel to the bench over this issue). At that point, the screen should have been immediately blanked. This part does indeed to be a result of an inexperienced trial tech.

Borrowed from an article which I originally wrote for Law Technology News, here are the Top Ten Tips to vetting your Trial Presentation Consultant:

1. Choose and retain your trial consultant as early as possible. There are many resources available to help you locate a good consultant, including web searches, referrals, litigation support groups and directories. Good consultants are busy consultants, so you hire them early. If you do a lot of trial work, you might consider retaining a consultant on an ongoing basis.

2. Check for conflicts. As with law firms, trial consultants generally only work on one side of a case, although there are circumstances where they serve as a "neutral" for both parties. Clarify this before you sign the contract. Also, run a conflicts check to protect your existing client relationships.

3. Get an estimate, with options. To avoid unhappy surprises, discuss in detail the expected litigation workload, and request a written estimate of what you can expect to spend on trial support. Most trial consulting services are billed hourly. Rates typically start at $150 to $200, but can go higher, depending on the case and consultant. It's not uncommon for a one-month, full-service trial to generate a consulting tab in excess of $50,000. Not all cases warrant those expenditures, so be candid with your consultant, and discuss alternatives.

4. Try to identify specifically what you need and will expect your consultant to provide. Although your consultant should be able to assist you in defining these goals, the more information you can provide up front, the better your chances of success. Unclear communication and assumptions are a proven recipe for disaster.

5. Make sure all interested parties are on the same page. A consultant, working with staff, may head down one path, only to find that the lead attorney has another plan - and was not aware of what was going on. Try to get all communications onto a "paper (or e-mail) trail," and include anyone who should be in the loop. Many potential issues can be identified before they become problems. Try to avoid giving too much information over the telephone, as this makes it impossible to verify and track the communication.

6. Research your consultant. Thoroughly check out his or her website, "Google" them, ask for referrals and references - and actually check them! Listen carefully to those who have worked with the consultant - do you sense any hesitancy or reservations? Identify the primary business focus of your consultant. (This is generally apparent by reviewing the website.) If you are looking for a trial consultant, don't contact a videographer or scanning vendor, and vice versa (unless for a recommendation). Don't be your consultant's first "real trial" experience.

7. Make sure you know who will actually be working on your matter - don't just buy into a smooth sales pitch. Meet the trial team face to face. Get, in writing, the name of the team leader and the consultancy's commitment that the team will remain assigned to you for the duration of the litigation.

8. Don't change horses mid-stream. Be sure your consultant is absolutely fluent in all the litigation support software you are already using. This includes Concordance (Dataflight Software Inc.); Summation (Summation Legal Technologies Inc.); TrialDirector (inData Corp.); Sanction II (Verdict Systems); etc. Do not assume that every consultant knows every software application. Many can work with several, but others may not. Do not duplicate work product simply because your consultant does not use your software.

9. Avoid proprietary systems. Should there come a time when you are no longer in love with your consultant, you may want to get out of the marriage. If they are using their own software systems, it may be difficult for someone else to take over the database.

10. Listen to your consultant's opinion. You are paying good money to have a consultant on your team. Realizing that trial work is what they do most of the time, ask questions, get advice, and check in with them often.

There is no excuse for trying to save a few dollars on the lowest bidder, or to keep all the billable hours in-house, when it results in less than the best possible representation of a client. But, I see it all the time. I wonder who will be the lucky owner of a mistrial and resulting malpractice lawsuit in a nice big civil case. It’s only a matter of time.

Jury Box: Voir Dire Application for Mac, PC, and Linux

2011-07-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

7/26/2011 Update: The complete review has now been published and is available on The Jury Expert.

You may have read my iPad app reviews on iJuror, JuryTracker, and Jury Duty, and if not, there are the links. Jury Box has recently been released, becoming the first commercially available Voir Dire (Jury Selection) software designed for the computer. It works on Mac, PC and Linux operating systems.

Setting up the courtroom seating chart

I’m only going to offer a brief overview here at this point, as an in-depth review will be published very soon in The Jury Expert.

Developed by San Diego Deputy District Attorney Adam Gordon, Jury Box seems to do a decent job at managing the voir dire process, and allows for quick and easy juror data input. There is a detailed PDF tutorial available on their website.

Entering individual juror information

Jury Box appears to be a decent computer-based alternative to the iPad apps for replacing sticky-notes. Jury Box is sold via an annual subscription, running $199.

How to Prepare for Shortened Litigation: Mediation, Settlement Conferences, and Expedited Trials

2011-07-14T07:03:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: U.S. Federal Court offers Expedited Trial option. Announcement (web page) and News Release (PDF) from United States District Court, Northern District of California. It appears this whole idea just got a major jump-start!

SAN FRANCISCO ─ The United States District Court for the Northern District of California is pleased to announce the adoption of an expedited trial program. Newly-adopted General Order No. 64 (“Expedited TrialProcedures”) offers parties the option of consenting to a binding one-day trial to occur six months after the parties agree to the process. Its purpose is to offer litigants access to justice in a more efficient and economical fashion. General Order No. 64 may be viewed on the court’s website at http://www.cand.uscourts.gov/generalorders.

Now, back to our regularly-scheduled programming:

You may enjoy litigating but your clients don't. You see a chess game. They see bills. Expedited litigation offers a happy medium. Mediation and private trials conducted by retired judges have existed for a long time, but they're not always ideal. Led by California, states have begun exploring expedited one-day jury trials. According to complex litigation and class action trial support consultant Ted Brooks, the less time you have in court, the more time you need to prepare. In this TechnoFeature, Ted explains how to lay the necessary groundwork, technology and otherwise, for all forms of shortened litigation. Trial presentation aficionados take note. This article contains 1,075 words.

Introduction

In today's economic climate, law firms and their clients are looking for ways to litigate more cost-effectively. Saving money on litigation doesn't have to mean compromising on representation, but it requires a bit of creativity. Alternative fee arrangements are now common, as are various forms of alternative dispute resolution. In addition to mediation and various forms of settlement conferences, some states are even adding the option of an expedited civil jury trial. In this article, I'll share some thoughts on how to approach these techniques with tips for both sides of the bar.

High-Speed Trials Off to a Slow Start

One obvious way to reduce litigation costs is to eliminate, or at least shorten the trial itself, as a trial team can bill upwards of 12 hours per day per team member.

Several options exist other than just giving up the fight or settling for an undesirable figure. In addition to treating settlement conferences and mediations like a trial as opportunities for demonstrating that you're actually prepared to go the distance, many states are enacting legislation, such as California's Expedited Civil Jury Trial Act (AB 2284).

While there has been a great deal of interest in this new form of "high-speed litigation" from both sides of the bar, there also seems to be a healthy respect for the unknown so it's getting off to a slow start. With just one day for the entire trial — opening statements, presentation of evidence, and closing arguments — you'd better show up fully prepared and ready to go.

Tips for Both Parties

For Plaintiffs, in addition to thoroughly reviewing and organizing any relevant discovery, preparation may require having videotaped deposition clips ready to play, a rough cut of a Day-in-the-Life video prepared, a series of demonstratives, and perhaps even an animation.

Many of these projects can be tackled in such as a manner so that you can use them as the building blocks for full-blown trial exhibits if necessary, but without taking all of the final (and costly) steps to create a "finished" trial-ready product. If you are preparing a mediation or settlement presentation, you'll also have a bit more freedom with respect to the Rules of Evidence, so you don't necessarily need to have everything perfect.

For example, you might create a dozen or so demonstrative slides. Should the case proceed to trial, this original work might be the launch pad for upwards of a hundred or more slides, but there's no reason to create the whole batch too early. Of course, there's no excuse for thinking about it too late either. Any decent vendor will understand this concept. If yours does not, find another vendor.

Defendants should also gear up earlier to be prepared to refuse the "quick and easy" settlement offer. Because trial (or ADR) costs can be reduced to just 10% of a full trial (and they can), insurance carriers often insist on exploring expedited litigation in many cases. An over-under verdict agreement can also help limit the maximum damages.

One Bite at the Apple

So what about preparation? Shortening the length of a trial, or reaching a favorable settlement, will still require a considerable amount of prep work. In fact, if you're preparing for an expedited trial, you might actually have a bit more work on the prep side because of tight scripting and rehearsal. Did I just say "rehearsal"?

When you're on a strict time clock, you'd better know how much time to allocate for each phase of your presentation. The only way to stay within your time limit is to rehearse your entire presentation.

Litigators rehearse opening statements and closing arguments — particularly in complex matters. For an expedited trial, you need to conduct an entire mock trial beforehand from beginning to end to nail your timing. A malpractice claim could arise if you find yourself out of time, but you haven't yet covered the damages. Did I mention that there is no appeal in the California Expedited Trial?

