News, views and tips on litigation graphics, trial strategy and the law.

California Net Verdict Calculator for the iPad

August 22, 2023 by 2 Comments

One of my first posts on this blog discussed all the complications involved with calculating a verdict in California for personal injury cases, especially when a workers’ compensation lien and/or prior settlement must be taken into account. Given my growing love of the iPad for litigation, I figured it was time to update that post and put my verdict calculator on the Apple program Numbers for iPad. (drumroll, please …) You can download the Numbers file directly to your iPad and work along with this post: Download Numbers Net Verdict Calculator. Please note, you will need a copy of Numbers on your iPad to view the file; it works best to open this post on your iPad, then click the download button, then choose “open in Numbers” from the icon at the top right of the screen.

If you have not used Numbers on the iPad, I suggest the quick tutorial that comes with the app on the iPad to orient you to how it functions. Numbers is the Apple equivalent to Excel, but it is much more robust in its ability to make visually appealing graphs and charts. [Read more...]

The ABA’s Top 100 Blawgs and Some of My Top Posts

August 20, 2023 by Leave a Comment

The ABA Journal publishes a “Blawg Directory” of more than 3500 law blogs (get it? blog + law = blawg), and each year the ABA accepts nominations to choose the 100 best. If you’ve appreciated the blog posts here, then I hope you will take a minute to vote for Cogent Legal Blog through this link. (Note, the link only works on desktops or laptops, not mobile devices, which I find rather strange. Apologies if you try to click through on your iPhone and iPad and get a “cannot connect” message. I hope you’ll try it on a computer.)

This contest is sort of the Oscars for legal blogging and can really help gain blog readers and elevate a firm’s profile. You can nominate more than one blog, so I encourage you to nominate any and all blogs you believe other attorneys should check out. [Read more...]

How Storyboards Helped Make a Complex Case and Could Help Yours, Too

August 15, 2023 by Leave a Comment

As regular readers of this blog know, my last post on a recent California Supreme Court decision addressed the issue of animations in trial. There is no question that I am a big fan of animations and their power for case presentation. However, I also believe that other methods for visualizing cases can provide an equally compelling way of getting information across to a jury or mediator. This post spotlights one of the best and most convenient types of litigation graphics: Storyboards.

What I mean by a “storyboard” is basically a series of images that are used to show how an incident occurred, what could have been done differently, how a product works, etc. They are separate still images that relate to one another to tell a story and show a sequence of events, and they can be shown electronically or printed and enlarged for a display board. For mediations, they’re easy to print and attach to a brief. [Read more...]

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

August 8, 2023 by Leave a Comment

[Update: The September 2012 issue of Plaintiff magazine features an article by me on this topic. For an expanded discussion, click here to read a PDF of the printed article.]

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. Duenas (click here for PDF of opinion) arose out of a criminal murder trial where the defendant objected to the use of a re-creation of the scene done by a biomechanical expert that purported to show the locations and direction of the defendant shooting a police officer. This post summarizes the opinion and gives three questions that attorneys should ask themselves when considering developing and using demonstrative evidence. [Read more...]