The Litigation Consulting Report

On Monday, Jay-Z's lawyer, Alex Spiro, held a press conference to address allegations against the rapper to publicly dispute rape claims and clarify the situation. Although the statement's purpose was evident—protecting his client and trying to influence public perception—several visual presentation errors can offer essential insights for legal communications in and out of the courtroom. I am not personally acquainted with Mr. Shapiro, but his firm, Quinn Emanuel et al., has been a client. Overall, I believe he performed exceptionally well and commend his assertive defense. It essentially acknowledges that Jay-Z faces a more significant threat to his reputation than legal liability in this case. While Mr. Spiro's oral presentation is nearly flawless, his litigation graphics presentation is substandard . . . profoundly substandard. For a firm like Quinn to have used this is surprising. Having defended celebrities wrongly accused of sexual assault, I know there is a rush to get out the truth and to do so forcefully. Perhaps in that rush, commonsense modern rules of litigation graphics were brushed aside. We can learn from this. Below, I offer 11 lessons for your next trial/litigation graphics presentation, whether for trial or reputation defense.

Explore the most captivating and insightful litigation consulting articles that drew the interest of tens of thousands of readers in 2024. With nearly 1,000 articles on our site covering a wide range of litigation consulting topics, I find it beneficial to occasionally pause and review what our audience is engaging with. These are the top articles, as determined by your readership, in 2024. The Evolution of Litigation Consulting in 2024 The landscape of litigation consulting has undergone significant transformations in 2024. With advancements in technology, this year has seen pivotal changes that have reshaped the industry. Our readers have shown a keen interest in understanding how these developments impact litigation strategies and outcomes. Our articles have covered topics ranging from the integration of AI in legal practices to the increasing importance of storytelling as a persuasion tool. The insights provided by our expert contributors have been invaluable in navigating these changes, making these topics some of the most viewed of the year. The Top 24 Litigation Consulting Report Articles in 2024 21 Secrets From an Opening Statement Guru: Learn the 21 secrets of crafting a winning opening statement in litigation. Discover the importance of storytelling, simplifying your message, and practicing diligently for success. Trial Graphics and PowerPoint: Learn how PowerPoint can be a powerful tool for creating trial graphics in litigation consulting. Discover how it simplifies complex concepts, creates compelling visuals, and enhances persuasive arguments. Find out why PowerPoint is accessible and adaptable for collaboration. Avoid common mistakes and explore expert tips for using PowerPoint effectively in trial presentations. 9 Hidden Skills of Trial Technicians and Hotseaters You Never Knew About: Discover the hidden skills of trial technicians and hotseaters in this insightful post. Learn about their unique abilities beyond technical support in the courtroom.

PowerPoint does funny things to people. For some, it is an amazingly accessible creative space to deliver important messages powerfully and persuasively (see Wait, Why is Powerpoint Cool Now). For others, it is a place to advertise how little they know about persuasion science. Think of this article as a fun challenge reminiscent of the games found on cereal boxes from your childhood. Your task: spot the persuasion-killing mistakes on the slide above, then compare them to the ones I've highlighted below. I've already embedded numerous persuasion pitfalls in the text, making it easier for you to identify them. Let's see how many you can uncover and elevate your persuasion game. Hopefully, this slide doesn't resemble your Trial Graphics/Litigation Graphics. If it does, you should contact me or press the request conflicts check button in the corner. In any case, I hope this article helps you and helps elevate the art of persuasion.

I am delighted to announce the release of Persuadius's latest free litigation e-book, Trial Technicians, Hotseaters & Trial Technology 2024, designed for trial attorneys and their support staff. This e-book is a follow-up to the popular 2014 version that has been the industry standard for the past 10 years. We have added over 30 new articles on trial technicians, hotseaters, and trial technology, all included in this latest release. You can download this 153-page book without any obligations by clicking here. This book contains 60 articles carefully selected from Persuadius's extensive collection of posts related to litigation and technology. Each article is relevant to high-tech trials in some way, covering topics such as hiring a hot seater, establishing a good working relationship with them, and effectively utilizing trial technology. The book is filled with valuable tips that will benefit both novice litigators and experienced professionals.

I'm absolutely thrilled to announce the release of Persuadius's latest free litigation e-book, The Opening Statement Toolkit v2. Version 1 (2015) was our most popular ebook of all time, with many litigators telling me, "This is essential reading." You may now download this new book without strings attached by clicking here. In this 271-page book, you will find 80 articles curated from Persuadius's massive collection of posts related to litigation and persuasion. Each article relates to opening statements in some way. From organizing the opening to the use of storytelling techniques to persuade, the book contains an amazing array of tips that will prove valuable to the novice litigator and the veteran alike.

If you’ve been following our blog for a while, you may have let some amazing posts slip under your radar. With over 12 years of blog posts and an impressive 850 entries, it’s easy to miss a few hidden gems. That’s why we’ve compiled this curated list of captivating blog posts that deserve recognition.

