by Ken Lopez
Founder/CEO
A2L Consulting

At A2L Consulting, we have just published our latest e-book – the third edition of the Litigation Support Professional's Trial Toolkit. It's 262 pages long, contains 88 articles and is completely complimentary to download.

This new e-book will be indispensable 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 demystify the craft of the trial technician, with nitty-gritty discussions of how trial 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 far smaller than one might anticipate. Since the art of trial presentation is often best described as a story-telling venture, we give you the latest on the best story-telling techniques, including 16 trial presentation tips from classic Hollywood movies. We also provide 13 reasons why it’s not a good idea to do your trial preparation at the last minute, 12 great ways to combine oral and visual presentations, and five questions you should always ask in voir dire.

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

We tell you about 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 how to be prepared at all times for possible failure of your systems.

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 from visuals rather than from written documents, and even why varying the font that one uses can help influence jurors. Courtroom persuasion is both an art and a science, and the successful trial technician can benefit from the latest research findings on persuasion.

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?

No litigation support professional or high-stakes litigator can afford to be without this indispensable free book.