How to Create an Opening Statement Using Graphic Immersion

I recently had the pleasure of doing a presentation for the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association on technology in the courtroom. My co-presenters (Miles Cooper of Rouda, Feder, Tietjen & McGuinn and Jeff Smith from Abramson Smith Waldsmith, LLP) and I decided it would be more fun and inspiring to show the final results of a well-put-together visual case presentation using trial technology, rather than a step-by-step explanation of how to use that technology. That way we could show the power of the end result rather than the more technical steps to get there.

My part in the presentation concerned opening statements, and I wanted to share a highly graphically immersive style of opening that allows an attorney to persuasively convey a great deal of information in a short period of time. Since the focus of the presentation was partly on short matters like one-day trials or arbitration, the use of graphics in such settings can be tremendously valuable and helpful to the finder of fact. (more…)