The Litigation Consulting Report

by Ken Lopez Founder/CEO A2L Consulting

by Ryan H. Flax (Former) Managing Director, Litigation Consulting A2L Consulting It has just been reported that prosecution counsel in the criminal trial against George Zimmerman is objecting to the defense’s use of a computer animation depicting the scene of the fatal confrontation between Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin. It appears the defense wants to give the jurors some perspective on the scene and, perhaps, show why Zimmerman was justified in doing what he did.

by Ken Lopez Founder/CEO A2L Consulting

by Ken Lopez Founder/CEO A2L Consulting I have seen some great law firm litigation graphics departments over the past 20 years. The best was at Howrey, which is where A2L's second team member and others came from in the mid-1990s. Back then, Howrey's litigation graphics department was led by an Academy Award-winning artist and producer.

by Ken Lopez Founder/CEO A2L Consulting We at A2L Consulting have just published a new, completely free, e-book that anyone who’s interested in trials and litigation should have. No more comprehensive volume on litigation graphics exists, at any price.

by Ryan H. Flax, Esq. (Former) Managing Director, Litigation Consulting A2L Consulting As a litigation consultant, one of my primary responsibilities is to help litigation teams develop and effectively use demonstrative evidence to support their trial presentation. The primary means of doing this is to create litigation graphics, which are most commonly used as PowerPoint slides that accompany oral argument and witness testimony.

Ken Lopez Founder & CEO A2L Consulting

by Ken Lopez Founder & CEO A2L Consulting Some people make a habit of denigrating Twitter, saying that its well-known 140-character limit makes it useless for anything substantive. There are several responses. First, it’s possible to link to anything on the Web within a tweet (just use one of the common URL-shortening utilities), so lots more information can be conveyed. Second, a lot of people read more on Twitter than they write. They use it as a sort of personal news feed, scrolling down for a few minutes at a time during the work day to see what’s new. If you pick the right accounts to follow, this works very well.

by Theresa D. Villanueva Director, Litigation Consulting A2L Consulting

by Ken Lopez Founder & CEO A2L Consulting There’s no question that in this decade, lawyers looking to improve their trial practice skills cannot afford to ignore blogs, how-to videos and other visual media. We wrote recently about the best blogs and best LinkedIn groups for litigators and litigation support, and, of course, many other social media outlets exist as well.

by Ken Lopez Founder & CEO A2L Consulting These days, much of the best information available in any area of human endeavor is found on blogs. Litigation and trial topics are no exception. An excellent blog keeps readers up to date and interested in a subject far more effectively than a textbook or even a website. And most blogs are free of charge. Everyone should keep up with blogs in his or her own field. It’s a basic idea of staying abreast of what’s new in your profession. Here is a list of 14 blogs that will be of continuing interest to the trial lawyer, whether aspiring or accomplished. They deal with key issues of courtroom technology, trial tactics, evidence, and persuasion in a sprightly manner.

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