Technology now permits the litigatorto bring trial practice into themodern age of remote controlsand liquid crystal displays. If you're notready to give up paper and Styrofoamexhibit boards, consider the followingundeniable truths:

• We are living in an age where mostinformation is delivered in the form ofsound bites, video and photographs, primarilyvia television and the Internet.
• Jurors prefer to learn by seeing, not byhearing, because "seeing is believing."
• Jurors have short attention spans; theyappreciate efficiency and loathe unnecessarydelay.

It has been my experience that technologymakes us more effective teachers andbetter advocates in the courtroom. It givesus better control of the evidence and makesus more efficient in our presentation.When used to create and present compellingdemonstrative exhibits, technologyenables us to convey complex concepts insimple terms. It also facilitates the summarypresentation of evidence at settlementconferences and mediations.

The first step toward a paper-free presentationis to convert the contents of a fileto digital images that can be projected,underlined, highlighted and otherwise displayedas we teach and argue our client'scase. We begin by scanning the paper file,Bates numbering each scanned page as wedo so, and saving the digital images withfile names that correspond to the Batesnumbers. Where the file is voluminous,this job is best left to an outside vendor,although many law offices now have sheetfedscanners. (Our Canon ColorImageRunner C3200 scans 35 pages perminute and sends the digital files directlyto any networked computer in the officewhere it can be converted to PDF, TIF orJPG format with eCopy Desktop software).

Once scanned, the file becomesportable. We can send records to an experton a single CD. We can take the entire filewith us when we travel or access the filefrom home using one of the many passwordprotected remote access programs(my firm uses PC Anywhere).

In the typical personal injury action, inaddition to paper, the file also includesmedical illustrations, day-in-the-lifevideos, photographs, radiological studies,animations, timelines, videotaped depositionsand PowerPoint presentations preparedby experts. We ask our courtreporters, medical illustrators and videographersto provide digital work product.Be sure video is shot at the highest possibleresolution (and burned to DVD using theMPEG-2 format if possible).

Dedicated trial presentation software,such as Sanction by Verdict Systemsor TrialDirector by inData Corp, isan indispensable tool for the presentationof digital files. Each permits the presenterto call up imaged documents by name orBates number, to enlarge, highlight,underline and otherwise call attention tothe critical portion of a document, to presentdocuments side by side for comparison,and to switch effortlessly among andbetween imaged documents, medical illustrations,videos, photographs, radiologicalstudies and animations in a multitude offile formats.

Several of my firm's attorneys and paralegalsare self-taught Sanction users.Verdict Systems also offers Sanction trainingat its facility in Arizona and customizedtraining right in your office. A workingknowledge of the program is not difficultto acquire and will suffice for mediations,settlement conferences, seminars and theoccasional short trial. In complex trialswith hundreds of exhibits, we have hired aspecialist to run Sanction for us in thecourtroom.

Microsoft's PowerPoint remains thegold standard for the presentation of informationin a slide show format and can berun simultaneously with Sanction orTrialDirector, permitting the user to toggleback and forth as necessary.PowerPoint presentations can be displayedby Sanction, but with an annoying scrollbar on one side of the screen and a delay asthe file opens. In the controlled setting ofa mediation, an opening statement or thedirect examination of a witness,PowerPoint enables the linear presentationof information. A critical medical record,for example, can be displayed with annotationscreated in advance to emphasize significantcomponents of the record. A handwrittenprogress note from the hospitalchart can be displayed side-by-side with atyped translation. A collection of familyphotographs can be presented as an attorneyor witness narrates.

PowerPoint's advanced features alsoenable the user to add custom animationschemes to bring a slide show to life.PowerPoint is not, however, a substitutefor Sanction or TrialDirector; it does notpermit the user to call up documents byBates number or to enlarge and highlightdocuments on the fly. It is ideal for seminars,mediations and settlement conferences,where the rules of evidence do notapply. If you do decide to use PowerPointto present evidence at trial, remember toput the presentation on your exhibit list.

