Vector graphics allow you to expand and zoom in on details without pixelation and loss of clarity. This post has a video demonstration of a new free iPhone app, Adobe Shape, which makes it very easy to create quick vector graphics. With this free app, you simply point your iPhone camera at an object (or choose a photo on your camera roll) and the app creates a vector graphic that you can then use in Adobe Illustrator or on other Adobe apps
This blog post uses video of a mock deposition and motion argument to review lessons including start thinking about your visual trial presentation before you take depositions; think of visual analogies to explain complex concepts; and give yourself time to edit visuals, just as you give yourself time to edit your briefing.
Trial graphics can go far beyond photographs to enhance juror understanding. This post discusses graphics used to display an unguarded chain-and-sprocket mechanism within a sugar silo. As the attorney stated, I don't think the jury could understand what happened without the graphic displays.
This post discusses how to avoid the problem of ugly pixelated blow-ups and projections by having images redrawn with vector graphics. Vector graphics like those used in Adobe Illustrator will stay clear and readable when magnified to very large sizes.
Well-presented photographs are powerful tools for litigators. In this post, I'll share some samples that show how we've helped litigators use photographs in court, along with a number of tips for getting the most from your photographs in litigation.
Numbers, and the interpretation of numbers, play a big role in litigation. Presenting numerical data in court often requires a good graph of the numbers to show changes and trends in the numbers. Litigators or litigants may be able to make simple graphs themselves using Excel. However, more complicated graphs benefit from expert tools like Adobe Illustrator.
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.;
Great graphics make difficult concepts understandable, and such graphics are what we aspire to each day at Cogent Legal. Today’s blog entry will dissect a graphic from the New York Times and think about what makes it work. The October 8, 2013, edition of the New York Times included a great graphic in its report on the award of the Nobel […]
As lawyers, we are always arguing about documents, and we often need to display those documents in court. In patent cases, displaying documents is particularly important because the patent’s language describes the invention. In today’s post, I’ll talk about how to display this language in an understandable, readable and trustworthy form for the judge or jury.
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 facts in chronological order to enhance jury understanding. When discussing the various options of timelines with clients, there are basically two main […]
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 country exploring the factors that make successful and worthwhile mock trials. Beth Bonora, Karen Jo Koonan, Andy Sheldon and Ron Beaton all touched on some […]
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 think 20 years is a short period of time, but it sure seems like it to me. As […]
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 primarily captured on videotape and was expensive and difficult to use and store as evidence. It was unusual for our litigation team to obtain any surveillance video […]
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 and pasting the image of a Google map into a document or a PowerPoint presentation. I, too, am a big […]
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 photographer to take pictures of it for me instead? Perhaps, but that’s a poor substitute. It’s much more effective to tour the scene […]
Apple’s recent victory over Samsung in their patent infringement case had to be one of the most closely watched intellectual property cases ever, and trial graphics played a decisive role in shaping juror and public opinion. In fact, juror post-trial interviews revealed that two key Apple demonstratives, out of many weeks of trial argument and testimony, […]
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 […]
Most people don’t find data beautiful, but it really can be. I am definitely not talking about Excel sheets with endless pages of numbers, but rather about data that is visualized in an appealing manner, which actually can be an exciting and powerful work of art. Complex data, when arranged in understandable ways, can reveal patterns […]
The following post is by Dave Nugent, Cogent Legal’s Senior Producer At Cogent Legal, real estate and land use cases are among our favorite to support. They can offer up rich and tangible imagery to shape for jury scrutiny. We humans seem to be drawn to all things about “land.” Yet most real estate cases […]
Generally speaking, there are two ways to prevail at trial: (1) have better evidence and demonstratives than your opponent, and (2) keep your opponent’s evidence out. Cogent Legal worked on a couple of cases recently that demonstrated the power of superior demonstratives and excluding evidence.
I have always loved the challenge of figuring out a way to show a large set of information all in one graphic. The undisputed master of high information graphics is Edward Tufte, whom I had the privilege of seeing recently at his latest swing through the Bay Area. Mr. Tufte has made the point for […]
This post is written by Dave Nugent, Cogent Legal’s Senior Producer. Remember those childhood days of grade school innocence and the excitement generated when it was “Show & Tell” day? Presenters would stand before you, hold something up and then speak to it. That object was iconic. It immediately conveyed value, meaning and context to […]
As much as my ego hopes that Cogent Legal Blog is read by attorneys far and wide who eagerly await each update, I’m well aware that busy attorneys have limited time to read blogs and that thousands of law-related blogs vie for your attention. For all of you who might have missed my most practical […]
Unlike a case of a broken bone that might easily be seen on an X-ray, traumatic brain injury (TBI) cases are often much more difficult to diagnose and ultimately present to a jury. Having worked on many of these types of cases—first as a trial attorney, now as a consultant and litigation graphics expert—I developed […]
In a personal injury case, attorneys on both sides might focus so much on the issue of liability that they give short shrift to thoroughly understanding the injury itself. This often happens in catastrophic cases where the serious consequences of an injury are undisputed. During the many years in which I handled and tried PI […]
(I wrote this post for a blog I follow and respect: The Matte Pad Marketing Know-How for the Legal Profession. It was published there two weeks ago, and I’m reposting it here for Cogent Legal Blog’s audience. Image courtesy of The Matte Pad.) It’s the eleventh hour before trial and you’re feverishly preparing your case […]
The other day, a Northern California trial attorney contacted me in need of a medical illustration. He represented the plaintiff in an auto crash case and had to go to trial in about a week. The attorney rightly realized that picturing his client’s spine would be an essential part of presenting his case. When preparing […]
