People often ask why I stopped litigating cases and created a litigation graphics firm specializing in visual communication for attorneys in mediation and trial. The answer is simple: the work is [...]
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 [...]
Arbitrations are a great forum for the use of the graphics, animations and trial technologies. Depending on the arbitrator(s)' familiarity with technologies, attorneys can often submit briefs, [...]
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 [...]
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.;
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. [...]
Legal visuals work. We thought so, and now we have the statistical rigor of a controlled experiment to prove it. In a study comparing opening arguments delivered with and without simple [...]
In closing argument, it can be effective to show the jury the verdict form and tell them how you hope they fill it out. This technique is particularly important when the jury will face a [...]
For your next trial or important hearing, you should seriously consider using an e-brief to help the judge (and the judge's clerk) navigate and understand your argument. Cogent Legal recently [...]
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 & [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
This post is written by Michael Kelleher, Esq. Before I recently joined as a litigation consultant here at Cogent Legal, “Words” was my nickname at a previous job. Ironic, isn’t [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
[UPDATE: We uploaded the webinar on SlideShare and embedded it below so you can watch the whole thing if you like.] Yesterday, I co-presented a CLE webinar on “Technology for Better [...]
When it comes to construction issues, I feel like the actor in that old ad on TV who says, “I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV.” I’m not in the construction field, [...]
This is an abridged version of an article I wrote for the September 2012 issue of the California Labor & Employment Law Review. Reprinted with permission of the State Bar of California and [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
[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 [...]
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 [...]
At the American Society of Trial Consultants annual conference in New Orleans last week, I had the opportunity to be on a panel discussion about social media and blogging for the legal [...]
This weekend, I’m heading to Monterey to give a presentation on “New Technologies for Federal Litigation” for the Northern District of California 2012 Judicial Conference. Since [...]
More often than not, litigating a case boils down to persuasively explaining your theory of what happened. You bring in experts and witnesses to testify. You show photographs, documents, charts [...]
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 [...]
I admit, I’m not the most consistent blogger. I try to publish a post at a minimum weekly, but work intervenes and makes blogging with regularity a challenge. I go for quality over quantity [...]
I read with great interest the post by Tom Wallerstein From Biglaw to Boutique: The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall regarding the “David and Goliath” match-ups of big and small [...]
There’s been a lot of hype about the iPad’s apps for the legal profession. I’m going to add to it with a prediction that may seem far-fetched, but I believe stands a strong chance of coming to [...]
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? [...]
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 [...]
At a recent seminar I attended, Judge M. Lynn Duryee of the Marin County Superior Court had a great story of an attorney who stood up in opening statement and said, “I’m going to call [...]
Last week, the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) put on a full one-day mock trial in San Francisco in front of a large gathering of attorneys to show how the masters of trial do their [...]
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 [...]
(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 [...]
In litigation, almost every case will benefit from a timeline that lays out key facts and circumstances in a chronological order. The process of making a timeline can help you, the attorney, [...]
Ever get the feeling there’s nothing you can do? That’s the feeling that I and perhaps many other attorneys had when we departed a meeting last week at the San Francisco Bar [...]
The news out of the California justice system is somewhere between dire and disastrous. All signs indicate it’s only going to get worse in California, and attorneys are scrambling for ways to [...]
I recently looked utterly ridiculous on stage in front of an audience of several dozen people. In the midst of an improv exercise called “Yes, let’s!” someone shouted, [...]
These days, the case that gets tried is the exception, and the case that settles at mediation is the rule. A study by the National Center for State Courts concluded that only about 3 percent of [...]
Picture yourself in court getting ready to present a first-rate animation created by a professional litigation graphics company. The opposing counsel jumps up to say, “Your honor, we object to [...]
