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

Are You Ready to Practice Law Like It’s 2014?

January 14, 2024 by Leave a Comment

morgan and mikeChange 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 myself and Michael Kelleher. Mike has been consulting for Cogent Legal for the past year and blogs regularly here. This partnership makes Mike a full manager of the company, but continues with the same business focus we have had in the past of providing outstanding legal graphics for litigation.

I’m so happy to have a partner, who like myself is a former practicing litigator with a great deal of trial experience. Mike’s speciality in business litigation—he’s a former partner and head of IP practice at Folger Levin & Kahn—complements my background in class action and PI cases. (Read our press release here.)

We both became lawyers in the 1990s and have witnessed tremendous change in the practice of law over these two decades. Looking back as well as looking ahead, we felt inspired to make this short animation to show the change from 1994 to 2014, and to illustrate Cogent Legal’s role in helping attorneys keep pace with change and win cases by leveraging graphics and tech. We hope you’ll watch it and let us know what you think.

 

 

We plan to continue writing about new developments in legal technology and litigation strategy, and sharing our practical tips through this blog. We also are getting ready to host webinars on our site to provide high-quality MCLEs on a regular basis. We’ll have an announcement here on the blog about that soon, so if you haven’t already, we hope you’ll subscribe to this blog by clicking here for updates.

2013 was a great year, with a highlight being voted the 2013 Best Presentation Provider by the Recorder. In 2014 we hope to continue to live up to that honor. From us here at Cogent Legal, we wish you all a great 2014.

A Different Kind of Thanksgiving

November 27, 2023 by Leave a Comment

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 express my gratitude for Cogent Legal’s employees, clients, friends and family.

At home, my family is preparing for our tradition of a non-traditional Thanksgiving, a tradition we started in 2009 while traveling in Santiago, Chile. That year, we had a dinner of shellfish at a special restaurant during our year of round-the-world travel. In each of the following years, we cooked something unusual for Thanksgiving and/or traveled somewhere special (to the Sierra one year, to Mexico the next). This year, we’re hosting dinner with extended family members who are vegan, so we’re having an all-vegan Thanksgiving dinner—something I never thought I’d like, but I’m willing to try. My point is that it’s fun to add new twists to old traditions.

Here is hoping you all can take time to put up your feet, relax for a bit, and perhaps use the free time to try something new. I hope you enjoy this drawing by one of our designers, Georgia Clark.

Happy Holidays!

turkey ipad

A Great Opportunity to Learn Litigation Tech and Presentation Skills

October 31, 2023 by 1 Comment

visual litigation and logosIf 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 know less about how to get trouble-free and top-quality tech, demonstratives and litigation support. Maybe it feels too time consuming, too expensive or simply too overwhelming to sharpen your skills and knowledge in this area.

Fear not, a 90-minute webinar coming up will teach you how to leverage the latest trial technologies for stronger, less stressful presentations.

On Friday, Nov. 22, 10 a.m. Pacific/1p.m. Eastern, I’ll co-present this webinar with Ted Brooks, an expert in trial technology and courtroom presentations. We’re going to give a practical, concise overview on the use of technology in litigation, full of case examples and tips you can use.

First, we’ll teach you about the wired courtroom and the risks and benefits of using legal tech. [Read more...]

Using Color Strategically in Litigation Presentations

June 29, 2023 by Leave a Comment

How does color “color” your argument? The use of color in trial presentation design is becoming less an aesthetic choice and more a strategy of persuasion—and has everything to do with a positive jury response to, and retention of, your argument.

That insight comes from Dave Nugent, who I’m excited to announce just joined Cogent Legal’s team as a senior producer. Dave has worked in the litigation graphics field for well over a decade and has a great understanding of the best ways to create effective media presentations to strengthen a case at mediation or trial. One thing I really like about Dave is the way he uses cognitive psychology to inform his work, as his article below on the topic of color shows.

So, when you’re presenting infographics, PowerPoints and other types of media in court, should you use B&W or color? Brown or blue? Here’s Dave’s advice:

[Read more...]