Do You Plan?
When you started law school you probably had some sort of plan. At the very least you planned to attend class, study, and graduate. Then came the bar exam which required another plan to study, prepare, and learn even more.
Have you made other plans? Run a marathon, lose weight, learn a new language, go on a safari?
Whatever the objective, whether personal or professional, it requires a plan. Some things take little planning and some take a lot.
Can you run a marathon without training first? Maybe, but it’s probably painful and there may be lasting (and negative) effects.
Can you lose 20 pounds overnight? If so, tell me how!
Is it possible to become fluent in a new language in a week? Well, this teenager did, but it isn’t the safest way.
And if you can go on a safari at this very moment, I’d like to switch places with you. But chances are you need to plan time off from work, renew your passport, find someone to watch the kids, book a flight, pack, and find a good safari guide.
It’s the same thing when you go to trial. Do you have a plan for that?
Do You Plan for Trial?
So, maybe it’s a little early and a trial is still a few months away. A few motions are pending and there’s a chance the case will settle. You don’t need to prepare for trial, right?
Benjamin Franklin said: “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
Everything you do on your case is preparation for something: you prepare pleadings and interrogatories; you prepare for depositions and hearings; you prepare for settlement negotiations. What about trial?
Start using trial presentation software like TrialDirector for more than presentation – use it to prepare and you’ll be ready to present.
With a tool like TrialDirector, you can load your case data and start organizing with workbooks, searching documents, and creating exhibit lists in Microsoft Word. Then generate reports in PDF that can be emailed or copied into court filings. These tools will help when you ultimately go to trial but can also be leveraged early for settlement talks, analysis, and strategy.
Wait, TrialDirector Is for More Than Presentation?
Yes! The best trial presentation software does more than present. When you start using TrialDirector before trial you help yourself and your case. Let me tell you how:
First, today the pressure is off, so you are learning TrialDirector while you work and prepare. When you take things in stages, they are much easier to understand and absorb.
Second, while you’re learning TrialDirector, you’re reviewing the evidence. Better yet, while you’re reviewing the evidence, you are learning TrialDirector. Here’s a quick example:
- Do you need all documents regarding ethylene glycol in once place? Make a workbook, call it Ethylene Glycol, and file any documents in it.
- Want to give these to an ethylene glycol expert? No problem, simply export the workbook to a PDF that you can print or email.
These are pretty simple things to do, but when you’re under the gun, the easiest things can seem overwhelming. When you start using TrialDirector for more than just presentation, you’ll be able to put it to use early and to your advantage.
Third, all the organization you do in TrialDirector today will help you prepare tomorrow: your Ethylene Glycol workbook also functions as a presentation folder so you don’t need to recreate it for trial purposes.
(A quick note: Workbooks are one of the easiest and most useful TrialDirector functions. Make as many as you need and name them anything you want. Also, the same document can be filed in multiple workbooks!)
TrialDirector is a three-birds-with-one-stone program. Actually, it’s a stone for many, many birds, but we want to keep this brief. And please note, we do not advocate violence against birds or any other creature. Only idioms.
What Should I Do?
Like vacation planning, living healthfully, and learning a new skill, using trial technology needs planning too.
Get TrialDirector now, before trial. Make your life easier and use it to plan and prepare for trial. Start loading your data. If you aren’t sure how, the time to learn is before the trial time-crunch. Right now, you have the luxury of time. Maybe not an abundance of time but, probably more now than when trial is one week or one month away. The urgency and stress of an impending trial date aren’t looming over you.
Also, consider attending a TrialDirector University training course. Extra time will be something you don’t have when the calendar flips to trial month.
