As litigation has become more complex and technology has advanced over the years, a new profession has emerged – that of trial technician. This profession is relatively new in the legal marketplace, so much so that the title still varies considerably: These individuals can be called trial consultant, courtroom technology specialist, hot seat operator or simply trial tech. By any name, trial technicians perform three key litigation tasks: Organizing and preparing documents, video and other evidence to be used at trial. Setting up the war room and courtroom electronics consistent with local court rules. Running the trial presentation software and equipment during trial so that trial counsel can see any document, video or exhibit on a momentʼs notice and so that the presentation runs so flawlessly that the fact-finder focuses only on the evidence, not the method of presentation. Excellent trial technicians are not easy to find and are rarely available on short notice. Animators at Law has offered trial technician services to litigation teams around the world since the mid-1990s. This article summarizes some of what we have learned in 16 years, but, for a more comprehensive 20-point pre-engagement checklist, I encourage you to download our free whitepaper: 20 Things You Must Know Before Engaging Your Next Trial Technician, Trial Consultant or Hot Seat Operator. There are several key considerations to appreciate when hiring a trial tech for your next litigation matter. First, quality varies widely, as does price. One should expect to pay between $125 and $400 per hour with an average rate of $200 per hour. Hours worked per day will usually be between 10 and 20 during trial. To help trial teams manage cost predictably, our firm recently pioneered flat rate pricing for trial technician services. In selecting a trial tech, there is no substitute for real courtroom experience. Experienced trial techs have survived technology failures, power failures and weather-related failures many times over. Great trial technicians have successfully run dozens or hundreds of trials and hearings and can provide the names of those cases and names of the attorneys involved. When interviewing, as you would for any vendor, check at least three references. Great trial technicians are often in the center of the court but are never the center of attention. Part of the trial tech’s skill set must be an ability to comfortably disappear into the background. When he or she is doing the job right, no one is looking at him or her. Outstanding trial technicians must be true Renaissance technology people. Not only must they be able to authoritatively run the latest versions of trial presentation software like Sanction or Trial Director, they must be able to sort out complex versioning issues with PowerPoint, diagnose hard drive problems, mass-rename files, handle unheard-of image formats and much more. Again, experience makes the difference. For more information about this emerging profession and a pre-engagement hiring discussion checklist, see our free downloadable article offering a 20 point trial technician skill set and trait guide. Trial technicians add an enormously disproportionate amount of value to a trial team with the budget to hire one. Instead of focusing on the availability of documents and evidence, the proper functioning of courtroom and war room technology and overcoming technological hiccups in real time, litigators can focus on careful strategic trial preparation of arguments, experts and witnesses. With some carefully planned discussions, litigation teams evaluating the addition of a trial technician to the courtroom support team can virtually guarantee success.
I am happy to report that Animators at Law has seen one of its strongest quarters for litigation wins since our 1995 founding. Q1 is not yet over, and we have already helped clients achieve favorable outcomes in the hundreds of millions of dollars. We expect that total to exceed $1 billion in favorable 2011 results in the next few weeks. Please join me in congratulating these Q1 high-achievers: Paul Taskier, Esq., Ken Brothers, Esq., James Brady, Esq., Eric Albritton, Esq., Danny Williams, Esq., Matthew Rodgers, Esq., Gary Hoffman, Esq., Ryan Flax, Esq., Jeremy Cubert, Esq., and the rest of the Dickstein Shapiro/Williams Morgan/Albritton litigation team representing Dr. Bruce Saffran in Saffran, M.D., Ph.D., v. Johnson & Johnson et al. This patent infringement matter was tried over seven trial days in January in the Eastern District of Texas using litigation graphics and litigation consulting from Animators at Law. After only two hours of deliberations, the jury reached a $482 million verdict for Dr. Saffran and included a finding of willful infringement. Judge Ward is expected to soon rule on enhanced damages. Animators at Law has worked with teams from Dickstein Shapiro since 1996. David Kiernan, Esq., John Hall, Jr., Esq., Samson Wu, Esq. and the rest of the litigation team from the Williams & Connolly/Hall Booth team for their representation of Georgetown University in Iacangelo v.Georgetown University et al. tried in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. After a fifteen day jury trial, a defense verdict was reached. Animators at Law has worked with teams from Williams & Connolly since 1998. Animators at Law provided litigation graphics, litigation consulting and courtroom trial tech personnel. Alan Briggs, Esq., Rebecca Worthington, Esq. and the rest of the team from Squire Sanders' Washington, DC Office for their representation of Trident Enterprises in Trident v. Airtronic USA. The case was tried before a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. After a three day trial, the jury returned a million dollar verdict. Animators at Law provided litigation graphics, litigation consulting and pre-trial technology services. Other firms we have worked with recently include: Baker McKenzie Paul Hastings Skadden Orrick Foley Boies Schiller Dickinson Wright Hughes Hubbard The U.S. Department of Justice NAACP Legal Defense Fund Hogan Lovells K&L Gates If you would like to discuss using our graphics consulting or hot-seat personnel for an upcoming trial or hearing (Markman, class cert., PI, SJ, §337, etc.), please contact Alex Brown, Director of Sales and Operations, at 800.337.7697 /brown@a2lc.com.
Animators at Law is now offering flat-fee pricing for both demonstrative evidence consulting services AND trial technician/courtroom hot-seat consulting services. Animators at Law pioneered flat-fee arrangements for trial graphics consulting in 2009. Now, this popular pricing model is offered coast-to-coast for trial technician/hot-seat services. Gone forever are the days of unpredictable trial technician invoices and uncomfortable conversations between inside and outside counsel. With this flat-fee pricing model, Animators at Law clients are now enjoying:
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