As you might expect, I think about the litigation graphics industry a good deal. It’s a fairly new industry, and it is undergoing constant change. The way I think about it, the industry is actually fairly small. There are perhaps three other serious national players that I would be mildly comfortable recommending when A2L is conflicted out of a case. Still, though, these firms are quite different from A2L, so a trial lawyer should expect an entirely different experience as a customer than with A2L.
Most of our competition now uses the term “litigation consultant” that we first started using in the mid-1990s. In fact, we may have been the first to use it the term. However, this term means vastly different things from firm to firm.
At A2L, we use the term litigation consultant primarily to refer to attorneys on our staff with a creative expertise, trial experience, and an understanding of persuasion science who interface with trial teams to help:
- develop the visual presentation
- develop themes, narratives, and strategies for the opening statement
- work with our jury consultants to help test cases
As one can readily discern, these people are truly trusted advisors. They add value as opposed to taking orders.
A second type of litigation consultant I see our competition referring to are graphic designers. They can make good art, to be sure, but is this really a consultant? A quick look at their bios will reveal that many lack even a four-year college degree. Perhaps I'm risk averse, but would you really want a twenty-something with a two-year degree advising on a billion-dollar case? Yet that's exactly what goes on sometimes. Buyer beware.
A third type of litigation consultant our competition touts is the trial technician. These are the people in the courtroom who run the electronic evidence display. They are experts. They see a lot of courtroom time. They can add value, but are they truly “litigation consultants”? I don't really think so.
Different cases require different levels of outside expertise. A $2 million automobile accident case would not need the kind of expertise our firm offers, but a $2 billion antitrust, patent, contract dispute, or environmental case certainly would.
So when you are hiring a litigation consultant, make sure you know exactly the type you need.
Other free articles related to who is and who is not a litigation consultant, getting value from litigation consultants, and how to choose a litigation consultant include:
- 10 Types of Value Added by Litigation Graphics Consultants
- 21 Reasons a Litigator Is Your Best Litigation Graphics Consultant
- VIDEO: Customers Talk About Working with A2L
- 17 Reasons Why Litigation Consultants Are Better at Graphics Than Law Firms
- Who Is, and Who Isn’t, a Litigation Consultant?
- 16 PowerPoint Litigation Graphics You Won't Believe Are PowerPoint
- 10 Things Litigation Consultants Do That WOW Litigators
- 6 Studies That Support Litigation Graphics in Courtroom Presentations
- FREE Webinar: Persuading with PowerPoint Litigation Graphics
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- 10 Things Litigators Can Learn From Newscasters
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- With So Few Trials, Where Do You Find Trial Experience Now?
- FREE Download: Using Litigation Graphics
- 7 Questions Will Save You Money with Litigation Graphics Consultants
- 9 Reasons Litigation Consultant is the Best Job Title in Litigation
- Top 7 Things I've Observed as a Litigation Consultant
- FREE Download: Why Using a Litigation Consultant is Beneficial to You
- FREE Download: Storytelling for Litigators
- The 12 Worst PowerPoint Mistakes Litigators Make
- 6 Trial Presentation Errors Lawyers Can Easily Avoid
- Explaining the Value of Litigation Consulting to In-House Counsel
- The 14 Most Preventable Trial Preparation Mistakes
- Trial Graphics Dilemma: Why Can't I Make My Own Slides? (Says Lawyer)
- 11 Small Projects You Probably Don't Think Litigation Consultants Do
- Law360 Interviews A2L Consulting's Founder/CEO Ken Lopez
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