At A2L Consulting, we have just published our latest e-book – the Litigation Support Professional's Trial Toolkit.

We think this e-book will be useful to any litigator or litigation support professional who wants a summary of the latest thinking in the fields of trial technology, trial graphics, and litigation support.

In this book, we try to de-mystify the craft of the trial technician, with nitty-gritty discussions of how trial presentation consulting firms do what they do, especially on a tight budget. We present ideas for seamless trial presentations that can be built, if not on a shoestring, on a budget that is far smaller than one might have anticipated. Since the art of trial presentation is often best described as a story-telling venture, we give you the latest and best on the best story-telling techniques, including 16 trial presentation tips that you can learn from classic Hollywood movies. We also point out shady tricks that cheaters try to use at trial in presenting demonstrative evidence.

The e-book is also a guide to the newest and most interesting software and the best presentations in our field. We show how e-briefs are used in courtrooms every day, how the iPad-friendly courtroom works, the best uses of PowerPoint, and the emerging program Prezi, which does what PowerPoint does but differently and often more effectively. We even go into the best ways to use old-fashioned technology like wall charts and whiteboards, and why old-fashioned techniques such as bullet points don’t work. (And what to use instead.)

Along those lines, we tell you what are the six trial presentation errors that lawyers can easily avoid, seven ways to draft a better opening statement (and why the opening statement is the most important part of the case), and in the wake of the half-hour power interruption at the Super Bowl, how to avoid similarly embarrassing and problematic errors by being prepared at all times for possible failure of your systems.

Since graphic design is at the root of our business, the e-book also explains, based on the latest psychological and sociological studies, why litigation graphics are crucial in the modern courtroom, why many jurors obtain their information (and their opinions) from visuals rather than from written documents, and even why varying the font that one uses can help influence jurors. In 2013, we are able to say that courtroom persuasion has become both an art and a science, and the successful and well-informed trial technician can and should benefit from the latest research findings on persuasion and other key issues.

Along those lines, we try to tear down some myths about courtroom presentation – like the idea that jurors shun presentations that are too slick, that jurors have an instinctive dislike for technology, that jurors usually prefer a “David” to a “Goliath” client in the courtroom, and that Hollywood movies about trials have nothing to teach the real-life litigator.

Finally, our e-book tackles some of the difficult problems that can occur in the preparation process itself. How do you overcome internal disagreements? Who calls the shots – the trial technician, the lawyer, or the ultimate client? How is anxiety subtly conveyed from one trial team member to another, and how does the cycle of anxiety stop?

In summary, no trial technician or high-stakes litigator can afford to be without this indispensable free book.