Expect the Unexpected

Now that I've scared you, those of you who have tried cases using technology shouldn't have much difficulty in an expedited setting. The key is to make sure everything is loaded and ready to go, with the entire trial being presented as one three-part presentation.

You're going to want to limit live testimony to only a few minutes. You sure won't have the luxury of time to get an opposing expert on the stand for a grilling. A few slow answers, and you're out of time. Instead, you'll want to be very thorough in your videotaped depositions, making sure to cover every possible scenario and issue. Mama always said, "It's better to have, and not need than to need, and not have."

The same goes for your exhibits. Even though you'll want to have everything in order, you still must be flexible enough to quickly locate and present any exhibits or testimony that you didn't expect to use. It's still a trial, and if one thing is certain, it's that not everything is predictable. This also means that you're probably going to want someone there operating your trial presentation database who really knows what they're doing, as opposed to fumbling with the laptop when you should be wrapping up your closing argument, focusing on and speaking to the jury.

No More Excuses

Some might suggest that all of this preparation isn't really necessary, and that the jurors might penalize you for going over the top with high-tech wizardry. Well, take a moment to watch the video, Top 12 Reasons Attorneys Should Be Using Technology in Trial, and just know that it was filmed in rural Arkansas after a medical malpractice case. If ever there were a jury you'd expect to be "unsophisticated," this would be it. They were not, and in fact stated that they "expected" the use of technology and visual trial presentation. Jurors and the courts expect sophisticated trial presentations nowadays.

Conclusion

Many litigators lack of actual trial experience because litigation is so expensive. But being an effective trial lawyer requires practice and polish. Well folks, here's your golden opportunity to get more trial experience, while at the same time offering less expensive representation for your clients. Welcome to a new era in litigation.

Click here if you liked this issue of TechnoFeature.

Ted Brooks, the founder of Litigation-Tech, is a well-known trial consultant. He's also an author and speaker who publishes the blog Court Technology and Trial Presentation. He often works on high-profile cases, including the Los Angeles Dodgers divorce trial (with David Boies), People v. Robert Blake (with M. Gerald Schwartzbach), Western MacArthur v. USF&G ($3 Billion), May-Carmen v. Wal-Mart (Defense Verdict), PG&E v. U.S., People v. Dr Hootan Roozrokh, Shropshire v. City of Walnut Creek ($27.5M), Liou v. Caltrans ($12.5M). Ted invites you to connect with him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

Contact Ted:
tbrooks@litigationtech.com
(888) 907-4434

About TechnoFeature
Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature is a weekly newsletter containing in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts, many of whom have become "household names" in the legal profession. Most of these articles are TechnoLawyer exclusives, but we also scour regional legal publications for superb articles that you probably missed the first time around. Your friends and colleagues can subscribe here.

Casey Anthony Trial Compared to Robert Blake (part 2)

2011-07-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, I posted the first part of this article. If you haven't read it yet, here's the link: LINK TO PART 1 HERE

This article was originally published by Technolawyer in 2005. I've included a few minor updates and extras. The following note was received by the publisher:

Your article was one of the best we’ve ever published! Thank you!

Neil J. Squillante, Publisher TechnoLawyer/PeerViews Inc.

One common thread you'll find here when comparing the Casey Anthony and Robert Blake trials is that it takes evidence to get a conviction. The evidence must support the charges, or the jury will find for the defendant. That's the duty of the jury, and the law. Speculation and feelings are not part of the deliberations process, even if you really dislike the defendant.

"I just swear to God," the man, identified only as Juror No. 2, tells the St. Petersburg Times, "I wish we had more evidence to put her away. I truly do. ... But it wasn't there. "In the end, he adds, "We just wanted to go on the evidence that was presented to us."

Troubling as it may seem, I believe that based on the evidence presented, the jury was required to acquit. They did the right thing, and are to be commended for not caving in to their emotions. I hope you’ll enjoy the article. Don’t miss the extra bonus material at the end of part two.

---Ted

OPENING STATEMENT

Although Mr. Schwartzbach had never before used technology in trial, he caught on quickly, greatly enhancing his ability to instantly call up exhibits and keep the jurors engaged. A fair amount of extra preparation and rehearsal was required, especially for the opening argument. After practicing law quite successfully for 37 years without technology, he at first found it a bit uncomfortable to rehearse and go through the added steps to share his outline and plans, but we quickly established a communication protocol, which would allow him to speak to the jurors just as he had always done, but now with the added benefit of visual support.

For those who viewed the opening statements on Court TV, you know that it lasted about five hours. This was the longest opening statement I've ever witnessed, but it was very compelling, and I never once noticed any fading jurors as the story unfolded before them.

The prosecution (Shellie Samuels) chose to run PowerPoint, and had a few (predictable and common, in my opinion) glitches. The main problem in using PowerPoint in litigation is its linear format -- one slide follows another until the end. Should you decide to jump to another topic, no easy way exists to do so. The defense ran with a combination of TrialDirector and PowerPoint, facilitating immediate random access of anything in the database, from documents to photos and demonstrative graphics to video.

THE TRIAL

Technology-wise, the trial seemed fairly uneventful. This is not a bad thing at all -- technology is generally only noticeable when it fails. We had plenty of 16+ hour days, however, getting it all ready for prime-time, and we did have some problems. Actually, I have never participated in a trial that didn't have technology problems -- the key lies in dealing with those problems quickly and quietly, so that nobody else even knows.

Small safeguards like having more than one trial presentation computer in court, having a portable scanner and printer, and making frequent backups of the database are worth their weight in gold. When it comes to using technology in trial, the question is not if an issue will arise, but rather when, and how quickly it can be resolved.

When comparing our (defense) exhibit presentation with that of the prosecution, we could zoom in on photographs, highlight exhibits on-the-fly, and point out items to the jury in ways the prosecution could not, as it relied on hard-copy documents and photos, displayed on an ELMO (document camera). On several occasions, they searched for several minutes to find an exhibit, and at times could not find what they needed.

It is also very helpful and valuable to include the daily transcripts in the database, making the entire set of trial transcripts fully searchable.

We could instantly display exhibits (accessing the database by exhibit number, barcode, or Bates number), rather than digging through piles of documents for the right page. There were just over 100 prosecution exhibits admitted, and well over 300 defense exhibits. It is common, in my experience, thanks to the sheer efficiency of trial technology, to easily outpace the quantity of exhibits identified by opposing counsel (not using technology) by 3 to 5 times.

When considering costs, the length of a trial can be significantly shortened -- one reason the courts (and informed clients) encourage its use. Juror comprehension and retention seem to dramatically improve with visually supported communication techniques as well -- another key reason to consider using technology in trial.

CLOSING ARGUMENT

Again lasting several hours, many critics and journalists thought that the jury could not have paid attention to the entire closing argument. I can tell you, having sat in the courtroom for the entire trial observing the jury, that they intently listened to every detail and viewed every piece of evidence.

Once again the prosecution ran PowerPoint slides, and once again it experienced problems in navigating to the correct slides, which caused a recess at one point.

The rehearsal for the closing argument flowed very naturally, as did the argument itself, now having a great deal of trial experience working together with technology. Often, by the end of the first technology-enhanced trial, a lawyer will become quite familiar and comfortable with its use.

Also helpful was the fact that during the trial all of the exhibits were numbered (as exhibits), making it much easier to call them up using only a few digits, as opposed to typing in a long Bates number or looking for the correct barcode (which themselves are much faster than digging for hard-copy documents).

THE VERDICT

I recall being asked by Gerry how I thought we did, and what did I expect to see as a verdict. My only statement was, “I just can’t put the gun in his hand.” Without that, there should be no conviction. As I watched the jurors being interviewed during the press conference, a chill ran up my spine, as the Jury Foreman was asked why they had voted to acquit, and he then simply stated, “We couldn’t put the gun in his hand.”

Why was Robert Blake aquitted of murder? (brief video clip)

The jury has spoken. Regardless of all the "armchair quarterbacking" and plentiful opinions on how the case should or should not have been tried, Robert Blake walked out of the Van Nuys courthouse a free man.

CONCLUSION

M. Gerald Schwartzbach and Robert Blake both commented on the use of technology during this trial, with Robert stating, "This small band of warriors saved my life."

Robert Blake Murder Trial - Not Guilty (brief video clip)

There’s my Celebrity endorsement. I work on civil and criminal cases. Call me – I need to work for a living too.

