by Ken Lopez
Founder/CEO
A2L Consulting

As a litigator, you don’t want to be caught troubleshooting technology in the courtroom when there are other more important things you need to think about. Sometimes called trial technicians, hot-seat operators, trial consultants, or onsite courtroom technology specialists, these courtroom experts can drastically affect both your trial preparation and your trial presentation.

You need to choose a great person, as the performance of a trial technician can have an enormous effect on the outcome of your case. When a trial technician performs well, the litigator looks like the lead in a well-choreographed production. Hire the wrong trial technician, and you could look less believable, unprepared or even silly.

A2L Consulting has been deploying trial technicians worldwide over the past three decades. We know what works, what personalities fit with certain litigators, and what to avoid. We have prepared this 83-page book, Trial Technicians and Trial Technology: A Litigator's Guide to share many of A2L's secrets and best practices for using trial technicians and trial technology. This book is A2L's third edition about this important topic.

Having someone to organize all of the evidence that might be used at trial, when done the right way, can dramatically increase your litigation team’s chances of success. As a litigator, you can focus on strategic trial preparation of arguments, experts, and witnesses, instead of the availability of documents and evidence, the proper functioning of courtroom and war-room technology, and the inevitable technological hiccups.

Your trial technician should be ready to show trial exhibits, demonstrative exhibits, courtroom animations, video depositions, and anything else, on cue. They also need to know how to address PowerPoint problems, hard drive troubles, unknown image or file formats, and other issues that may arise both on the road to litigation and during the actual trial. They will stay up late with you, perform under extreme pressure, finish last-minute work when necessary, and, if they are great, anticipate your needs in the courtroom.

We've put together content to help you differentiate the good and the great - and great litigators know that hiring "good enough" is a recipe for disaster. Topics included in this e-book are preventable trial preparation mistakes, what you must know when considering trial technicians, iPads in the courtroom, and working on a tight budget. Hiring a great trial technician will result in a smooth, seamless, (technology related) stress-free trial. Hiring a mediocre one will add the anxiety of something going wrong. With rates averaging $200/hour, you definitely want to get it right.

You may download this 83-page book by clicking here. It is completely complimentary and contains 35 articles that will help you identify the best trial technicians, improve your relationship with trial technology and provide useful tips for veteran and novice litigators and litigation support professionals alike.