Image credit: Al HolguinLitigation-Tech has been around for many years, helping attorneys navigate their way onto the technology highway in the courtroom. We have a lot of stories to tell, but here's some insight from one of our very first clients.Abraham Lincoln was a master of using language to persuade and inform. He was also a skilled storyteller, and he knew how to use visuals to illustrate his points. If he were alive today, he would likely be a big fan of courtroom technology and visuals. There are many ways that courtroom technology can be used to enhance the presentation

If you don't know what you're doing, don't do it. It's okay to hire someone else who does know what they are doing, but don't waste your own time, your client's money, and potentially your career trying to do things you know nothing about. There are experts for that.Rule 1.1 in the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct. The original Rule 1.1 states: “A lawyer shall provide competent representation to a client. Competent representation requires the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation.” Comment 8: Maintaining Competence.“To maintain the requisite knowledge and skill, a lawyer should keep abreast

Bard:Here are the top 5 areas in legal work that cannot be replaced by AI:Legal research. AI can help lawyers with legal research by providing them with access to vast amounts of data and by helping them to identify relevant cases and statutes. However, AI cannot replace the human judgment that is necessary to evaluate the legal significance of this information. Lawyers must be able to understand the context of a case and to apply the law to the facts in order to provide sound legal advice.Legal analysis. AI can help lawyers to analyze legal documents and to identify potential

 Bad Hair Day, Messy Hotel Room DayNOTE: This series will cover what happened, how we've adjusted, where we are now, and where we're headed. We will also offer numerous tips, tricks, and best practices for hybrid and remote trials.When is the last time you joined a Zoom meeting, only to realize the total disaster you were displaying to everyone? Maybe you're having a bad hair day, messy background day, or even a sun-suddenly-broke-through-the-clouds-and-started-blazing-in-through-the-window-directly-behind-you-as-soon-as-you-turned-on-your-webcam-day. Hey, things happen. But -- many of these little disasters are actually preventable.You might already know there are settings you can use to allow or prevent your webcam

 NOTE: This series will cover what happened, how we've adjusted, where we are now, and where we're headed. We will also offer numerous tips, tricks, and best practices for hybrid and remote trials.Cameras are the only new major component needed to enable hybrid trials, which have quickly become the most common format. With skyrocketing travel costs, it makes economic sense to have a witness appear remotely from another part of the country -- or even from another country. Even a daily commute can be avoided by many members of a trial team, allowing those back at the war room to watch

 Order "The Online Courtroom"NOTE: This series will cover what happened, how we've adjusted, where we are now, and where we're headed. We will also offer numerous tips, tricks, and best practices for hybrid and remote trials. Looking back at our trial calendar, I added a note on March 9, 2020: COVID-19 BUSINESS STOP. I was at home in Southern California's South Bay (I also have a home office in the East Bay Area in Northern California), and the next important note I see is on March 27, 2020: BEACHES AND PIER CLOSED. Now, it's certainly a big deal when all the

Now that the courts are beginning to get back to business, will we continue to have remote witnesses and juries? That's a great question, and we'd have a completely different answer had it not been for COVID-19. What we've just experienced is one of the fastest implementations of technology by the legal professions ever.Technology, when used properly, can make you more effective and efficient in trial. It used to be a major strategic consideration whether to use TrialDirector and risk appearing as though you were spending too much money, or had very deep pockets as a defendant. Now, there is

Trials. Exhibits. In Person. Remote. Hybrid.We have many options, now that we're slowly climbing our way out of a global pandemic. Pre-COVID, we had only a few common options. During the first part of COVID, we literally had none. Rather quickly, the lights began to turn on again, even if most of those were monitors glowing, as opposed to courtroom lights. Now most of us have become proficient in online trials, arbitrations and depos. It took a pandemic to implement technology that has already been available for years. While there are both benefits and drawbacks to remote technology, it is here

During Voir Dire, jurors will be watching you like a hawk. photo © Ted BrooksIf you do jury trials, you're already familiar with the voir dire process and know how important it can be to your case. You can have a jury consultant assist with this process, or you might prefer to handle it on your own, but in either scenario it is the attorney who will be speaking with the jurors. While you might be chomping at the bit to get this trial started, the fact is that it has already begun. Don't ever take voir dire lightly - it is

TrialDirector 360Although it hasn't yet been officially released yet, here are a few initial thoughts on the new TrialDirector 360, some of which are from my LinkedIn post. If you'd like to follow along, feel free to connect and follow my profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-brooks-778190/ You will need to set up an Ipro 360 account, which will manage your Ipro software and will eventually serve as another method of creating and working with your cases. Parts of this, along with some features in TD360 are still being finalized. This initial review is on a Beta website, and the locally installed version is 1.0.0.0.Once you're