Participating in this case resulted in a truly great and very educational experience. Mr. Schwartzbach has completely converted to trial technology. Despite the fact that L.A. District Attorney Steve Cooley publicly stated that the jurors were "incredibly stupid" for their verdict of acquittal, I do believe that justice has prevailed, thanks to the diligent efforts of Gerry Schwartzbach and his "small band of warriors." Hmm, does this sound familiar, as in the Casey Anthony case? I guess jurors haven’t gotten any smarter?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ted Brooks is the President of Litigation-Tech LLC , a trial presentation and technology consulting firm with offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Ted won the Law Technology News Award for Most Innovative Use of Technology in a Trial, and is a frequent speaker and author.

BONUS EXTRA MATERIAL

Larry King Live: Robert Blake, on M. Gerald Schwartzbach (brief video clip)

RELATED ARTICLES

Casey Anthony Verdict: Was it Wrong?

Jurors and Technology in Trial: What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits

Top Five High-Profile Trial Blunders and How to Avoid Them in Your Own Practice

Trial Presentation in Large and Complex Cases

Casey Anthony Trial Compared to Robert Blake (part 1)

2011-07-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

With the recent trial of Casey Anthony coming to a surprising conclusion for many, the case has been compared to other high profile trials, including those of O.J. Simpson and Robert Blake. Defense attorney Jose Baez and his team prevailed, due to insufficient evidence to support the charges. Different charges certainly might have delivered a guilty verdict.

I served on the defense team of Robert Blake, led by M. Gerald Schwartzbach, one of the truly great attorneys of our time. If you or anyone you know needs a great criminal defense attorney, give him a call. He may even bring me along (if you mention you read this article). For another professional reference, here’s a Celebrity endorsement:

Robert Blake: Gerry Schwartzbach "will never be rich" (brief video clip)

I wrote an article for Technolawyer back in 2005, which I will share here now, with a few minor updates. Shortly after publication, I received this note:

Your article was one of the best we’ve ever published! Thank you!

Neil J. Squillante, Publisher TechnoLawyer/PeerViews Inc.

I hope you’ll enjoy the article. I will post this in two parts. Don’t miss the extra bonus material at the end of part two.

---Ted

Gerry Schwartzbach, Robert Blake, Ted Brooks

Synopsis

During the Robert Blake murder trial, M. Gerald Schwartzbach and his defense team called upon trial and technology consultant Ted Brooks to assist with the trial presentation. In this article, Ted shares his perspective, and provides a behind-the-scenes look at this widely-followed celebrity trial. In particular, he contrasts the trial presentation methods used by the defense and prosecution.

TechnoFeature: Inside Robert Blake's High-Tech Defense

By Ted Brooks

(This article is a TechnoLawyer Exclusive.)

INTRODUCTION

The Robert Blake murder trial captivated the nation. This article discusses the technology used by the defense team and how it compared with that used by the prosecution.

Robert Blake's jury consultant, Lois Heaney (National Jury Project), initially contacted me to meet with attorney M. Gerald (Gerry) Schwartzbach several months prior to the trial date to discuss trial presentation and technology. Lois and I had worked together in the past, and Gerry had never before used technology in trial.

It helps, particularly in larger matters, to involve a trial technology consultant early in the process. Doing so can greatly reduce the amount of duplicative and/or wasted efforts.

THE DATABASES

The defense team had chosen Summation software as the document database, and had created a second database for photos. Summation made it easy for the team to efficiently search and review nearly 40,000 documents and 5,000 photos. The Summation database also included many transcripts of LAPD interviews, preliminary hearings, and the like.

THE CONVERSION

First, we sent our Summation guru, Reggie Pool, to clean up the database, identify and correct any technical "issues," and then copy the database. Reggie worked on several document coding and numbering issues, and then gathered a full copy. This copy would be used during trial, and also converted to TrialDirector for presentation in court.

Normally, a very simple conversion link exists between the two programs. In this case, there were simply too many inconsistencies to enable a smooth conversion. To avoid this problem, make sure that all coding fields (i.e., Author, Date, etc.) are set up correctly, document numbering formats remain consistent, and the database itself is designed, developed, and maintained properly. A database does not know how to forgive human input error -- it simply takes all information and then attempts to organize it.

Because of these issues, we used LoadFile Pro by Image Capture Engineering to generate the proper files to populate a new TrialDirector database, which would include all contents of both Summation databases. By the end of the trial, the new database held over 73,000 combined document and photo images (pages), plus all of the transcripts.

THE DISCOVERY

Once we gathered all the data and created a new TrialDirector database, the defense team could search all the document images and photos simultaneously. All transcripts were included as well, and many were "digitized" to enable searching of the transcripts and playback of the corresponding video or audio. Perhaps the most notable use of this technology during the trial was an edited portion of Robert's 20-20 interview with Barbara Walters, played during the opening argument, during the trial as an exhibit, and during the closing argument.

We then conducted a thorough search and review of the photos, using the capabilities of TrialDirector to quickly review and zoom in on desired items, annotating and identifying them for quick retrieval. During this process, we made many important discoveries, including one photo of an LAPD Detective who didn't even realize he was in the picture -- until we zoomed in on him in front of the jury.

Every document page was reviewed, and rotated if necessary for proper display. Having the two databases combined enables you to search everything at once.

COURTROOM TECHNOLOGY

Nothing will happen with all of this preparation if the court is not consulted prior to coming in and setting up your equipment. In this case, as with most others, we visited the courtroom, and met with the court staff and Judge Darlene Schempp to learn about previous trials, especially the positive and negative experiences.

This "scouting" quickly alerted us to a problem that needed attention in that particular courtroom: the placement of a projector and screen -- typically a small screen and a projector, placed in between counsel and the jurors, provided by the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office.

The Court decided that we would provide the equipment for both sides of this trial (this is typical, as only one set of equipment will normally fit and be allowed by the Judge), so we had to come up with a solution -- with the added conditions that alternate jurors would sit beyond the end of the jury box, over 25 feet away from the screen, and the courtroom would fill with media eager to see the evidence.

To ensure visibility, we installed an eight-foot screen against the rear wall and a 3500 lumen projector with a wide-angle lens, providing space for us to place the projector very close to the screen. As a result, the projector stood far enough forward so as not to interfere with counsel as they addressed the jury, and also gave plenty of screen visibility to the entire courtroom. Some of the journalists even complimented the setup.

Next: Part 2 - The Trial and Verdict

Casey Anthony Verdict: Was it Wrong?

2011-07-05T15:35:00.000-07:00

I will begin by stating that I have worked on a number of high profile criminal and civil trials in my career, including the Robert Blake murder defense, so I know what it looks like on the inside. I hope to work on several more, so there are some things I cannot share here.

I will admit that I didn’t follow this trial closely, even though it was deemed the “Trial of the Century” by HLN. Ratings reportedly doubled for the trial on HLN, as they focused almost exclusively on the trial. It is important to note that media carriers are not just a public service – they are a business. Other than a few inside tidbits here and there, my source of information on this trial was the same as most everyone else’s – the various forms of mass media coverage.

While Nancy Grace and the HLN team seemed to imply this was a done deal, as I watched the verdict being published, I can’t say that I was shocked. I may have been leaning slightly toward a guilty verdict, but I know that the jury has information that I do not, and that I have information that they do not. Although the waves of comments on Twitter seemed disappointed with our legal system and the outcome of this trial, I can say that a case is not decided on the opinions of observers and commentators. It is decided by the evidence presented by each side, and in Criminal Law, it must be convincing beyond a “reasonable doubt.” In other words, what the jury sees and hears is used to determine the outcome of the case, and nothing else. Although this jury was sequestered (isolated), a “normal” jury will simply be instructed to avoid any contact or exposure to media coverage of a trial, and not to discuss it with anyone.

During deliberations, the jury has only their notes and admitted evidence to work with. Although we were given an opportunity to see most of the evidence presented to the jury, they were not viewing it along with a picture of little Caylee in one corner, and “Tot-Mom” in another. Visual presentation can be very persuasive. In fact, that’s what I do for a living. It’s not always just the information that matters, but also the way it is presented.

So, do I agree with the verdict? Absolutely. You cannot convict someone if you don’t have the evidence to do so. That’s why our justice system works. It may not be perfect, but it’s the best there is. The jury agreed that Casey Anthony had lied to Law Enforcement Officers, and convicted her, based on the evidence. They found her not guilty of murder, due to the lack of evidence.

