Thursday, August 18, 2011

Courtroom presentation: Do you want to run the machine?

I'm very stingy with my clients' money but one place I encourage them to splurge is to have someone running the projector, elmo, powerpoint, whathaveyou.
If you're not already comfortable with the gear and software, the wrong place to work that out is in front of the jury.
They might forgive your fumbling. (Doesn't that sentence just make you feel bad?) But why ask it of them?
Someone has to be so slick with the presentation technic that not only can they push the right button at the right time, they can troubleshoot on the spot if the right button doesn't work.
And have a backup plan if that whole system doesn't work. Have a way to make your point if electronics fail you. For inspiration about backup plans, see the movie "Heist." This will help your law career.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Settlement Video series: The Story

Settlement video, which I call "Scare the Insurance Company video", will have a story that sticks with the viewer.
Notice I didn't say it should have one. It will have one. The audience will make up something to connect everything you show them.
Your and my job is to make sure it's the story you choose.
This is art, so the only rules are the givens of human perception and thinking. But one good starting place is "A good, worthy, likable person had a great life. Then the awful thing happened that wasn't their fault. Now they suffer."
This might be exactly the story you tell the jury, but settlement video lets you tell it in the most poignant way, unshackled from the rules of evidence.