Nextpoint has recently partnered with OPVEON Trial Consulting to bring together the best of both worlds: cloud-native ediscovery and hands-on trial consulting expertise. In this guest blog, April J. Ferguson, CEO and Senior Trial Consultant at OPVEON, shares practical trial presentation tips that every ediscovery professional should know to set their trial teams up for success.
Let’s be real for a minute. By the time trial rolls around, most ediscovery professionals have handed off their work and moved on to the next production deadline. But for trial consultants and courtroom techs like our team at OPVEON, that is where the work (and the fun!) begins.
We live in the land of the hot seat work, document callouts, demonstrative blowups, and exhibit databases that need to work flawlessly in front of a jury. Here’s what we’ve learned: How your documents are produced during discovery can make or break trial presentation down the road.
So, if you’re part of an ediscovery team that wants to be trial-ready, here are a few battle-tested trial presentation tips to keep in mind.
1. Consistent Bates Numbering is Key
Yes, it sounds basic, but inconsistent or duplicated Bates numbers are still one of the biggest pain points we see when prepping trial databases. Clean, non-overlapping, and consistently applied Bates numbering isn’t just a best practice, it’s critical for efficient exhibit management and seamless callouts during trial.
Shorter and cleaner Bates numbers are also better, both for your trial tech and for the trial record. Something like SMITH-000001 is far easier to manage than SMITH_PL_PROD0001_000001. Simplicity makes it easier for attorneys to call up exhibits on the fly and reduces the chance of errors in court.
2. Be Strategic About Document Breaks
One often overlooked detail is how you break documents during production. Should an email and its attachment be one document or two? The answer affects exhibit numbering, referencing, and flow. Talk to your trial team in advance because this small decision can make a big difference in how evidence is presented at trial.
3. Produce with Presentability in Mind
Jurors don’t review documents up close like attorneys and ediscovery professionals do. They view them from across the courtroom, projected on screens, monitors, or TVs. That means image quality matters. Low-resolution scans, skewed pages, or grainy photocopies can undermine both clarity and credibility in front of a jury. As you prepare productions with potential trial use in mind, think carefully about how native files will display in a presentation setting. If multiple versions of the same document exist, always produce the cleanest, clearest version. What looks fine in a review platform may fall flat under courtroom lights. Keep this in mind.
4. Color vs. Black & White
We know reducing file size is a common production goal, but when it comes to trial color can be a game-changer. Think charts, graphs, photos, or anything visual. Jurors respond better to full-color exhibits, and grayscale can muddle the message.
If a document was originally in color and may be used as a demonstrative or other form of exhibit, don’t downgrade it. Keep a color version available for trial.
5. Don’t Leave Video Sync to the Last Minute
If depositions are videotaped, syncing them to the transcripts early is a gift to your future trial team. It allows for:
- Easy creation of impeachment clips
- Cleaner cuts for video witnesses
- Faster editing and closed captioning (if needed)
Plus, synced video saves valuable time during crunch-mode prep. At OPVEON, we can do emergency cuts the night before trial, but trust us, you don’t want that stress – and neither do we!
6. Talk to your Trial Tech Early
Whether it’s OPVEON or an in-house trial consultant, early collaboration is everything. When trial consultants are looped in late, we’re often cleaning up issues that could have been avoided with a five-minute conversation during production.
In Summary…
eDiscovery and trial presentation might seem like different words, but they’re tightly connected. A well-produced database sets the stage for a smooth, compelling presentation at trial, and that can make all the difference when the jury is watching.
If you’re part of the ediscovery process, consider yourself a key player in the trial team’s success. What you do upstream affects everything downstream.
If you ever need a second set of eyes or want to test your database in a trial platform like Nextpoint, OnCue, another trusted Nextpoint partner, give us a shout. We would be happy to take you on a test drive through the trial prep process.
April J. Ferguson is the Chief Executive Officer of OPVEON Litigation Services, LLC, a litigation support and trial consulting firm based in Tulsa, OK. OPVEON is a certified woman-owned and woman-controlled small business (WOSB), a certified Woman Business Enterprise (WBE), a certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), and a TERO Certified Business through the Cherokee Nation. April is proud to be a female entrepreneur, a proven business leader, and an active member of her community. Her days are spent strategizing with her clients. Together, they work tirelessly to tell their client’s story in a way that best resonates with the jury, inspiring them to become advocates in the deliberation room.
This post is part of a guest series by OPVEON in collaboration with Nextpoint. For more insights from the courtroom, stay tuned to the Nextpoint blog.
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