Shahrad Milanfar is a pioneering attorney whose innovative approach to trials has set him apart from traditional trial attorneys. As the founder of his own firm, Shahrad serves clients across California, specializing in cases involving catastrophic injury, products liability, civil rights, and elder abuse. His dedication to visual storytelling and cutting-edge technology brought him to TrialPad and the LIT SUITE many years ago. After a recent $32 million verdict using TrialPad, we talked with Shahrad about how using technology in his courtroom presentation contributed to that result.
Discovering the Power of Technology
Shahrad first came across TrialPad in 2013 while working as a defense attorney in catastrophic injury and products liability cases. He told us, "As a young lawyer, there is less opportunity to try a case, so I would volunteer to take the harder cases to trial to get the experience." To Shahrad, it was always important to "try cases in a human way and use technology to enhance the presentation." While researching various tools to enhance his trial presentations, TrialPad stood out to him as an important tool to achieve that goal.
In 2014 he tried his first case with an iPad and utilized TrialPad in conjunction with other tools. Since then he has tried several cases to verdict with TrialPad. His experience using TrialPad over those cases showed him how important harnessing the power of visual storytelling can be.
Shahrad emphasized the importance of TrialPad's ability to present documents without the need for a trial technician, ensuring a seamless flow and allowing him to maintain control over the narrative.
"While there are a lot of attorneys who love to have someone in the courtroom to enhance their approach, when I’m in trial, having another person advance slides or present documents breaks my flow. I don’t want to stop and request the next slide. It doesn’t enhance the story. With TrialPad I can present the evidence myself without breaking stride."
His ability to adapt and utilize tools like callouts and highlights on the fly is a testament to his innovative mindset. He told us, "In 2016, I was in a trial with a cross-exam going on and I realized we could hit the expert with his own submission." On the fly, Shahrad called up a piece of evidence and used the expert's chart, highlighting and calling out important details. That small presentation was impactful and turned out to be a key point the jury used to determine the verdict. He said, "It has to make sense, and it has to stick. A visual simplifies the story in a way that resonates, without dumbing it down."
Harnessing the Power of Visual Storytelling
Shahrad has always been a proponent of visual storytelling. "If I can tell you a story you might remember 30%, but if I match it with visuals you’ll remember 60% or more." He told us that "When telling a compelling story, the visual aspects of the story will increase retention and will increase the willingness of the jury to trust who you are and what you are telling them."
From training and experience, Shahrad is keenly aware of what is required of each juror, not only in terms of the law but also in terms of the personal and psychological effects of jury duty. Shahrad said, "Think about how often you pick up your phone in a day. Now imagine you’ve been required by a judge to put it away. Your brain is wired for multimedia and it is craving the kind of presentation I'm going to put in front of you. If the other side has foamboards, and I have multimedia, the jurors’ brains are going to retain what I show them, not the foamboard."
Strategic and Effective Presentation
Shahrad came out of the Golden Gate Law School where he was mentored by Bernie Siegel, a renowned criminal defense lawyer who drilled into him important concepts like courtroom choreography, for example, where you stand for direct versus cross. "I want to guide the narrative, the visual experience, and the feeling the jurors have." Shahrad uses communication and eye contact to build trustworthiness, and TrialPad is a key tool because Shahrad can use TrialPad wirelessly in the courtroom. "TrialPad is a very effective enhancement to my case presentation. The jury sees the documents as I’m showing them, and I can stand where I want. I keep the pace I want, ensure the presentation flows, and keep the jury engaged."
Shahrad teaches at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), Trial Lawyers University, and at law schools in the Bay Area. Whenever he can he stresses the importance of "primacy" and "recency" during trial presentation. "We are now in the digital age. The imagination and concentration ability of the jury is more limited than ever before. You have to catch their attention quickly, or you'll lose them." He believes that if he can get the jury to remember something visually, he can then verbally remind them of what they saw at numerous points during the trial. "They'll remember that key evidence, and each time it is mentioned, they'll recall why I showed it to them in the first place."
In his recent trial that resulted in the $32M verdict, Shahrad had a theme of “Trust, Betrayal, and Denial” in the defense's argument. He backed each one up with a visual of the documents, and during direct and cross-examinations, reminded the jury verbally and visually each time one of the "Trust, Betrayal, and DenialFour Lies" was mentioned.
The defense heavily relied on testimony that there was an evacuation plan in place at the home his client was in. Further, there was testimony that a specific person at the home was in charge of the plan. Shahrad showed the jury the documents that showed the evacuation plan the defense had provided as proof of the testimony. When he called out the date the plan was put in place, he was able to prove that the plan was created after the incident involving his client, and further showed that the person in charge of the plan hadn’t yet been hired at the time. The defense had tried verbal misdirection to defend against those facts, attempting to overcomplicate the issue. Shahrad said, "Misdirection would have been easy to do verbally, but it was much harder when there’s an image on the screen that contradicts the words being said."
During his closing, he showed the same documents with slides of testimony provided in deposition and on the stand.
"When you’re trying a case, one of the worst things that can happen is when the jury stops taking notes. That may mean that what you are saying is not important to them. But if I am talking and showing them, I will see jurors' attention going between me and the screen. I know they are getting the point because they are taking detailed notes."
The Mechanics of a Win
Prior to trial, Shahrad uses TranscriptPad Issue Codes to set up cross-examination, and has it available during trial to search the entire record. "This last case had 22 transcripts and word search allowed me to find what I was looking for very quickly, which was a huge benefit."
During trial, he marks documents "Admitted" in TrialPad as they are introduced and compares his Evidence Report (which shows all the documents in the Case File along with their exhibit number and admitted status) with his paralegal's notes at the end of each trial day for a real-time redundancy. This is especially helpful in a long trial with a large number of documents. Marking a document admitted takes less than one second, and the "Admitted" badge added to the document name allows him to easily see if a document was admitted on a previous day, or needs to be introduced into evidence.
Most powerfully, every day of trial, Shahrad is prepping his closing argument. He has a Keynote slide deck on his iPad where he compiles all the best visuals from TrialPad and key testimony from TranscriptPad. "I take screenshots during my trial presentation. Then I use those for my closing argument." At the end of every day, he imports the screenshots from TrialPad into the Keynote. Then, he imports the daily trial transcript into TranscriptPad and runs through the transcript, identifying key testimony from a specific examination, or a particular cross. He exports those cites as Impeachment Slides from TranscriptPad, and adds them to the closing Keynote as well. By the end of trial, he has a closing presentation that recaps the best visuals and testimony presented in the case. With a small amount of editing, he is ready to practice and present his closing argument.
Shahrad Milanfar exemplifies the modern trial lawyer, combining traditional advocacy skills with the latest technology to achieve justice for his clients. His innovative use of TrialPad and TranscriptPad enhances his storytelling, engages jurors, and ensures that his presentations are as compelling as they are effective. And that's why he gets great results.
Learn More about Shahrad Milanfar:
Firm: https://www.milanfarlaw.com/attorney/milanfar-shahrad-esq/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shahradmilanfar/
Verdicts: https://www.milanfarlaw.com/2023/negligence-elder-abuse-verdict-life-care-services-llc/
https://plaintiffmagazine.com/recent-issues/item/profile-shahrad-milanfar https://canvasrebel.com/meet-shahrad-milanfar/
