Most of the work that a trial consulting firm like A2L does for its clients takes place in civil cases. However, criminal cases also present unique challenges for trial lawyers and for trial consultants, and some of our most fascinating cases over the years have been criminal cases.
by Ryan H. Flax (Former) Managing Director, Litigation Consulting and General Counsel A2L Consulting High-stakes litigation is hugely expensive these days. But what if there were a means of reducing litigation costs in a way that helps both the trial team and the client and doesn’t sacrifice the quality of legal representation? That would make in-house counsel very happy, since an important part of their job is to budget and control litigation costs. There are a number of ways to do this, such as using alternative fee arrangements, streamlining litigation teams and bringing e-discovery in house. But what about a more radical step – trying to win your case well before trial? That would indeed be a cost saver and would lead to an excellent result.
by Ken Lopez Founder/CEO A2L Consulting Not every page, blog article, webinar or e-book on A2L Consulting's site is right for everyone. As the saying goes, what is everyone's favorite radio station? WII – FM, of course. Otherwise known as "what's in it for me?" With hundreds of articles, dozens of e-books and hundreds of other pages, A2L's website has over 2,500 pages of valuable content. Sometimes, finding materials that are specific to your litigation practice area or need can be a challenge with all the available options. You can search A2L's site or even browse by topic area using a topic list in the sidebar of every blog post. In spite of this, I still hear from a lot of people who wonder whether we have experience working in their specific practice area or where they can find useful information related to their practice. I wrote this article to highlight some very useful information organized by practice area below. I've broken down the practice areas into 14 topics that cover most of the work we do. The alphabetical list with links under each topic should prove helpful when looking for the information most relevant to you.
In today's complex legal landscape, seeking guidance and support during times of legal battles is a natural instinct. People often turn to their close circle of advisors and friends for advice and support. While it is understandable to seek comfort and reassurance from those we trust, it is important to exercise caution when relying solely on the opinions of these individuals.
As a lawyer, you will likely come across some high-profile clients in your career. Representing celebrities in court can be challenging, but it can also be rewarding. However, there are some unique considerations that you must keep in mind when dealing with these types of clients.
Another reason why televised trials are so intriguing is the opportunity they provide for the public to witness the pursuit of justice. People have an inherent desire for fairness and accountability, and televised trials allow them to see firsthand how the legal system upholds these principles. Whether it's a murder trial or a high-stakes corporate lawsuit, viewers can observe the process of presenting evidence, cross-examination, and the deliberation of the jury. This transparency fosters a sense of trust in the legal system and reassures the public that justice is being served.
by Ken Lopez Founder & CEO A2L Consulting
Thomas F. Carlucci Partner Foley & Lardner LLP John E. Turlais Senior Counsel Foley & Lardner LLP Ryan H. Flax (Former) Managing Director, Litigation Consulting A2L Consulting
by Ryan H. Flax (Former) Managing Director, Litigation Consulting A2L Consulting
by Ken Lopez Founder & CEO A2L Consulting
White-collar criminal litigation is one area in which practitioners have not been as quick to adopt the use of litigation graphics as in other litigation areas such as intellectual property, environmental litigation, or products liability.
We have have created courtroom presentations in banking cases almost since our very beginning nearly 17 years ago. From savings and loan litigation in the 1990s to IPO litigation stemming from the 2001 dotcom meltdown to ongoing banking fraud and bankruptcy litigation connected with the 2008 financial crisis, we have helped jurors understand complicated financial concepts that are at the heart of most banking litigation. We have discussed earlier this year how a good trial consultant can make complex financial concepts comprehensible to jurors by using courtroom presentations that relate to a juror’s basic understanding of life and personal experience. See our discussions of collateralized debt obligations and of securities litigation. The same can apply to courtroom presentations for seemingly complex banking litigation. Since nearly all jurors have bank accounts and have used ATM’s, they have a basic sense of what banks do. So it often is not a long stretch for them to have an intuitive notion that banks are involved in complex ATM networks, that they sell profitable investment products to clients, or that they manage and move large sums of money. What is more difficult is explaining the details of how these things work. In a straightforward courtroom presentation graphic below, we showed that the total revenue of a bank far exceeded the gross national product of Guatemala. We used a supermarket scale and money bags – a basic concept that any juror can follow – to make an indelible impression on the jurors. In another very straightforward courtroom presentation graphic, we showed people sitting around a conference table as a partner in a major accounting firm told them about a highly questionable tax shelter that the firm was marketing. The “shady characters” are shown in shadow to emphasize the dubious nature of what they are doing. In another courtroom presentation illustration for the same case, we portrayed this complicated financial transaction with an illustrated flow chart with seven steps, beginning with “Taxpayer realized Capital Gain” and ending with “Taxpayer Reports Loss to IRS.” Even if a juror does not fully understand the transaction on the same level as those who devised it, he or she certainly understands that somehow a “Capital Gain” was transformed into a “Loss” for the IRS. The juror has paid taxes and has never been able to convert a gain into a loss, we can be assured. We also graphically portrayed how a worldwide ATM network functions. At the bottom of the courtroom presentation chart are the individual bank customers, who are faced with the possibility of paying a “foreign fee” and a “surcharge.” Finally, for litigation involving the BCCI bank scandal of the 1980s, we created a similar chart that showed the flow of money from various entities in that case to BCCI. This case represented our first billion dollar win. We've had hundreds since.
by Ken Lopez Quite often, the subject matter at issue in a major trial is very complex and technical and is not intuitively obvious for a jury composed of laypersons, or even a judge, to understand. In fact, that’s why trial consulting companies like us emerged in the early 1990s – to help lawyers explain in a clear visual manner what’s at stake in a case, so that judges and jurors will be able to understand the facts and make a well reasoned decision. As a Texas trial lawyer has written, “The typical jury has a 14th-grade education, a 12th-grade comprehension level, and a 9th grade attention span. The implications of this are important in presenting scientific or technical information to a jury. For one thing, it means you cannot assume the jury will have any pre-existing knowledge or understanding of the information you are trying to convey, particularly if it involves a scientific or technical matter.” In cases involving product liability, patents, the environment, antitrust, and other areas of law, courtroom presentations ranging from the most basic photograph or chart to the most complex computer-generated presentation have been a staple for sophisticated litigators for decades.
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