For additional info:

What a quick verdict can tell us about a jury by Doug Keene for CNN, about the Casey Anthony trial

The Red Well: Blog Aggregator for Views on Litigation Persuasion by members of the ASTC (American Society of Trial Consultants)

Jurors and Technology in Trial: What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits By Ted Brooks, about the Robert Blake trial, and others

Video of Robert Blake Verdict

Video of Robert Blake Jury Foreman explaining why they acquitted him.

iPad App for eDiscovery: idocument REVIEW

2011-07-05T02:00:00.000-07:00

Reprinted with permission from the July 1, 2011 issue of Law Technology News, ©2011 ALM Media Properties, LLC.

idocument REVIEW, a new iPad App was recently introduced in a brief article by John Cleaves for Law Technology News. The new application sells for $29.99 and claims to tag, highlight, and redact documents. Those features, without more, made it worthy to investigate. There are, however, more key features:

No internet access required to review your documents.

Files are loaded through iTunes in a custom load file format (three files). To load a 20,000 page case takes about 2 and a half minutes.

You can load up to 20,000 pages per case load

You can load multiple cases.

You can Keyword search or search by document ID.

You can tag documents (like in Concordance, Summation, etc.) with up to 16 tags all of which can be customized to whatever the user needs (by the user and on the fly).

You can highlight and redact (black or white).

From iTunes:

idocument REVIEW has been developed to aid the on-the-go litigator! Unlike other document review tools available, idocument REVIEW is not dependent on an internet connection for access to your documents. Maintaining folder structure and OCR, idocument REVIEW provides an essential tool for you to review your documents right on your iPad.

The app allows users to tag, highlight and redact documents -- all at their fingertips. The app is also capable of sorting by tags and searching by keywords and image keys. Reviewing up to 20,000 pages per case load, exporting your changes after review is made possible by Discovery Document Technologies.

The app manages the content of a case on the iPad in three files: a DDT load file, an image file containing the document images, and an OCR file containing extracted text from the images. As advertised, idocument Review allowed me to tag, highlight, and redact documents -- all at my fingertips. I sorted content by tags and searched it using keywords and image IDs.

So what's the process?

1. Provide the data to Discovery Document Technologies for conversion to an iPad load file.

2. Save the iPad load file to the computer you synchronize your iPad with.

3. Synchronize the files with your iPad using iTunes. On your iPad....

4. Review your documents.

5. Export a .DDT file and send via e-mail to Discovery Document Technologies for processing against the original files.

6. Discovery will then send you a revised edition of the original images of your data.
So, this all sounds pretty good. It even comes with a sample data set, which is one of my pet peeves for iPad apps which need some material to learn with. The set is from the Enron matter, which is actually something I worked on several years ago.

There are some great training tutorials on the web site, which will get you quickly up to speed. This is not a complex app – at least from the user’s perspective. It is fairly simple to use, and easy to learn. It seems to run searches very quickly. The only downside of the search results that I can see is that it doesn’t highlight the text. Since you are viewing the image, and not the underlying OCR text file, you will have to visually look for your search hits on the returned pages, if you wish to verify your results.

One little “gotcha,” is the fact that once you’ve completed your review, you’ll need to send a file to Discovery Document Technologies in order to get your reviewed/redacted production set. The app, while useful, won’t be of much value if you can’t get your work product out of it. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, since DDT does have a very good reputation, but just know that you’re going to be married to them throughout the case.

I also did not find any complex search-building options. Typing a simple string of “Enron AND email” rendered no hits, so you’ll be restricted to using this as sort of a first round review. Again, not that that’s a bad thing, but this clearly isn’t going to replace Summation or Concordance.

I wasn’t feeling so warm about spending $29.99 on an app that, while it does appear to be a great value (especially in comparison to applications like Summation or Concordance), requires you to send everything to DDT for processing. However, I found that if you are loading at least 3GB of data, they will give you a voucher for the app, making this more of a “value-added” approach. With that, it becomes a very nice alternative to using a PC, especially if you’re traveling. In the right scenario, it may even be possible to have an entire review team working on iPads. Happy reviewers (with iPads) are good reviewers.

Conclusion

If you’d like to work with some of the coolest stuff available, idocument REVIEW for the iPad is for you. It really is a kick to use, and it works well. Although it has limitations, if you’re able to fit it into your workflow, you’ll have fun doing it. Another way to look at it might be that if you have a set of data to process anyway (3 GB or more gets the app included free), and the processing pricing is acceptable, try it out.
idocument REVIEW $29.99 (or free with 3 GB data order)

Great Backyard Grilling iPad App

2011-06-30T04:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this doesn’t have much to do with legal technology, or trial presentation, but it does have something to do with iPad apps for attorneys and other legal professionals – assuming you eat. More specifically, assuming you have an iPad, and you like to BBQ. And, since another review I had ready to publish just got snagged by Law Technology News (idocument REVIEW), and since I had been asked to review this app, and since we’re coming into the Independence Day weekend, and since Jeff Richardson (iPhoneJD) is on vacation, well, I saw a void.

With that, here is the Great Backyard Grilling iPad App. Before I get into the details of the app, I’ll share a bit about the celebrities involved, from On The House.

James Carey and Morris Carey, known as the Carey Bros., are nationally-recognized experts on home building and renovation. They share their 55+ years of experience as award-winning, licensed contractors with millions of people nationwide through a weekly radio program and syndicated newspaper column both titled On The House.

With wit, enthusiasm and clarity, the Carey Bros.' Associated Press syndicated newspaper column, four-hour radio broadcast and daily radio vignette offer people money-saving tips on building, remodeling and repairing homes. The column, with accompanying graphic, is distributed weekly to over 700 AP member papers including The San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Cleveland Plain-Dealer, San Diego Union-Tribune, Detroit Free Press, Washington Post and New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Television personality, award winning designer and author Rebecca Cole joins the Carey Brothers as the new radio co-host of the nationally syndicated radio show On The House.

Over the past 13 years, Rebecca Cole has developed an internationally renowned lifestyle and design business, known in New York City as Rebecca Cole Design and worldwide as Cole Creates.

When she is not designing terraces or giving color-anemic living rooms her trademark infusion of orange, she might be writing a book or newspaper article, planning weddings and events, designing furniture or bedding or hosting a TV or radio show. Rebecca hosted all 200 shows for Discovery Channel's Surprise by Design and has appeared nearly as often on to the Today Show. Other favorite TV appearances include Oprah, The View, CNN, BBC World News and The Megan Mullally Show.

So, Great Outdoor Grilling is produced in the same fashion as you might expect from a TV show, with the opening screen showing the three hosts of On The House. From there, we get right into the meat and potatoes of the app (sometimes I crack myself up).

There are 6 icons at the bottom: Recipes, Shopping, Favorites, Menu, Know-How, and On The House. Once you pick a category from meats, seafood, chicken, or veggies & fruit, you are then able to view a list of possible entrees, sides, appetizers, and deserts. When cooking times are indicated, tapping the icon brings up an actual time, which you can use during cooking. Okay, you could probably use this in court too, since the timer can be set as desired.

Tapping on the + sign of the image brings up a full-screen photo of what your meal should look like when it’s done. Actual mileage may vary.

You can also choose from serving 4 or 6 people, and the ingredients quantities change automatically. While this is pretty cool, it would be nice to have more flexibility with the number of people.

There’s also a shopping list section, and an invitation you can fill out and email to friends.

The app states that videos will be added with upcoming updates, and I would expect additional recipes to be added as well.

From iTunes

BBQ and grilling enthusiasts out there, this app is for you! Here comes On The House - Great Backyard Grilling, an iPad app developed by Culinart Media, that features the best grilled delicacies you can imagine. With over 50 lip-smacking grilling recipes, this app is sure to bring out the passionate griller in you.

On The House - Great Backyard Grilling has a range of exciting features that are bound to leave a smile on the faces of both grilling neophytes and veterans. The app makes grilling easier and a lot more fun. The recipes are all illustrated and presented in a step-by-step manner. Included with each recipe is a list of required ingredients, details of the time needed for preparation and cooking, and the level of difficulty. Users have the option of adding their favorite recipes to their favorites list or personal shopping lists.

Grilling has never been so exciting. On The House - Great Backyard Grilling for iPad includes some impressive features such as:

-A collection of popular, mouth-watering grilled food recipes

-Quick sharing of recipes through Facebook and e-mail

-Descriptions of key ingredients with photographs

-Attractive illustrations

-Simple preparation and dispatch of invitations for events

-Innovative shopping list generation

-Handy inbuilt timer that lets you know when to take your food off the grill

-Convenience of adding notes to recipes

-An ingredient calculator that simplifies your job by determining the exact quantity of ingredients to be used for a specific recipe, according to the number of people being served.

-Easy saving of recipes to the menu, list of favorites and shopping list.

-Ability to shop on the go by saving recipes to shopping list. The app combines all the ingredients you will need at the store.

If you are craving grilled beef, pork, lamb, seafood, chicken, vegetables or fruits, your wait ends here. And if you know other people who just can't seem to tear themselves away from the grill, recommend On The House to them so that they can download it and add it to their grilling repertoire.

