The Litigation Consulting Report

by Ken Lopez Founder/CEO A2L Consulting Since our founding 20 years ago, nearly half of our consulting work has involved patent litigation. Patent cases are uniquely suited to our brand of consulting, which relies on storytelling, persuasive demonstratives, and the simplification of complex materials for communication at trial. So it is with great pleasure that we release the 4th edition of our Patent Litigation Toolkit (download here). It seems obvious that our litigation consultants and litigation graphics consultants would routinely help patent litigators make their cases presentable and digestible for jurors. After all, these cases are often incredibly complex, involving issues of detailed mechanics, organic chemistry, and cutting-edge electronic technology. Less obvious perhaps, is the need for good storytelling. In fact, a lack of good storytelling is the undoing of many a patent case and patent litigator. After all, jurors will develop a story about your case whether you give them one or not. If you've done your trial preparation correctly, you will have offered one to them that they can believe in. This complimentary 270-page book is designed to help you with all of your patent litigation challenges - from storytelling to the simplification of complex material. I think you'll find articles like these very helpful: 5 Tips For Inter Partes Review Hearing Presentations at the PTO 11 Tips for Winning at Your Markman Hearings 16 PowerPoint Litigation Graphics You Won't Believe Are PowerPoint Introducing Mock Markman Hearings to Patent Litigation Trial Graphics in Patent Litigation - 11 Great Demonstrative Tips Explaining a Complicated Process Using Trial Graphics 10 Things Every Mock Jury Ever Has Said 5 Questions to Ask in Voir Dire . . . Always 5 Essential Elements of Storytelling and Persuasion 12 Worst PowerPoint Mistakes Litigators Make

by Ken Lopez Founder/CEO A2L Consulting Litigators do not need to know how to create advanced PowerPoint litigation graphics. However, litigators do need to understand what a skilled artist is capable of producing using the program. Most will be surprised to learn what's possible, and even veteran users of PowerPoint will think there's an element of magic in some of the presentations shared in this article.

by Ryan H. Flax, Esq. (Former) Managing Director, Litigation Consulting A2L Consulting

by Ryan H. Flax, Esq. (Former) Managing Director, Litigation Consulting A2L Consulting

Quick, tell me what this patent claim language means:

A picture is worth a thousand words, and when it comes to effective storytelling, no statement more aptly applies. One of the biggest challenges attorneys have when telling their story is conveying to their audience the complex ideas and legal concepts in their case in a manner in which the information will be understood. Leading up to trial, an attorney is frequently faced with this question: how do I get my audience to understand information imperative to my case and how do I make it memorable? One of the key roles an attorney takes on when faced with a legal proceeding is that of a teacher. One must teach the fact-finders the facts and the laws that apply to the case and why the stated interpretation of the facts and the laws is the correct one. That is where trial graphics and other trial presentation techniques come in – taking complex case themes and legal concepts and turning them into simplified visual models that are more easily understood and digestible to the average fact finder. With this requirement of effective communication of case facts being ever present, graphics and animations have become vital tools in the modern litigator’s arsenal. I dare say there are few attorneys these days that go to court without some type of demonstrative evidence or technology; whether it is graphics or documents loaded into a trial presentation database. Many areas of law lend themselves particularly well to the use of graphics. For example, patent litigation virtually requires the inclusion of memorable trial graphics. The technology in a patent can be (and often is) very complex. For the non-expert the content is difficult to understand and even more challenging to explain to the average person who may not have a scientific or technical background. Sometimes the ability to show a process or a function of a patent - how something works -- as opposed to trying to explain it with words and documents – makes the difference between winning and losing. Such was the case recently where our firm helped a trial team obtain the 6th largest patent verdict in history. Illustrative of such visual presentation ideas, I have included a sample PowerPoint Markman claim construction hearing trial graphic below that portrays a creative use of animation in PowerPoint. This case involved a patent infringement claim where the plaintiff claimed the defendants were infringing their patent for automated systems for selecting and delivering packages to fill prescription drug orders. The intent of this demonstrative was to reproduce the function of the machine at issue in PowerPoint in order to visually show how the machine worked as opposed to using documents and the patent to explain how the machine works. At Animators at Law, we provide demonstratives that are communicative and educational while also being stimulating enough to keep the jury engaged. We do this by creating trial graphics that clearly explain the concepts a trial team is conveying to the jury so that they will understand the facts and legal arguments of the case through the use of memorable demonstratives that resonate with the jury or fact finder.