If you are in employment law, there’s a good chance you already know who Bert Braud is. Bert is a partner at Popham Law in Kansas City, and has been active in the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), most recently presenting on trial technology to the hundreds of lawyers that attend NELA’s Annual Trial Boot Camps in Chicago.
Mr. Braud has been using legal technology for a long time. He was a dedicated Summation user, got the training, and used it for case preparation and presentation for years. As an employment lawyer in a firm that goes to trial five or six times a year, he found keeping up with software complexities, even after training, was frustrating and labor intensive. Even three-day seminars in Orlando didn’t help with the difficulties involved in actually loading documents, and making sure that they were stored in the right location on his laptop so that he could find and present them later. Bert also tried to go as paperless as possible, adding TextMap and CaseMap to his trial software arsenal in the office. But all that meant that he was stuck to his desk, and needed even more training.
When the iPad came out Bert realized how portable his cases could be, and asked a couple of big legal software companies if they had any plans for the iPad. Their response was that there was “no future in (the iPad).” Then, he found LIT SUITE which offered the portability he was looking for and apps that were intuitive and easy to use. In fact, Bert hasn’t needed any training at all, and he’s now a pro.
Bert brings his iPad to mediation and presents wirelessly at trial. He has shown his paralegals how to use the LIT SUITE, and he hasn’t looked back at that old desktop software he used to try to rely on. Here are a couple of workflow and presentation tips Bert shared with us:
Use TranscriptPad to prepare for trial: You can create a summary report of your deposition review to build your direct and cross-examination outlines. The report numbers each question and answer so it is easy to reference in your examination outline for impeachment purposes. Name any video clips the same way to easily play back the deposition if the witness answer is different from previous testimony.
Use the Apple Pencil: Bert finds using the Apple Pencil is a great way to make sure that all his callouts, highlights, and any drawing he does is more precise. It is the same as walking around the courtroom with a notepad and pencil, just a lot more powerful. Speaking of walking around...
Use the Apple TV: Bringing an Apple TV to court allows you to present “untethered”. You can walk around the courtroom if necessary, and engage better with the jury. The focus stays on you and on the presentation screen, and makes you look professional, knowledgeable, and prepared.
Bert also points out another benefit of using the LIT SUITE is the cost. His “bare bones” setup of an iPad and LIT SUITE will have you presenting in court for under $1,000. But even the “fully equipped” setup he uses comes in under $1,500.