So folks, the time is now to get your grill going. Where there’s smoke there’s fire; and where there’s On The House – Great Backyard Grilling, there’s great grilling going on!

Conclusion

For $3.99, the Great Backyard Grilling iPad App might just help you become the BBQ star you’ve always dreamed of. Actually, a very well-designed and helpful app. This type of activity can help alleviate some of the Stress of Trial.

Happy 4th of July!

iPad Apps for Lawyers: TrialPad 2.0 Reviewed

2011-06-27T02:00:00.000-07:00

TrialPad 2.0 has just been released, and I will begin by saying that they have indeed read the reviews, listened to the feedback, and have implemented the features necessary to make TrialPad the new Gold Standard of iPad Apps for Trial Presentation.

I always attempt to write my reviews from a professional and objective perspective, and am not afraid to point out weaknesses, as well as strengths of a product. I’m not one to offer a cheesy sales pitch to make someone feel good about their product (the same way I look at a case during trial – I’m not there to make you believe you’re convincing the jury if you’re not). If you want that, you can find it elsewhere. Here’s the link to my first review of TrialPad, “Apples to Apples: Two iPad Apps for Trial Presentation,” which helps make my point. This article continues to dominate the all-time highest traffic rating of any article on my blog.

Here’s an actual presentation screen-grab, taken with two exhibits, and two call-outs.

I’ll include the list of update features from the iTunes site below, but will point out that a few of most important game changers are:

1. Ability to display two documents (or document + video) side-by-side

2. Multiple zoom callouts

3. Handles multi-page tiff images

4. Basic video editing

Now, would I actually use TrialPad in a trial? Only if there were some compelling reason to do so. Sorry fanboys -- but it’s still not a laptop, and it’s still not TrialDirector. The trials I work on are generally larger matters, which would introduce unnecessary risks and challenges, all at the expense of looking cool. Those attorneys who actually use it in trial are generally working alone on smaller cases, which would be fine. My services wouldn’t fit within that budget anyway.

However, I have used TrialPad in presentations (non-trial), and will continue to do so, just because it is cool, and since my presentations generally focus around legal technology – well, you get the picture. Now, if someone contacts me to support a trial with the iPad, I’d love to do it.

TrialPad's competitors are Exhibit A and Evidence, and can each be had at around 10% of the cost of the $89.99 price of TrialPad. The “game-changers” noted above now make it an accurate statement to say, “You get what you pay for.”

One issue I will note is that if you wish to highlight and zoom on a section of an exhibit, you’ll need to highlight it first. You cannot do anything to the zoomed section. Also, if you intend on showing a lot of documents in a side-by-side manner, you may want to create and save some of these ahead of time, as there seemed to be a bit of instability when working with multiple zooms from both exhibits. In trial, a delay of even a few extra seconds can seem like an hour.

From iTunes:

You have asked for all these features, and we have delivered!

CALLOUT TOOL – Pull out multiple sections of a page (with annotations!), even multiple sections from different pages in the same document, even multiple sections from different documents when in split screen (see below)!

SPLIT SCREEN – Show two separate pages side-by-side, even callout and compare different parts of different documents with their highlighting or other annotations!

CASES VIEW – Using intuitive case folders you can now view by Icon, Thumbnails, and List. Sort alphabetically (A-Z, Z-A) or by date. Also search for a case by name.

VIDEO – Import, edit, make clips, and take snapshots!

NEW FILE TYPES – Besides the gold standard Adobe Acrobat PDF format, now you can now import JPG, GIF, PNG, TIF, Multi-Page TIF, and TXT. [Also imports DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT, PPTX, Keynote, Pages, and Numbers, but PLEASE NOTE, for these files our best practices recommendation is to convert these files to Adobe Acrobat to maintain the formatting and look of the original document.]

IMPORT FROM PHOTOS APP – Import photos and web page screen shots.

DROPBOX – Download/upload your files from/to Dropbox to collaborate with the trial team.

EXPORT – Print or email pages or entire documents, with or without annotations.

DOCUMENT NAVIGATION – To complement the existing scroll bar and flick function, new Page Up and Page Down buttons to quickly flip through multi-page documents.

DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT – Now you can easily move documents between cases.

FILE SORT OPTIONS – Sort documents within a case by name or file type, as well as the ability to reorder documents manually.

LASER TOOL – Show a red, blue, or green laser to guide your audience through a document. It even works across documents when in split screen mode.

WHITEBOARD – Draw or write on the new Whiteboard tool and save as a Hot Doc.

NEW HIGHLIGHTER COLORS – Our crisp, blended highlighter now comes in yellow, green, blue, and pink, without ghosting the background document.

NEW PEN COLORS AND WIDTHS – Now choose from red, blue, green, and black in three pen stroke widths, with ability to write.

STICKY TOOLS – Double-tap to lock the Callout, Highlight, Pen, Redact, or Laser tools to keep them active (just like shift lock on the keyboard).

REDACT TOOL – Redact in white or black. 

All of this with the same sleek and intuitive user interface!

Conclusion

If you’re willing to pay ten times the money for an iPad App versus its competitors, TrialPad is an excellent choice. If you’d rather spend less money, and are willing to have a few less features, I’d recommend Exhibit A, or possibly Evidence. If you have a larger or complex trial, you may want to focus more on trying your case, rather than trying your patience, dealing with the technology yourself. Call me.

Feel free to “like” this topic, share it, tweet it, and add your comments.

iKeyboard for iPad: No More Hunt & Peck Typing

2011-06-23T01:00:00.000-07:00

Finally (or, at least almost finally), a touch-typist’s dream-come-true – a keypad you can actually “feel,” instead of having to keep your fingers hovering above the iPad’s display, simultaneously watching the document you are creating, and the keypad, making sure you’re about to hit the right key. All of this is done as you’re also monitoring the auto-text to see if you can tap the spacebar for a shortcut or watching to see if you’ve misspelled a word.

The iKeyboard has joined a long list of inventions on the Kickstarter website, each trying to hook an audience, in order to help with financing the initial development of an idea. I first learned of this when it showed up on #Tech & #Law.
(Note: The content at this Paper.li link changes twice daily, so you will not find this original article there, although you can find it on Mashable.com: iKeyboard Enhances Touch Typing on iPad)

I was so impressed with the concept that I joined what has now grown to over 500 “backers” of this Kickstarter project. Why? Because I’m not about to carry an external battery-powered keyboard, just so I can make my iPad work more like my laptop. Although the total weight would still be less than my laptop (but then, many full-sized desktop computers would probably be lighter), the advantage of easily fitting the iPad on the tray while on an airplane, or the social advantages of not being separated from others by your laptop screen, would all be lost.

The real advantage of the iKeyboard is that it can easily stay with your iPad, and since it lays directly on the iPad display, it doesn't add extra bulk, and doesn't mean having to tilt your iPad up to use it.

I eagerly look forward to receiving my first generation iKeyboard, and then followed by the next version (all part of my backer-level investment of $50).

If you’ve never heard of Kickstarter, give it a look. If you’re interested in the iKeyboard, you still have 4 days left to join as a backer. After that, you’ll pay retail to whoever sells it. Stay tuned, as I will review it as soon as I get it and have a chance to try it out.

Top 12 Reasons Attorneys Should Be Using Technology in Trial

2011-06-21T01:00:00.000-07:00

Trial Presentation Consultant Robb Helt, of Litigation Resource Group, recently polled his jury, shortly after they came back with a favorable verdict. Their feedback is priceless, as it gets directly to the core of the matter as to whether we might look “too slick,” or like we have so much money that we can afford to drop a truckload of it into our trial presentation.

Let’s assume that most attorneys nowadays accept the fact that technology helps speed up a trial, that it aids in juror comprehension, and that they retain the evidence better than if they just listened to witness after witness, explaining fact after fact.

With those assumptions in place, the only real considerations left are cost, and whether the jury is sophisticated enough to accept the “high-tech” trial presentation – especially in a rural setting. While I won’t cover costs in this article, you can email me with questions and request a rate sheet.

So, if you’re in Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C., or another major city, it should be easy to decide. But, what if you’re in some remote part of Arkansas? While I cannot personally claim to have ever been in trial in Arkansas, Robb Helt has, plenty of times. Here is what the twelve most important people in the courtroom had to say about technology in trial:

This feedback, along with quotes from the Judiciary, indicate there are fewer excuses than ever for not bringing technology to trial. If presenting the best possible case for your client is important, you may want to consider trying your case with a little help from a Trial Presentation Consultant.