When selecting hardware for the presentationof evidence to a small audiencesuch as a mediator in a conference room ora judge in chambers, the most importantcriteria are portability and ease of setup.My firm has selected a lightweight SonyVaio notebook computer, an EpsonPowerLite 645c projector (3.5 lbs., 2500lumens, native 1024x768 XGA resolution),and a Draper Traveler 30- by 40-inchscreen (14 lbs. with aluminum case). Thescreen fits easily in the back seat of a car orover the shoulder with a strap. It pulls upout of the case and can be placed on thefloor or on a conference room table. Theprojector connects to the computer with asingle cable (it also accepts an 802.11gwireless signal) and setup takes less thantwo minutes.

In 2005, the firm used this hardwarecombination to make presentations tostate and federal court judges conductingsettlement conferences in chambers, andto mediators in large conference rooms.With a larger screen, we used the samecomputer and projector during trials inrelatively small courtrooms, and at a half-dozencontinuing legal education seminars presentedby our attorneys. The notebookcomputer also connected smoothly to theprojection equipment in the "high-tech"courtrooms in the Philadelphia CountyCourt of Common Pleas (Courtroom625) and the U.S. District Court for theEastern District of Pennsylvania(Courtroom 3B). Be sure to scout thecourtroom before trial to determine howbest to position screens. Contact chambersto determine whether the court willpermit you to pre-mark exhibits.

An ELMO Visual Presenter is also anextremely versatile tool for the presentationof evidence in the courtroom. It isessentially an overhead projector, with acamera instead of a simple mirror, andvideo-out terminals (RGB, USB,Composite and S-Video) to carry the digitalsignal to our projector. My firm usesthe ELMO HV-5100XG, with upperlamps for displaying documents and 3-Dobjects, and a base lamp for displayingtransparent material such as X-Rays.

The advantages realized by reducing oreliminating paper and Styrofoam blowupsare of strategic significance. Forexample, during cross-examination of awitness during a recent trial, we confrontedthe witness with prior inconsistentdeposition testimony, which we displayedinstantly on the screen in front of the witnessand simultaneously on the screens inthe jury box. We showed the witness asingle page from the deposition transcriptand enlarged only the question andanswer at issue, limiting the ability of thewitness to evade the question by readingearlier or later testimony from the transcript.The jury members could see thetranscript and could follow along as weread the prior testimony, increasing thelikelihood that they would remember itduring their deliberations.

The ease with which transitions can bemade from one document to the next dramaticallyimproves the rhythm of crossexamination,which can be interruptedunnecessarily while searching in the backof the courtroom through a pile ofStyrofoam boards. The days of balancingenormous exhibits on an easel or strugglingto flip the enormous pages of amulti-page enlargement are quickly disappearing.

Eliminating paper also saves money. Ina complex case with multiple parties, digitalexhibits may take the place of dozensof Styrofoam boards and thousands ofpieces of paper. Have the court reportere-mail daily copy of the trial transcript,which is then ready for presentation in thecourtroom the next morning.

Notwithstanding our love of technologyfor the presentation of evidence, thereare certain demonstrative exhibits thatshould still be printed and mounted onboards. Timelines are often too long andnarrow to be projected on a screen. Manymedical illustrations, with intricatedetails, also look better on boards than on15-inch LCD screens (which you will findin the high tech courtroom jury boxes inboth the Philadelphia County Court ofCommon Pleas and the Eastern Districtof Pennsylvania).

My firm always brings at least one completeset of paper exhibits to the courtroom.This set serves as an emergencybackup to the computer and may also beneeded if the presiding judge permits orrequires exhibits to go out with the juryduring their deliberations.

The decision to abandon our traditionalreliance on paper in favor of digital images,such as the transition from typewriters tocomputers, required an initial leap of faithin the technology. With each mediation,settlement conference and trial, our familiaritywith the hardware and softwareinvolved has grown as has our confidencein its reliability. Looking back at the analogworld, we are convinced that modern digitaltechnology has enhanced our presentationof evidence and has made us better advocates for our clients.

Peter M. Newmanis a partner at the law firmof Feldman ShepherdWohlgelernter Tanner &Weinstock, where he representsplaintiffs in catastrophicpersonal injury litigationincluding productsliability, medical malpractice,automotive, premisesliability and other complex personal injury and wrongfuldeath actions.

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