Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), Law Practice Products & Services, Civil Procedure

Court Reporter Working an Arbitration – Direct Examination or Cross-Examination?

by Kramm Court Reporting on 1/31/2013

I have been writing 250+ pages a day for the past week in a binding arbitration with three arbitrators. As a deposition reporter, I don’t do court work, and I don’t do a lot of arbitrations. The attorneys are calling...more

How to Use Technology Effectively in Mediation

by Cogent Legal on 9/17/2012

Recently, I co-presented a CLE webinar on "Technology for Better Mediation" along with two San Francisco trial attorneys, Miles Cooper of Rouda Feder Tietjen & McGuinn, and Jeff Smith of Abramson Smith Waldsmith. This post...more

Two Top Infographics for Mediation of Employment Cases–And How You Can Make Them Yourself

by Cogent Legal on 9/5/2012

It’s a simple fact that if you face a high likelihood your case will resolve at mediation, then you should put all you can into mediation to get the best result for your client. This includes using courtroom graphics not just...more

What Attorneys Need to Know About the Cal. Supreme Court’s Important Ruling on Animation Admissibility

by Cogent Legal on 8/8/2012

On Monday, the California Supreme Court issued a thoughtful opinion that finally provides strong guidance on the use of animations in trial, affirming their proper place in supporting expert testimony. The decision People v....more

The Beauty of Data: How to Use Adobe Illustrator with Excel to Show Complex Data for Litigation

by Cogent Legal on 7/10/2012

Most people don’t find data beautiful, but it really can be. I am definitely not talking about endless pages of numbers, but rather about data that is visualized in an appealing manner, which actually can be an exciting and...more

What Trial Lawyers Can Learn From a Songwriter to Strengthen Their Case

by Cogent Legal on 6/13/2012

At the American Society of Trial Consultants annual conference in New Orleans last week, I had the opportunity to be on a panel discussion about social media and blogging for the legal profession. There, I saw one of the...more

How to Create the Most Effective Demonstratives for Real Estate Cases

by Cogent Legal on 5/17/2012

At Cogent Legal, real estate and land use cases are among our favorite to support. They can offer up rich and tangible imagery to shape for jury scrutiny. Not surprisingly, trial teams for such cases, on occasion, come to us...more

When and Why Your Case Needs an Animation for Litigation

by Cogent Legal on 4/23/2012

More often than not, litigating a case boils down to persuasively explaining your theory of what happened. The best way often is to create a 3D animation. Nothing is more powerful to enhance the visualization and...more

Demonstrative Evidence: Half the Battle Is Keeping Out the Other Side’s

by Cogent Legal on 4/16/2012

Generally speaking, there are two ways to prevail at trial: (1) have better evidence and demonstratives than your opponent, and (2) keep your opponent’s evidence out. This article describes a couple of Cogent Legal's recent...more

How Attorneys Should Use Graphics in a “David v. Goliath” Case

by Cogent Legal on 3/12/2012

Having myself been a partner at a small five-attorney plaintiff firm for years, I certainly know the feeling of going against the big firms on cases that can attempt to overwhelm you with discovery, but that often have more...more

How Big Infographics Can Make a Big Impact in Litigation

by Cogent Legal on 2/28/2012

This post spotlights three informational graphics that Cogent Legal created and describes how we wrestled with a mountain of data to present a large amount of information in a way that is instantaneously understandable and...more

4 Tips to Use “Show & Tell” to Improve Your PowerPoint for ADR or Trial

by Cogent Legal on 2/9/2012

Many trial or ADR PowerPoint presentations could benefit from recapturing the craft of the “Show & Tell.” Too often, what we should be “telling” we put on the screen. And sometimes, what we should be “showing” we ignore all...more

Litigation Tip: The Best Way to Get Demonstrative Evidence Admitted at Trial

by Cogent Legal on 1/23/2012

I always want to support attorneys using demonstrative evidence and trying new things in terms of design and tech. Demonstrative evidence is pretty much any evidence other than testimony that is presented during the course of...more

Legal Media and Tech Skills for Attorneys: Advice to Help You Get Hired and Improve Your Practice

by Cogent Legal on 1/12/2012

The advice I often give to recent law graduates is, in a nutshell: Get tech savvy. Develop skills in information design and presentation. Become a whiz with document management. Find your inner geek streak. At a time when...more

How Attorneys Can Recognize and Present a Traumatic Brain Injury Case

by Cogent Legal on 12/15/2011

Unlike a case of a broken bone that might easily be seen on an X-ray, traumatic brain injury (TBI) cases are often much more difficult to diagnose and ultimately present to a jury. Having worked on many of these types of...more

How Attorneys Can Recognize and Present a Traumatic Brain Injury Case

by Cogent Legal on 12/15/2011

Unlike a case of a broken bone that might easily be seen on an X-ray, traumatic brain injury (TBI) cases are often much more difficult to diagnose and ultimately present to a jury. Having worked on many of these types of...more

