Storyboards can be a great option for your case presentation. Storyboards can be as effective (and sometimes more effective) than an animation. Additionally, storyboards inevitably cost less than [...]
We all know the power of a well-done animation in front of a jury. Such animations can help visually explain concepts in moments instead of in hours. However, they can also be instrumental in [...]
Regardless of whether liability is an issue, visually explaining to the jury precisely how an injury occurred is a crucial part of a plaintiff’s case presentation. Often, plaintiff’s attorneys [...]
The key to success in data-heavy litigation is developing a method to show the data in a way that effectively tells your story, ideally in a format that is interactive so the attorney can pick [...]
Trials are never, ever easy. They rarely go as planned, and they require the most amazing dexterity of knowing when to hold tight to your positions, and when to completely drop Plan A and go [...]
Looking through the Yahoo news feed yesterday, I came upon an article about a misleading graph used by a major news organization. With a little bit of additional research, I found many additional [...]
A "biomechanical animation" is a powerful visual format to develop and display in conjunction with a biomechanical expert, even in an admitted liability case. Such animations are relevant when [...]
Being able to make a presentation wirelessly is handy for use in court, in meeting rooms—really, anytime you want to use your iPad to present to an audience. Wireless presentation is better than [...]
Change is always exciting, and we have an announcement to make as we transition to 2014. The big news for the start of the year is the formation of Cogent Legal, LLC as a partnership between [...]
Cogent Legal created plaintiffs' visual presentation of the PG&E; San Bruno fire cases for the key motion for summary judgment brought by defendant PG&E.;
Trial courts have discretion to award costs for trial technology under the decision in Bender v. County of Los Angeles, Cal. App. 2d Dist. (July 9, 2023). The court held: "Almost 20 years have [...]
Yesterday for Christmas, I opened a box that contained my very own Google Glass, and I know I’ll spend a good chunk of time during this vacation week teaching myself how to use the device. [...]
In case you’re looking for a few last-minute holiday gifts for people in your office—or if you just want to try some new gadgets for yourself—the TechnoLawyer NewsWire has come out with its [...]
I discovered a new app that has some exciting possibilities for use in trial or mediation, allowing attorneys to launch and deliver their presentations in a more professional manner. Most of us [...]
“Luddite Lawyers Are Ethical Violations Waiting to Happen.” That’s the alarming headline on a great post earlier this week in Lawyerist.com by attorney Megan Zavieh, who [...]
On this day before Thanksgiving, I just couldn’t come up with a lot to say about informational graphics or litigation. I thought it best simply to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and to [...]
A few weeks ago, I published a post based on my presentation at the Melvin Belli Seminar on Tort Practice, which focused on a three-step process for attorneys to develop graphics from the very [...]
If you’re reading this blog, chances are you have an interest in legal tech and litigation graphics. You likely know they’re important for any 21st-century case presentation. But you [...]
We all know by now that we live in a world in which information is delivered visually, and that people learn best when they have visual aids. Attorneys who head to court with demonstratives to [...]
A week ago, I was invited to Portland, Oregon, to present at the Federal District of Oregon Conference on “Innovations in Law: Science and Technology.” The conference explored the [...]
I have some great news to announce that makes me very proud: Cogent Legal was voted “the best presentation provider” in Northern California for 2013 in The Recorder’s annual [...]
I recently had the pleasure of giving a presentation on demonstrative graphics for the State Bar of California’s Employment Law Division in San Francisco. In giving this presentation, I [...]
For the seventh year, the ABA Journal is compiling a list of the Top 100 Law Blogs, which they call “Blawgs.” Given the glut—probably thousands—of law-related blogs online, landing a [...]
Recently, the GCResearchClub.com, a UK-based networking group for in-house lawyers, interviewed me about litigation graphics and case presentation. I excerpted some of the Q&A here. Many [...]
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 & [...]
I’ve been thinking a great deal about PowerPoint recently, and not in a good way. At Cogent Legal, we have been working hard on a number of cases that involve extensive use of PowerPoint [...]
I’m getting ready to head to Vegas for the annual American Society of Trial Consultants conference. I appreciate networking with this group because their members are full of ideas and new [...]
Our firm recently worked on a patent case between two Internet software companies that required illustration of the various inner workings of the Internet. While most people use the Internet on a [...]
When the iPad first came out and attorneys began using it as a tool to help present their cases visually, I thought how great it would be if a presentation could be seen by all participants on [...]
Last night I attended the Trial Lawyer of the Year Gala hosted by the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association (SFTLA), and as always, it was fun to reconnect with so many great attorneys. I [...]
I love hearing the news that one of our clients had a great result using the work we did for them. The most recent big win I’m happy to report is Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, won a [...]
In my continuing effort to point out effective presentations that attorneys can learn lessons from for case presentations, I came across one that teaches on two different fronts. I saw a [...]
The great thing about trials is you never know what’s going to happen. I certainly never heard of an attorney offering to place herself into potential physical harm in order to get an [...]
Timelines are probably one of the most common things we create at Cogent Legal for clients in all types of cases. Employment, business and personal injury cases are ideally suited for laying out [...]
The Association of Business Trial Lawyers asked Cogent Legal to prepare the graphics for a presentation last night on mock trials. The panel consisted of some of the best jury consultants in the [...]
I always like to share examples of what I consider powerful graphics to give attorneys ideas on what’s possible to create for use in litigation. This morning, I was struck by a video going [...]
I am constantly amazed at how the world of litigation has changed so much in such a short period of time since I started practicing almost 20 years ago. OK, I accept that some of you don’t [...]
Last week, Ken Broda-Bahm wrote a great piece about the recent State of the Union Address (“Check Your Alignment in Multiparty Litigation“), commenting on how the dueling responses by [...]
One of the things that has changed the most since I started practicing law two decades ago is the prevalence of surveillance video in tort cases. Twenty years ago, surveillance was still [...]
One of the things I love about the work we do at Cogent Legal is having what I like to call “play time.” By that I mean time to sit and play with a new design-related app or product [...]
This post is co-written by Michael Kelleher and Morgan Smith At Cogent Legal, we create presentations for a wide variety of cases. In each case, design plays into everything we do, from color [...]
One of the most common items attorneys will put into a brief or a case presentation is an overhead map of the relevant area. Since the dawn of Google, attorneys have grown accustomed to copying [...]
One of my new year’s resolutions is to become a more thoughtful, consistent and “cogent” blogger. Not only do I want to write better posts for my audience’s sake, but I [...]
I definitely have a love/hate relationship with the dominant program out there for creating and showing presentations: PowerPoint. I love PowerPoint because it’s generally easy for anyone [...]
I never expected to work with a former nuclear submarine officer in the litigation field, but it turns out that we’re bringing such a person “on board” at Cogent Legal. I’m [...]
I remember distinctly the day I got my first-generation iPhone in 2007. I was the first in my law office to get one, and when I figured out how the phone’s email system worked with our [...]
I recently had the opportunity to do something quite fun. My torts professor from law school asked me to teach a class on “the real practice” of tort law. I got the opportunity to [...]
This post is by Martha Pettit Design & Administration Associate We are in the midst of a big data explosion. E-discovery, metadata, black box data, cell phone records, social media … [...]
Yesterday was one of those days that reminded me of the value of visiting a site for a construction-related case to see and feel firsthand what is involved. Couldn’t I simply hire a [...]
At the Legal Marketing Technology Conference/West in San Francisco Thursday, I spoke on a panel about blogging, social media and online marketing for small firms and solo attorneys. As a [...]