BVB5SB777EGR

Exhibit A iPad App for Trial Presentation Version 1.3 Released

2011-06-15T17:26:00.000-07:00

Although it didn't appear in my iPad or computer iTunes App Store Updates list, once I launched Exhibit A, I was prompted to go to the App Store for an update to version 1.3.0, released (today) on 6/15/2011. It is a free update to the $9.99 app.

I will say that this version is a very significant update, and although I'll list the update features below, I can tell you that the callout and highlighter work like trial presentation software now, as opposed to just an area focus, like an ELMO.

Although you're limited to one exhibit with one callout, this can now actually be put to work in smaller matters. It would also work well for presentations, using PDF or another supported format. Supported file types are PDF, images (jpeg, png, etc.) and video. PowerPoint is no longer listed as a supported file type.

My original review:

http://trial-technology.blogspot.com/2011/02/exhibit-ipad-app-for-trial-presentation.html

The developer's site:

http://www.lecturaapps.com/

The iTunes link:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/exhibit-a/id392621180?mt=8 target="blank"

From the iTunes Update Feature Listing:

What's New in Version 1.3.0

Introducing New Features!

The most advance, easy to use presentation app is now even better!

INSTANT CALL-OUT:

(Access by selecting “Tools” from the exhibit display screen)

Create call-outs on the fly to emphasize areas of an image, or focus on items in a document. Simply select the Magnifying Glass from the Tools menu and drag your finger over the desired area of the exhibit. The exhibit dims and a bright box containing the designated area of the exhibit is displayed in magnified form. Dismiss a call-out with a touch and select another, quickly creating multiple call-outs.

QUICK HIGHLIGHTER:

(Access by selecting “Tools” from the exhibit display screen)

Need to quickly highlight a large section of the exhibit? Simply select the Quick Highlighter from the Tools menu and create a highlight block by dragging your finger over the desired area of the exhibit. This new tool nicely complements the existing highlighter pen, which allows you to freehand draw highlights.

REDACTION MARKER:

(Access by selecting “Tools” from the exhibit display screen)

Quickly block out sections of your exhibit. Simply select the Redaction Marker from the Tools menu and drag your finger over the desired area of the exhibit. Default redaction color is white, but you can select any of the five colors available in the color palette.

EXPORT EXHIBITS:

(Access by holding a touch on an exhibit thumbnail)

You can currently email exhibits up to 10MB in size. Now, we are adding the ability to:

(1) Send exhibits to your Dropbox account, for seamless sharing of exhibits with your colleagues, team members or others; and

(2) Save photo and video exhibits to your Photos library, enabling you to send them for editing with iMovie or other apps. Edited photos and movies can be reimported to Exhibit A from your Photos library.

BATCH MOVE & DELETE:

(Access by selecting “File View” from the exhibit thumbnail screen)

Delete or move multiple exhibits, or entire Folders and Subfolders of exhibits at a time. You can move between Folders and Subfolders, or between separate Projects. This feature greatly improves your ability to manage your files and projects from within Exhibit A.

UPDATED USER INTERFACE:

We have made several changes to enhance the way you interact with your Projects.

The “My Projects” screen now graphically displays when Projects are empty, and shows projects to the left and right of your current selection for easier navigation.

The Toolbar on the exhibit display screen is now easier to see against the background of the exhibit.

The “File View” has been redone for easier navigation.

If you already have Exhibit A, get the update! If you don't, for $9.99 it's worth a look.

The Stress of Trial

2011-06-13T01:00:00.000-07:00

Funny, after many years of trial consulting, I've never bothered to consider what an incredibly intense level of stress we are expected to endure for weeks -- or even months at a time, when we are in trial. The Holmes and Rahe stress scale is basically a list of a list of 43 stressful life events that can lead to illness.

What was interesting, if not alarming, this past weekend at the ASTC Conference in Seattle, was when Ric Dexter shared that we can approach the breaking point, just by being in trial. Little things such as changes in work, sleep patterns, eating, exercise, living conditions, place of residence, personal habits, and social activities are all adding up, making us increasingly vulnerable to illness or other issues, such as a short temper or lack of patience for others.

I've always realized trial was stressful, and that tempers were often short (including my own), but I guess I never really gave it much thought. It's just part of the job. We just do our best to adjust, and try to be as effective as possible.

While I was working recently with three defense firms and their clients in a complex class action trial (insanely high degree of life stressors in play), one attorney commented to me that she had noticed my calm demeanor, and had surmised that I was certainly the lucky owner of a "Type B" personality. I had to chuckle. If I weren't OCD, and hadn't thoroughly prepared, checked, double-checked, backed up my data, and felt completely confident in all of my preparation the night before, I would not have gone to sleep. That's just me, but that's also just trial. There are no good excuses for failure when you're in trial, and there is no chance I would risk not having enough time to get something done in the morning. Last-minute changes are the rule -- not the exception.

Am I a Type B? Hardly. Do I appear to have those laid-back qualities to others? Apparently so -- and that's my goal. I've been told many times that I bring a sense of calm confidence to the trial team. I wouldn't want it any other way.

I enjoyed presenting my topic of iPad Apps for Litigation (go figure), but I'm also glad to have benefitted from this valuable bit of insight, along with all of the other great sessions and presenters.

This is one of those topics we don't often discuss. Please consider sharing this with others.

Updates: iPad & Android Apps, plus Trial Presentation Software

2011-06-09T02:00:00.000-07:00

There’s been quite a flurry of activity recently, with updates to several apps and software I’ve reviewed here over the past few months. Links to all apps and software are located in the original reviews.

TrialPad has added Dropbox to version 1.5, and has shown what version 2.0 will look like. While it looks good, they are holding it back for release until they’re certain they have all of the bugs flushed out. I can’t blame them, although I would have expected to see it sooner – especially after showing it off at ABA Techshow. More supported file types, display of multiple pages and zooms are all on the list.

TrialPad review

The Deponent App

One of the biggest drawbacks with this app was corrected shortly after I reviewed it and reported that the Public Folder in Dropbox was used to store trial exhibits. Now, a folder named “Deponent” is created, which prevents others from having potentially easy (no password required) access.

What's New in Version 1.1

The Deponent App Dropbox feature has been enhanced to create a folder named Deponent within the Dropbox folder instead of the public folder within Dropbox.
The Deponent App review

Exhibit A
According to the developers, version 1.3.0 has been submitted to Apple for approval, and should be out any day now. New features will include on-the-fly call-outs, block highlighting, block redacting, export to Dropbox & Photos, batch move & delete, and UI updates.

What's New in Version 1.2.0

Introducing New Features!
EMAIL: Email your exhibits to a colleague, the court reporter, opposing counsel, or anyone else with whom you want to share. Exhibits must be 10MB or smaller to email.

QUICK SEARCH: Find any exhibit by typing the first few letters of the exhibit name. Search results populate instantly as you type.
PROJECTS VIEWER: Have a lot of projects in Exhibit A? Now you can jump instantly to the desired project using the Projects Viewer to quickly locate and select your project.

EDIT PROJECT & EXHIBIT NAMES: When renaming Projects and Exhibits, you now have the choice between editing the existing name or entering a new name.
STABILITY ENHANCEMENT: Improved handling of very large PDFs resulting in significantly improved speed and stability when presenting these documents.

Exhibit A review

JuryTracker What's New in Version 1.1

New Features: Separate Time Entries listing under the specific day in Total Time Used Report Section to have more accurate Time Report.
Performance Enhancements : General performance enhancements in certain sections like Juror Info, Case Info, Juror Observation etc.

JuryTracker review

RLTC Evidence What's New in Version 1.1

Updated loading sequence allows instant refresh of document list when files are loaded via iTunes. Underline tool enhanced.

Evidence review

Jury Duty What's New in Version 1.01

Added Bluetooth support for transferring cases to another iPad. Added support for emailing juror information. Updated Misc. items & error fixes.

Jury Duty review

iJuror What's New in Version 1.26

Added a Juror Overview Map so you can easily see all of your juror information at once.

iJuror review

SignMyPad I saved a tree the other day, by signing an Agreement with this quick and simple app, rather than printing and signing, and then faxing back to the sender, which would require yet another printed copy. I was able to sign, save it back to Dropbox (or could have emailed it), and had it available to send via my regular email.

There’s now a Pro version available, which adds red ink for signatures. It can also input your GPS location into the meta data. It sells for $99.99. The regular version is only $3.99. Maybe it costs a lot to get the GPS data in there? According to Justin Esgar of Autriv (developer), "As for Pro - the reason for the price jump is that it's targeted for those who have businesses that require such a feature."

Android App Available
They also offer an Android version of this app, also $3.99, according to their website.
So, I nabbed a copy for my Nexus S Android phone (see my phone review here) and just signed another form. It's a quick and easy "green" method, using Dropbox or your email. You can also point the app to a website to download a form. I would recommend using a stylus (iPad-compatible) for this, but your finger can work.

