Today's issue of TL NewsWire covers a cloud application for paperless deposition exhibits with tools for focusing the deponent's attention and monitoring their actions (see article below). In addition, you'll find links to the previous 11 TL NewsWire features, including our coverage of all-in-one practice management software with a variety of automation tools to save you time, document assembly software that resides within Microsoft Word and offers a simplified way to create templates versus traditional products, and much more. Don't miss the next issue.
Taking a deposition requires intense focus. Paper exhibits can break your flow. You literally need to get everyone on the same page, and there's no way to control what the witness sees. Plus hauling all that paper can make you feel more like a courier than a lawyer. One company aims to make these problems a thing of the past.
AgileLaw Electronic Exhibits … in One Sentence
AgileLaw Electronic Exhibits (AgileLaw) is a cloud application for paperless depositions that replaces printed exhibits with laptops and tablets.
The Killer Feature
With AgileLaw, everyone at the deposition uses either a laptop, iPad, or Android tablet to view exhibits. Queue an exhibit and reveal it to the court reporter, opposing counsel, and the deponent. For multipage exhibits, navigate to the specific page you want to ask questions about, and click Show Witness This Page. The witness then sees the page you want to discuss. You can even avoid paging through long documents by setting up jump points. To view actions being performed by the witness such as page changes, annotations, and magnification, click the View Witness Screen button. At any point, click Clear Witness Screen to prevent the witness from seeing anything.
"When I was practicing law many years ago, preparing for and conducting depositions was such a hassle," says AgileLaw co-founder Cyclone Covey. "We built AgileLaw E-Exhibits so that attorneys could ditch the bankers boxes and instead show up with a laptop or tablet. And we designed the product to mimic the workflow of paper-based depositions, so it can be adopted quickly and easily, with no training required."
Other Notable Features
Bob Meynardie, partner at Meynardie & Nanney, recently used AgileLaw for the first time. "I had to travel so carrying a tablet instead of bankers boxes was a godsend," he says. "I was also able to present a document that I had not initially planned on using, which I would not have been able to do without AgileLaw. I am a definite convert."
Meynardie is referring to AgileLaw's import tools, which support drag and drop as well as Box, Dropbox, Clio, and Relativity. After importing documents, you create a deposition, add the documents you plan to use to that deposition, and arrange the documents in your preferred order. You can rename documents, categorize them with labels, and add annotations that only you will see.
You can use the Mock Deposition tool for a dry run to increase your comfort level. If, like Meynardie, you need to use an unplanned exhibit during the deposition, you can add it on the fly using the import tools discussed above or have your paralegal handle it remotely without taking a break.
Prior to the deposition, all participants receive a secure PIN that gives them access to AgileLaw. During the deposition, AgileLaw can apply exhibit stamps to the documents you reveal using any alphanumeric system. At the end of the deposition, sharing the exhibits with participants requires just one click after which they receive an email message with a secure download link that requires the PIN.
AgileLaw offers four reports (called Filters) that enable you to see all documents revealed, marked as exhibits, annotated by the witness, and annotated by you.
What Else Should You Know?
AgileLaw is subscription-based with the monthly price ranging from $100 to $500 per month depending on your needs for storage and other features. All plans allow for unlimited users, cases, depositions, and participants. Learn more about AgileLaw Electronic Exhibits.
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