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

Q&A with Derek Ryan on Business Development and Litigation Graphics

March 25, 2024 by Leave a Comment

Derek headshotIf you’re a partner at a small firm, you know that every new position that’s created and filled matters exponentially more than a single hiring at a big firm. Payroll will spike with each new addition, and everyone will work closely together. It’s therefore imperative to hire someone who can wear different hats, who’s an enthusiastic “team player” and who’s genuinely likable.

Here at our three-year-old firm, Cogent Legal, my partner Mike Kelleher and I recently created a key position. We knew we had to find the right person with that flexible skill set, enthusiasm and great personality. We found him and are excited to introduce him: Derek Ryan, Cogent’s new Director of Business Development.

Derek is truly an interesting and likable guy whose background as the longtime GM at JAMS makes him well suited to understand attorneys’ needs and to deliver services not just for trial but also for ADR—an area that has yet to embrace the potential of graphics and technology for case presentation.

We thought you’d like to meet Derek because he has some great ideas for attorneys and an unusual background. So, we hope you’ll read and enjoy these 5 Questions for Derek Ryan: [Read more...]

How to Weave ESI Into the Fabric Of Your Case

February 12, 2024 by Leave a Comment

A version of this article was first published in the January 2014 LexisNexis e-discovery brief.

ediscoveryA central case database where litigators track issues, witnesses, events, documents, to-do items and more is a vital tool for making e-discovery and litigation more efficient.

While electronically stored information (ESI) is important, ESI rarely takes center stage in a closing argument. Rather, the attorneys will be telling the jury a story in closing argument—a story about the parties, what happened to bring those parties into court, and how the evidence before the jury supports the story. Although e-discovery may not be the star of the closing argument, it plays an important supporting role: the stories of closing will often be woven from threads first identified in e-discovery. [Read more...]

How to Use Your iPhone to Connect Your iPad for Wireless Presentations

January 29, 2024 by 1 Comment

iphone and ipadI recently discovered another way to easily set up your iPad for wireless presentation display. I’ve written before about how to set up a wireless display for an iPad, which describes how you must have a special WiFi device to make it all work (see prior post). Now I’d like to tell you about another way to create the WiFi connection and allow your iPad to have Internet access during a presentation.

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 hard-wiring because it allows you to walk around without being tied down and looks cleaner and more impressive. Also, the benefit of the system described below is that by using your iPhone, you eliminate the need for additional equipment. [Read more...]