SignMyPad review

Sanction 3 missed the announced release date of March 29, but it appears there is now a Beta version available for download. While this is likely to be close to a final release, unless you’re very comfortable working with new software that is likely to have bugs and issues (that’s what Beta testing is for), I’d recommend not running off to trial or upgrading all of your current databases with it just yet. A 30-day demo is available for free download now. While it’s a bit unusual to offer a Beta to the public, it can certainly help getting it in the hands of more users to try it and report any potential problems.

Sanction 3 review

TrialDirector has also been busy in the coding room, and version 6.3 should be about ready for release. It is in Beta, but not yet available to the public. It has some great new features, including video editing updates and the ability to place several objects in the presentation window, and move or resize them as desired. Many of the updates have been suggested by current users, adding to this proven trial presentation application.

TrialDirector review

iPad Making History: 25 Million iPads Sold In Just 14 Months!

2011-06-07T12:54:00.000-07:00

I was fact-gathering for some up-to-date stats to use in my presentation at the ASTC Conference, "Improving Your Practice from a Business Perspective," with my session focusing on the use of iPads in Law, and I was a bit surprised. Maybe this helps explain why all of my iPad Apps for Lawyers Reviews have been so popular?

Reported 6/6/2011 at Apple's WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) 2011:

25 million iPads, 450K apps, 90K iPad apps, $2.5 billion to developers – all in just 14 months!
Source TiPb.com

That's a lot of iStuff.

For a little bonus, here's some iData from Wikipedia:

Apple released the first iPad in April 2010, and sold 3 million of the devices in 80 days. During 2010, Apple sold 14.8 million iPads worldwide, representing 75 percent of tablet PC sales at the end of 2010. By the release of the iPad 2 in March 2011, more than 15 million iPads had been sold more than all other tablet PCs combined. In 2011, it is expected to take 83 percent of the tablet computing market share in the United States.
Source: Wikipedia

Hmm, maybe there's something to this?

The Red Well: Blog Aggregator for Views on Litigation Persuasion

2011-06-05T19:37:00.000-07:00

With the ASTC (American Society of Trial Consultants) Annual Conference in Seattle this week (I’m speaking on Thursday, in case you’re going to attend), it seems appropriate that the newly redesigned blog aggregator, “The Red Well,” has just been launched. The Red Well features a fresh and constantly updating source of some of the best material online, for those interested in reading great articles submitted by the diverse membership of the ASTC. Jury Consultants, Trial Presentation Consultants, Litigation Graphics Consultants, and other top-level professionals offer their best, all assembled for you in one convenient and free location. Did I mention this is FREE? Please Click the "TWEET" button below to help spread the word!

Another Top 10 List Dominated by iPad Apps for Lawyers

2011-05-31T07:56:00.000-07:00

This week, I’ll share links to the most popular articles found here on the Court Technology and Trial Presentation Blawg. Interestingly, my first full review on iPad apps for attorneys, which covered TrialPad and Evidence, holds the #1 all-time spot, while the #2 spot is taken by an article about that article. 4 of the top 5 all-time most popular articles cover iPad apps, showing that those in the legal professions are looking hard at alternatives to the computer. So, without any further ado, here they are:

TOP TEN ALL-TIME

Apples to Apples: Two iPad Apps for Trial Presentation

iPad Apps for Trial Presentation

iPad Apps for Lawyers: iJuror, JuryTracker, Jury Duty

Exhibit A: iPad App for Trial Presentation

First Review: TrialDirector 6

Effective Use of Exhibits in Closing Argument Helps Win $12.2 Million Verdict

Comparison of TrialDirector, Sanction, and Visionary

Has iPad met its Match? Maybe Not (yet)

Sanction 3 Trial Presentation Software Review - Sneak Preview

Samsung Nexus S: BlackBerry Replacement or iPhone Alternative?

TOP TEN THIS MONTH

Samsung Nexus S: BlackBerry Replacement or iPhone Alternative?

Judiciary Opinions on Technology in Trial

Court Reporters, Legal Videographers a Thing Of the Past?

LegalTech and a Few Cool iPad Apps

iPad Apps for Lawyers: iJuror, JuryTracker, Jury Duty

Has iPad met its Match? Maybe Not (yet)

Exhibit A: iPad App for Trial Presentation

Apples to Apples: Two iPad Apps for Trial Presentation

Deponent: iPad App to Prepare and Take Depositions

Comparison of TrialDirector, Sanction, and Visionary

TOP TEN THIS WEEK

Court Reporters, Legal Videographers a Thing Of the Past?

Samsung Nexus S: BlackBerry Replacement or iPhone Alternative?

LegalTech and a Few Cool iPad Apps

Has iPad met its Match? Maybe Not (yet)

iPad Apps for Lawyers: iJuror, JuryTracker, Jury Duty

Exhibit A: iPad App for Trial Presentation

Comparison of TrialDirector, Sanction, and Visionary

Reading About iPad and iPhone on Windows and Macintosh

Apples to Apples: Two iPad Apps for Trial Presentation

Sanction 3 Trial Presentation Software Review - Sneak Preview

Court Reporters, Legal Videographers a Thing Of the Past?

2011-05-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

With a budgetary crisis looming, the courts have been looking for ways to save money, and court reporters are on the hit list. While digital recording systems, such as the “FTR,” by ForTheRecord, are being used by many courts, the resulting audio file is of little value to an attorney needing to quickly locate where something was said – assuming you can get a copy in a timely manner. In order to be of any real value, you’d still have to have it transcribed, and without the benefits of getting a read-back, or of someone intervening when things get out of hand, such as attorneys and witnesses speaking over each other. There may be a better alternative now, first released at an Expo on 5/25/2011, presented by Jim McCranie, President of Visionary Legal Technologies.

Visionary has been around since the late ‘90’s, and was actually the first company to develop transcript-sync-to-video software, according to McCranie. They offer a large suite of applications, and are probably best known for their trial presentation software (currently Visionary 8). The two new applications covered at the Expo were VDR (Visionary Digital Recorder) and VST (Visionary Speech Transcript).

Disclosure: I occasionally receive copies of various software and apps for review, and in this case, my travel expenses to attend were covered by Visionary.

I will share a brief overview of the technology, followed by my opinion as to how this might affect Court Reporters, Legal Videographers, Lawyers, and the rest of the free world. I’ll also include a statement from SueLynn Morgan (Past President of the National Court Reporters Association), who was also in attendance.

VDR

VDR is essentially a sophisticated method of capturing the audio, and a “draft” copy of a video. In addition to the software required to manage this, they also offer a hardware kit that has everything you’d need to get started – even down to the laptop, camera, audio mixer and power strip. While they offer the kit as a convenience, they expect that many will simply duplicate the pieces needed – especially if firms are purchasing more than one kit.

VDR does not produce a transcript – it is only a digital recording solution package. Is it a threat to professional Legal Videographers? It could be, in some instances. However, since the camera is only an HD “web-cam,” there are some serious limitations with respect to the quality and control of the video recording process. While this video file may or may not be suitable for courtroom playback of depositions, it could certainly add the video element in low-budget cases or other non-legal events.

Instead of using the “draft” video as the final product, users are encouraged to supply the draft video as – well – a rough draft of the depo. In cases which have the budget for a professional videographer, one should still be used. The web-cam is not going to match the quality of a “real” camera, and it won’t be able to easily zoom in, shift focus to another subject, etc.

One of the big features that I saw with this is the fact that if four microphones are used, rather than merging all of them into one audio track, it actually creates a 4-track audio recording. For example, if you needed to hear what the deponent said as an attorney was shouting, “Objection,” you could easily isolate the desired track.

VST

VST does indeed create a form of rough transcript, which is created “live,” as the deponent or attorney is speaking. There is also a viewer available, which allows an attorney to watch the scrolling text, in a similar fashion as with real-time transcription, and allows notes and “quick-marks,” a generic mark on a transcript which flags the transcript for later review, similar to other real-time transcript viewing software.

The accuracy of the transcript was incredibly high. Voice recognition has really come a long way in the last couple of years. In any event, it’s not a garbled mess by any stretch – the resulting “rough copy” of the transcript is a very accurate rendition of the depo. If there is a down-side, it is that it will not assign page and line numbers which will correspond with the final transcribed version (if that happens). So, any notes taken, or comments flagged, will need to be located via text search, rather than by page:line designations. There is a comparative sample set available on the Visionary site.