Discover why using bullet points in PowerPoint presentations can hinder your ability to persuade and learn powerful tips to enhance your presentations. The Problem with Bullet Points: How They Kill Persuasion Bullet points have long been a staple of PowerPoint presentations. However, their overuse can actually hurt your ability to persuade and engage your judge/jury. Bullet points are often used as a crutch, allowing presenters to simply read off the slide instead of creating a compelling narrative. This can lead to a lack of connection with the judge and jury and a diminished impact of your message. Additionally, bullet points can make your presentation feel cluttered and overwhelming, making it difficult for your judge & jury to focus on key points. We have written extensively about this in articles such as, Still Think Persuasion is About Talking While Showing Bullet Points? and 12 Reasons Bullet Points Are Bad (in Trial Graphics or Anywhere) and Why Reading Your Litigation PowerPoint Slides Hurts Jurors and The Redundancy Effect, PowerPoint and Legal Graphics. They are wonderful resources all by themselves. To overcome the problem with bullet points, consider alternative ways to present information. Instead of listing out your main points in bullet form, try using visuals, storytelling techniques, effective data visualization, and memorable quotes and anecdotes to drive your message. Above all else, never read your slide aloud

PROS: PowerPoint is a versatile tool that many lawyers use for creating trial graphics. It can be used to create visual aids that can help present arguments in a clear and concise way. While there are many tools available for creating trial graphics, PowerPoint is a popular choice due to its ease of use, flexibility, and accessibility. Using PowerPoint for trial graphics can help simplify complex concepts and make arguments more compelling. For instance, you can use PowerPoint to create timelines, charts, graphs, and other visuals that can help illustrate key points. This is particularly important in cases where multiple parties, complex facts, or technical details need to be presented to the jury.

by Ken Lopez Founder/CEO A2L Consulting Over the past three decades I've heard hundreds of lawyers say, “I won't need many graphics because my case is not very visual.” Usually, that's followed up with “It's really a case about documents” or “It’s a dispute over who said what,” or “It’s just about what someone's actions were.” Fortunately, there’s a clear and straightforward answer to these objections: What drives the need for visuals in a case is not the underlying subject matter. It’s your audience's need to see things as well as hear them. In effect, every case is a visual case today. So instead of wondering whether your case lends itself to litigation graphics, you should probably be asking yourself whether you are substituting your judgment about the need for visuals for your audience's core psychological needs. Remember, lawyers tend not to be visual learners themselves, while many or most jurors will be in that category. One trial lawyer said this particularly well in this short video about why litigation graphics are important.

by Ken Lopez Founder/CEO A2L Consulting We recently asked three top trial lawyers about what makes them so successful in the courtroom. They are quite a successful trio. One of them is Bobby Burchfield of King & Spalding, whose bio notes, “Mr. Burchfield has never lost a jury trial.” That's an especially impressive track record as he's been in practice more than 30 years. So what does winning take? Well, as we saw in previous clips from the same interviews, these trial lawyers believe, as we do, that storytelling is at the heart of building a successful case. Furthermore, as all demonstrative evidence consultants and most trial lawyers will tell you, combining persuasive visual evidence with persuasive oral communications produces a truly synergistic persuasive effect. Persuasion is a rare circumstance where 1+1 really does equal more than 2. Of course, as we have long counseled, just because something is projected on a screen does not make it helpful at a trial. In many cases, as in the case of lawyers who use bullet points to summarize their arguments on screen, some visuals actually make you less persuasive. If yours looks like the image here, then you are certainly doing more damage than good. For more on why that's true, please see our articles 12 Reasons Bullet Points Are Bad (in Trial Graphics or Anywhere), The 12 Worst PowerPoint Mistakes Litigators Make, and Why Reading Your Litigation PowerPoint Slides Hurts Jurors. In this three-minute clip, we hear from the best of the best -- Bobby Burchfield of King & Spalding, Rob Cary of Williams & Connolly, and Patrick Coyne of Finnegan. And we certainly don't hear them talking about the power of bullet pointed lists. Instead, you hear these trial-tested litigation experts talking about the use of animation, the value of timelines, and the importance of showing real evidence to ground your argument in credibility. Burchfield said, “People learn both by seeing and by hearing, and if you can combine those two in one presentation, the more sensory perceptions you combine, the better off you are. Timelines are powerful persuasive tools. A timeline shows from left to right who did what and to whom. Sometimes you show in a timeline above the line what your client knew and below the line what your client didn’t know. It can be a powerful story to show contrasting events that were going on simultaneously. This helps the jury put the entire case into context.” Cary noted, “When a jury can see something that visually displays the evidence, that cloaks you in credibility. That’s critical in earning their trust.” Coyne pointed out, “People are predominantly visual. Most people need an image. They need it to tie things together. Ken [Lopez] and his people did a fantastic animation for us. The judge turned to the other side and said, ‘If I credit this animation, you lose. Do you know that?’ It was a very compelling animation. That’s what I mean by appealing to the judge by giving him a visual that explains what you’re trying to say.” Watching lawyers like these work is a pleasure and their teams score high on our assessment of what makes a great trial team. Other articles related to persuasion in trial, the use of bullet points, and trial presentation best practices from A2L Consulting: Don't Use PowerPoint as a Crutch in Trial or Anywhere 6 Trial Presentation Errors Lawyers Can Easily Avoid 12 Reasons Bullet Points Are Bad (in Trial Graphics or Anywhere) 10 Criteria that Define Great Trial Teams How Much Text on a PowerPoint Slide is Too Much? 5 Ways to Maximize Persuasion During Opening Statements - Part 4 Free A2L Consulting Webinar: Persuasive Storytelling for Litigation The 12 Worst PowerPoint Mistakes Litigators Make 12 Ways to SUCCESSFULLY Combine Oral and Visual Presentations The Effective Use of PowerPoint Presentation During Opening Statement 16 PowerPoint Litigation Graphics You Won't Believe Are PowerPoint

by Kenneth J. Lopez, J.D. Founder/CEO A2L Consulting Lawyers love words. Lawyers love words on slides - tons of words on slides. Some lawyers think that the more words they use on a PowerPoint litigation graphic, the better. They are wrong. Actually, using too many words on a slide will dramatically damage your effectiveness. This damage is not aesthetic in nature. This is not about your look and feel. It is scientifically proven damage that affects how well you inform and persuade your audience. Indeed, it can be said the higher your slide's word count, the lower your persuasiveness.