by Ken Lopez
Founder/CEO
A2L Consulting

After nearly 20 years running A2L and in the litigation consulting industry, I think we may be in the industry's most exciting time. Driven by widely available information about the value of litigation consulting, more litigators than ever are using litigation consulting services, and trials (and clients) are much better for it.

In celebration of this era and to help those seeking to understand the benefits of litigation consulting, today, we are releasing a free 187-page e-book, The Value of Litigation Consulting. It helps explain how and why the best litigators rely on litigation consultants. Hopefully, this book will be used by litigators to explain the value of litigation consulting to clients, younger in-house counsel will use it to explain value up the chain of command, and those new to litigation will benefit from being introduced to this niche industry.

The term "litigation consulting" collectively describes a set of services that A2L provides: jury & bench trial consulting, litigation graphics consulting, on-site courtroom technology support and related services. I've written about who I think a litigation consultant is before.

Even in a time when civil cases still rarely make it to trial, litigation consulting services are widely used where they were rarely used just two decades ago. Why is this so? The answer differs for each service and each is rooted in good science.

• Litigation Graphics: It might seem hard to believe now, but twenty years ago, most litigators thought showing demonstrative evidence to jurors was largely unnecessary. Today, science has demonstrated that litigation graphics are essentially mandatory for success. The challenge for litigators now is not whether to use them, it is to learn how to use them to enhance persuasion.
   
• Jury Consulting: I think jury consulting got off to a very rocky start in the 1970s and 1980s. The jury consultants of 20 years ago were all too often people who told litigators what to do or what a jury would say. Today, most jury consultants worth their salt rely on the data derived from highly structured exercises to anticipate good strategies. In other words, they let mock juries do the talking. Now, especially at A2L, jury consulting is scientific exercise.
   
• Trial Technology: More so than any study about the power of showing evidence (and there are many), this video of a rural jury being interviewed by trial consultant Robb Helt demonstrates the value of technology in the courtroom. In the words of this jury, who I think mirrors most, juries expect technology now, find it useful and it helps them reach a decision

Each section is packed with hand-curated articles that relate to these topics, such as: Explaining the Value of Litigation Consulting to In-House Counsel; 12 Alternative Fee Arrangements We Use and You Could Too; Will Being Folksy and Low-Tech Help You Win a Case?; 12 Insider Tips for Choosing a Jury Consultant and much more.

Download The Value of Litigation Consultants complimentary e-book by clicking here or by clicking the image below.