The operator can also (and is encouraged to) take copious notes during the depo, especially in any instances that might later present a problem, possibly due to a word which might be taken out of context (like “soul” instead of “sole”). The operator can also provide a “play-back,” as opposed to a “read-back” of a portion of testimony. Microphone levels are adjusted for each person, and channel numbers are assigned, so as to help in isolating each speaker.

Software Intelligence

Now, the most interesting part of this (at least in my geeky mind) is the fact that the software “learns” both text patterns and associated audible speech patterns. These are referred to as “profiles,” and they can improve with each deposition volume of a deponent. VST comes pre-loaded with several profiles, which are specific to certain types of cases or individuals. For example, if you are working on an asbestos case, you can load the asbestos profile, which will help the software in its word selection process. The resulting transcript may then be added to your own “asbestos profile,” helping the program to “learn” more about the vocabulary in cases you’re handling. Also if a second videotaped depo of the same person is used, the speech patterns joined with the synced transcript of the first volume, identified as a profile, will also help increase the accuracy of that particular deponent.

VST incorporates the Nuance speech engine, but the way they use it is unique. Over a period of time, the software will become more and more accurate with respect to vocabulary, and as additional cases are offered into the public domain, the base profiles will also improve.

So, Visionary is not limited to a specific proprietary vocabulary, such as that of Nuance’s Dragon, but rather has imported relevant text from transcripts, websites, and other sources. This is indeed a unique approach, and it can be far more useful than just a digital recording, which you’d have to play like a cassette tape, in order to locate something. I’ve had that happen in trial, when we’ve asked for a daily transcript. Not a great solution. Our only options at the time were either hire a Court Reporter to come in and provide real-time feed, have a transcriptionist create a transcript from the recording (which would take too long in this case), or just deal with it.

A Comment From NCRA Past-President SueLynn Morgan

“We know that realtime stenographic reporting is the gold standard and it’s no secret that there are alternative technologies for making the record. Visionary’s product using speech recognition could potentially be an opportunity for the deposition market and freelance firm owners to expand services they offer to attorneys. I’ll continue to watch the rollout of the product with great interest.”

Conclusion

Will VDR and VST replace the Court Reporter? In cases where budget and/or Court Reporter availability are an issue and a rough copy of the transcript will suffice, the answer is probably yes. In other cases, a Court Reporter or Transcriptionist will still be needed to create a final and/or Certified Transcript.

Will VDR and VST replace the Legal Videographer? Once again, in matters that wouldn’t otherwise warrant hiring a professional videographer, this can provide a cost-effective alternative. If you want to make sure to catch everything, varying the image occasionally, or perhaps zoom in on an exhibit, you’ll still need a Videographer.

Since the software is sold as an item, and not a service, while it’s not cheap, it could result in lower costs to the law firm, and at the same time, higher profit margins for the Court Reporting Agency. In the proper setting, this may indeed be a cost-effective alternative to a Court Reporter and Legal Videographer – at least for a rough draft.

:::: PRODUCT INFORMATION ::::

Visionary Digital Recorder (VDR) $2500

VDR Hardware Package $2500

Visionary Speech Transcript (VST) $10,000

Company: Visionary Legal Technologies

Ted Brooks

213-798-6608 Los Angeles

415-291-9900 San Francisco

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http://www.litigationtech.com/

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Trial Consulting Network

COURT TECHNOLOGY and TRIAL PRESENTATION

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Review: ExhibitView for iPad

Update: ExhibitView for iPad, BlackBerry's Doom, Android Tablets

Ted’s Top Ten from 2011

Mobile Living: Life on the Road

12 Top Legal Sites You Should Check Out

Ten Qualities of Top Trial Presentation Professionals

A Day in Trial

Ten Questions to Ask Your “Hot Seat” Provider

Trial Presentation: Greatest Hits Volume 3

Presenting Evidence in Trial - The Belli Seminar

Courtroom Projectors, Screens, and Monitors

Can't See the Forest For the Trees

I Am Troy Davis

He Who Is His Own Lawyer Has a Fool for a Client

Blawgs: Quality or Quantity?

Trying Your Case in 3 Hours: California’s Expedited Civil Jury Trials Act

iTestimony: iPad App for Witness Management

Five Steps to Creating a Compelling Mediation Presentation DVD

Belli Seminar: "Cutting-edge Trial Techniques for the 21st Century"

iKeyboard Update: Touch Typing On Your iPad

Are iPads the Best Option for Lawyers?

Trial Briefs (an update on your intrepid blogger)

Hard Candy: iPad Cases and Stylus

Legal Technology Marches On

Social Media, SEO, and Haircuts: Enough Already!

Greatest Hits Vol 2: Top Five Technology Articles for Lawyers, Litigation Paralegals and Legal Professionals

Top 12 Reasons Attorneys Should Be Using Technology in Trial – A jury was surveyed after reaching a verdict in a rural Arkansas town. Would you expect them to be comfortable with technology? How about the opinions of several Judges?

Casey Anthony Verdict: Was it Wrong? – Plenty of comments came in on this piece. I think most of agree (at least those of us with trial experience) that the jury delivered the correct verdict under the circumstances, even though it was certainly not a popular one.

Trial Presentation in Large and Complex Cases – Let’s face it – if the budget is there and the case is big, there’s really no excuse not to go with every possible technological advantage.

The Stress of Trial – I’ve seen and felt the intense level of stress endured daily by a trial team. Rather than deny it, one should accept it and try to keep it in check.

Top 5 Posts This Week

Roger Clemens Mistrial: Top Ten Tips for Vetting Your Trial Presentation Consultant – Good lessons from this case on knowing when you’re in too deep for your own good? Interesting parallel with the Casey Anthony trial as well.

Top 12 Reasons Attorneys Should Be Using Technology in Trial – A jury was surveyed after reaching a verdict in a rural Arkansas town. Would you expect them to be comfortable with technology? How about the opinions of several Judges?

Top 5 Posts This Month

Casey Anthony Verdict: Was it Wrong? – Plenty of comments came in on this piece. I think most of agree (at least those of us with trial experience) that the jury delivered the correct verdict under the circumstances, even though it was certainly not a popular one.

Top 12 Reasons Attorneys Should Be Using Technology in Trial – A jury was surveyed after reaching a verdict in a rural Arkansas town. Would you expect them to be comfortable with technology? How about the opinions of several Judges?

Great Backyard Grilling iPad App – A departure from my typical subject matter, but I got the app, and the timing was perfect for the July 4th weekend.

iPad Apps for Lawyers: TrialPad 2.0 Reviewed – TrialPad had such a major list of improvements that it warranted a completely updated review. This is one impressive iPad app for trial presentation.

ALL TIME Top 5 Posts

Apples to Apples: Two iPad Apps for Trial Presentation – Things don’t get to the #1 position for no reason. This piece compared two iPad apps head-to-head: TrialPad and Evidence. Exhibit A came out a bit later. All of the apps have seen improvements.

iPad Apps for Lawyers: iJuror, JuryTracker, Jury Duty – Part of the iPad apps for lawyers revolution, these apps for voir dire can help replace the dreaded sticky-notes.

iPad Apps for Trial Presentation – This is the article that made history – at least for this blog. I had no idea that the topic could be so incredibly popular among attorneys and legal techies. Actually, this was really more “teaser” than article at the time, but it worked.

Top 12 Reasons Attorneys Should Be Using Technology in Trial – A jury was surveyed after reaching a verdict in a rural Arkansas town. Would you expect them to be comfortable with technology? How about the opinions of several Judges?

Pros Make it Look Easy

Roger Clemens Mistrial: Top Ten Tips for Vetting Your Trial Presentation Consultant

Jury Box: Voir Dire Application for Mac, PC, and Linux

How to Prepare for Shortened Litigation: Mediation, Settlement Conferences, and Expedited Trials

Casey Anthony Trial Compared to Robert Blake (part 2)

Casey Anthony Trial Compared to Robert Blake (part 1)

Casey Anthony Verdict: Was it Wrong?

iPad App for eDiscovery: idocument REVIEW

Great Backyard Grilling iPad App

iPad Apps for Lawyers: TrialPad 2.0 Reviewed

iKeyboard for iPad: No More Hunt & Peck Typing

Top 12 Reasons Attorneys Should Be Using Technology in Trial

Exhibit A iPad App for Trial Presentation Version 1.3 Released

The Stress of Trial

Updates: iPad & Android Apps, plus Trial Presentation Software

iPad Making History: 25 Million iPads Sold In Just 14 Months!

The Red Well: Blog Aggregator for Views on Litigation Persuasion

Another Top 10 List Dominated by iPad Apps for Lawyers

Court Reporters, Legal Videographers a Thing Of the Past?

Great Backyard Grilling iPad App – A departure from my typical subject matter, but I got the app, and the timing was perfect for the July 4^th weekend.