Featured Pro: Walter Moore

Walter Moore, a litigation attorney with an impressive legal background, has been at the intersection of law and technology since he started practicing in 1984. After graduating with honors from Princeton and Georgetown Law, where he served as an editor for the Law Review, Walter worked as a litigation associate at Skadden Arps, a giant in the field of business disputes. He then ventured out on his own in the 1990s and has since built a thriving solo practice in California, handling high-value business and real estate disputes. However, it is his passion for technology and efficiency that has truly shaped his career path.

Walter has always been at the forefront of leveraging technology to improve efficiency. He recalled, “When I began practicing, we were still using typewriters, and I remember being thrilled when personal computers came out." He was one of the first to invest in a 30-pound “portable” computer with a whopping 20 megabytes of storage — a significant advancement at the time. Always looking to optimize his practice, Walter began using spreadsheets to manage documents and later discovered the potential of databases with FileMaker Pro. His interest in technology led him to continuously explore legal software options, but many fell short. “The products marketed to lawyers are often terrible,” he said. “Many feel like they were designed by people who have never practiced law.”

When he came across LIT SOFTWARE’s suite of apps, Walter found a different story. “Your product works as though lawyers had designed it,” he noted, praising how intuitive and practical it feels for trial lawyers. The apps' ability to streamline processes and provide precise, trial-ready outputs immediately caught his attention.

Walter's practice focuses on handling all aspects of complex multimillion-dollar business and real estate disputes, often involving tens of thousands of documents and emails. His work includes litigation and arbitration, including pleadings, motions, e-discovery, discovery, depositions, trials, and appeals. His technological savvy allows him to work efficiently without the need for an extensive team of paralegals, unlike many large firms that rely on their support staff. Walter told us, “A lot of lawyers I know don’t even use their software directly; their paralegals do all the work.” But Walter’s approach is hands-on, and LIT SOFTWARE’s suite of apps supports his need for control and efficiency.

TrialPad: A Game-Changer for Presentations

Unlike many litigators who have never set foot in a courtroom, Walter frequently takes cases to trial. He told us, "I try to use visual aids all the time to make it easier for the jury to understand." Over the years, he’s used everything from Adobe Acrobat to Keynote for trial presentations, but LIT SOFTWARE’s apps have become his go-to tools. Walter said, “Unlike other tools, TrialPad keeps everything I need right in front of me, which is invaluable during a courtroom presentation.”

“The TrialPad app is terrific. It allows me to highlight documents and create callouts on the fly,” he explained. “I love the way you can display a document, zoom in on specific portions, and make callouts right there in front of the jury. I’ve only seen that in more cumbersome PC software before. It makes things go faster for the jury, and they appreciate not having their time wasted.”

Walter primarily uses his Mac for his practice, but also appreciates the efficiency of using an iPad in a courtroom, noting how it allows an attorney to present while standing up, making the courtroom experience more dynamic and engaging. He told us,“I should practice more with the iPad because it’s simpler to use in court. You can prep everything on the Mac and then just AirDrop the case file to the iPad.”

TranscriptPad: The Killer App for Depositions

For Walter, TranscriptPad is the standout app of the LIT SOFTWARE suite. “TranscriptPad is a killer app for me,” he said. “There are 15 fewer hoops to jump through when creating a video clip for trial.” With TranscriptPad Walter can sync a video with the transcript and edit video clips without involving a third party or any other software. “It’s much easier than software like DepoView,” he said. “I can easily adjust clips to cover just what I need or even capture an awkward look on a witness’s face after a questionable answer. It’s a great feature.”

Walter highlights the ease of issue coding portions of depositions, allowing him to quickly jump to key excerpts without the tedious process of manually entering page and line numbers. The app’s efficiency has cut down his preparation time significantly. “It saves so much time,” he shared. “Instead of entering pages and line numbers of key deposition passages manually, I can tag them, and the app keeps track of everything.”

DocReviewPad: Efficient Document Management

When it comes to document review and management, DocReviewPad has also proven invaluable for Walter. “I like how you can easily apply Bates numbers. It’s much faster than using Adobe,” he explained. He particularly values the ability to customize the export naming format to include Bates ranges with the document name, which is crucial for effective discovery and document production.

A Vision for the Future

Always on the lookout for tools that enhance his practice, Walter eagerly anticipates new releases from LIT SOFTWARE, such as TimelinePad, a tool he believes will revolutionize how lawyers present case timelines. “From the name, I can tell it’s going to be big,” he said. “I’ve tried other tools for timelines, but nothing has been great. I usually end up creating my own, which is very slow. A well-designed app from LIT SOFTWARE could change that.”

Walter’s journey from Skadden Arps to establishing his own practice in California reflects his drive for autonomy and efficiency. Over the years, he has carved out a unique niche as a contract lawyer for other law firms, offering them efficient, high-quality legal services without the typical overhead. His innovative approach even extended to his billing model. Walter offered clients a flat monthly fee or a flat fee for a case, rather than the conventional hourly billing. This was a reflection of his commitment to efficiency—doing things faster and better.

The key to his success may be his deep understanding of both law and technology, coupled with his drive to find and use the best tools available. “Everything that makes you go faster is an advantage,” Walter emphasizes, and LIT SOFTWARE’s apps provide that edge. With LIT SOFTWARE’s suite of apps, he has found a tool that is responsive to the unique needs of trial lawyers and continues to push the boundaries of what legal technology can achieve. For Walter, this combination of functionality, efficiency, and ease of use makes all the difference. “It’s really a fantastic product,” he said.

With a career marked by innovation and a keen understanding of both the legal and tech worlds, Walter Moore exemplifies how embracing technology can redefine a traditional legal practice. His story is a testament to how the right tools can make all the difference in creating an effective and efficient legal practice.

As a final note, Walter said, "I was thinking about what the takeaway should be. If you're a solo practitioner, you absolutely should get TrialPad. And if you're a paralegal, you should insist that your boss get you TrialPad. And, if you're a trial lawyer and you have paralegals, get it for them. The cost is trivial compared to the amount you'll lower their blood pressure and anxiety. Lawyers often have no idea how much work they're asking of their paralegals in a short time. And paralegals, they're a tough group. They'll just say, okay, and work all night on something. So any time that can be saved for them is a longer lifespan for them, too."

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