Three Tips for Attorneys to Present Economic Data (and Not Be Boring)

by Cogent Legal on 11/29/2011

This post will provide a few key tips on how to transform economic data into engaging, easy-to-understand visual presentations. One of the most difficult parts of presenting any case involves economics, especially when it...more

Social Media Ethics for Lawyers: 4 Things Attorneys Should Not Do Online

by Cogent Legal on 11/17/2011

Attorneys’ seemingly benign social media activity can and sometimes does collide with the rules of professional conduct. Recently I attended a panel discussion called “Legal Social Media Gone Wild: A Look at the Ethics...more

The iPad vs. the Yellow Pad at the ABOTA Mock Trial

by Cogent Legal on 10/25/2011

Last week, the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) put on a full one-day mock trial in San Francisco in front of a large gathering of attorneys to show how the masters of trial do their trade. The mock trial turned out...more

Tips and Tricks for Attorneys to Use Google Maps and Google Earth

by Cogent Legal on 10/12/2011

You’ve probably used Google Maps for driving directions. But have you tried using it for your case? From a litigation standpoint, there is no quicker and easier way to start building useful demonstratives for your client than...more

How to Avoid Information Overload When Presenting Your Case

by Cogent Legal on 9/27/2011

How much information is “overload” for a juror or mediator? Psychological studies and neuroscience show that we possess inherited built-in limitations to our working memory—a so-called mental bandwidth. As an attorney, you...more

Why It Pays to "Visualize an Injury" for Mediation or Trial

by Cogent Legal on 9/20/2011

In litigation, it’s one thing to talk about an injury in dry medical terms, and quite a different and more powerful thing to show what actually happened anatomically at the time of injury. In a personal injury case, attorneys...more

Tech Tradeoffs in Litigation Presentation Tools: Pros and Cons of PowerPoint, TrialDirector, Video Formats, Timeline Programs and...

by Cogent Legal on 9/6/2011

The benefit of the ongoing digital revolution in litigation is that so much more is possible than ever before for the creation and presentation of graphics for cases. But for every step forward with better technology and more...more

Visual Presentations in Court: A New Study on What Works Best and Why

by Cogent Legal on 7/29/2011

For ADR or trial, the adage “show, don’t tell” is a winning strategy to help convey a presenting attorney’s story, decipher complex content and cogently navigate themes. Now, a comprehensive visual persuasion study not only...more

Go Graphic in Mediation, Not Just in Trial

by Cogent Legal on 6/1/2011

With only a small fraction of cases actually reaching trial, it behooves attorneys to treat mediation like trial and work up their case with maximum effort, which includes using visual presentations, animations and other...more

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Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) › Law Practice Products & Services › Civil Procedure

Court Reporter Working an Arbitration – Direct Examination or Cross-Examination?

How to Use Technology Effectively in Mediation

Two Top Infographics for Mediation of Employment Cases–And How You Can Make Them Yourself

What Attorneys Need to Know About the Cal. Supreme Court’s Important Ruling on Animation Admissibility

The Beauty of Data: How to Use Adobe Illustrator with Excel to Show Complex Data for Litigation

What Trial Lawyers Can Learn From a Songwriter to Strengthen Their Case

How to Create the Most Effective Demonstratives for Real Estate Cases

When and Why Your Case Needs an Animation for Litigation

Demonstrative Evidence: Half the Battle Is Keeping Out the Other Side’s

How Attorneys Should Use Graphics in a “David v. Goliath” Case

How Big Infographics Can Make a Big Impact in Litigation

4 Tips to Use “Show & Tell” to Improve Your PowerPoint for ADR or Trial

Litigation Tip: The Best Way to Get Demonstrative Evidence Admitted at Trial

Legal Media and Tech Skills for Attorneys: Advice to Help You Get Hired and Improve Your Practice

How Attorneys Can Recognize and Present a Traumatic Brain Injury Case

How Attorneys Can Recognize and Present a Traumatic Brain Injury Case

Three Tips for Attorneys to Present Economic Data (and Not Be Boring)

Social Media Ethics for Lawyers: 4 Things Attorneys Should Not Do Online

The iPad vs. the Yellow Pad at the ABOTA Mock Trial

Tips and Tricks for Attorneys to Use Google Maps and Google Earth

How to Avoid Information Overload When Presenting Your Case

Why It Pays to "Visualize an Injury" for Mediation or Trial

Tech Tradeoffs in Litigation Presentation Tools: Pros and Cons of PowerPoint, TrialDirector, Video Formats, Timeline Programs and...

Visual Presentations in Court: A New Study on What Works Best and Why

Go Graphic in Mediation, Not Just in Trial

Expand Your Reach