When Should You Hire a Trial Technician?

Authors: Omar Maldonado, Richard Redd, Zach Powell

What Is A Trial Technician?

A trial technician, or “hot seater” as they are sometimes called, is a professional who works with a trial team to manage the display of evidence and all other technological support needed before and during a trial. They take the facts and evidence in your case and create databases which in turn allows you as the presenter/attorney to provide instant, dynamic and interactive manipulation to focus the jury’s attention where you need it. Your trial technician will also take the opinions in your case and construct visual concepts to convey them in a much easier way to understand. Their support provides an all-inclusive service to assist you with your pre-trial and in-trial needs through the use of modern technology. A trial technician will remain your project manager and point of contact throughout the entire case and offer solutions to problems that occur when presenting a case to a modern day jury. Trial technicians are experts not only in displaying visual evidence but in how the jury will best retain the information. A trial technician is someone you can fully trust to know how to operate the in court technology and make sure that your presentation of the evidence comes off without a hitch.

Key Signs For When You Should Hire A Trial Technician

When You Have Complex Concepts or Scenarios

There are many concepts and scenarios that can be difficult for an attorney to explain to a jury using just words. For example, in medical malpractice cases there are often many medical records and it can be hard to track how the care of a patient progressed. The information from these records are sometimes entered one day but signed by the physician on another day. This can confuse the jury as to when key events happened. In this scenario your trial technician can create a custom timeline to help you explain the series of events while also giving the jury a visual reference that they are significantly more likely to remember.

When Your Case Has Video Components

Have you designated clips from a deposition? Do you have a de bene esse video that needs to be played? Will you need to edit a video quickly based on a judge’s ruling? Do you have surveillance video that may need to be redacted and played for a jury? Do you have video that needs to be taken for your case? There are many scenarios in which video plays a major role in a jury trial. Editing and playing videos in court can be stressful and if not done correctly, catastrophic. Trial technicians are experts in videography and video editing and can handle any video work request with ease.

When Your Plate Is Too Full

A trial technician’s job is to make the trial process easier for you and your team. They work in a support capacity and are constantly looking for ways to assist. Trial technicians can take large amounts of exhibits and create databases for you to access anything with speed and ease. They help track the exhibits in court to let you know what has been marked or entered and what still needs to be addressed. The presentation of exhibits is fully managed by them but directed by you. Trial technicians constantly observe the jury during trial and take extensive notes as to what the general reaction is to every point presented in trial. Trial technicians work with you day and night to make sure you are ready for openings/closings, direct and cross examination, and everything in between. The reduced stress that a trial technician can afford you is a benefit well recognized across the nation. We highly recommend contacting a trial technician to discuss everything they can offer.

When Streamlining is Needed

Anyone with experience in the field of litigation knows that large civil and criminal trials have so many moving parts that timing becomes a key factor when developing a trial strategy. Courts often impose tight deadlines, witness schedules can be a nightmare to deal with, and the average jury attention span often does not allow attorneys to go into the level of detail they would like. When planning your approach to a case, streamlining the process in which it takes to present facts and evidence to the jury is critical. A trial technician allows you the luxury of cutting down the time it takes to access a specific exhibit or other supporting materials you may have. With a trial technician’s focus strictly being on the presentation of your case, they work around the clock to help summarize, create, organize, index, and execute the perfect visual display for the jury. Trial technicians give you the ability to compress your approach without hindering the strength or impact of your case.

When The Other Side Has A Trial Technician

This is an often overlooked sign that should be an obvious one. The use of a trial technician is becoming more and more common because the benefits are clear and easily observed. While trial technicians can offer you resources and tools to boost your chances of prevailing, they can also put the other side at a disadvantage. Research has shown that juries tend to favor the side that is easier to understand. The complexity of explaining a case or point is often equated to its strength or weight. If your opponent has the assistance of a trial technician to explain their case, you may want to be sure that you can match their efforts.

complete your team

A good result or favorable verdict in a trial is rarely accredited to one single person’s effort. It takes the strength of an entire trial team to win a modern day jury over. The attorney’s job is to make sure they express all of the relevant and key points to support their client’s position. A trial technician’s job is to make sure a jury receives those points in the most effective manner possible. When ensuring that your client has the best representation in court possible, make sure your team is complete.

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