Litigators don’t always have control over the outcome-determinative evidence in their cases. Often, contracts, accident reports, photographic images, and other critical bits of evidence have in most cases already been created when the client seeks representation. These materials are the star of the show during pretrial depositions.
Traditionally, deposition exhibits were shared across a conference room table in print format, where they could be easily examined. However, in modern litigation, lawyers and deposition witnesses are examining digital representations of the same materials, often on small computer screens and transmitted across great distances. Digital exhibits can be difficult to view and comprehend in this context.
Attorneys who pay attention to the fundamentals of online document design will find that exhibits and documents used in their remote depositions will be more readily understood by the witness and all other participants.
In fact, something often overlooked in our always-online population often forgets – reading text on a computer screen is inherently more difficult than reading the same text in print. Text in print rests immovably on the page. Online, text jitters are imperceptibly carried to our eyes by flickering pixels of light. Additionally, reading text doesn’t necessarily equate to comprehending it. In her book, 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People, behavioral psychologist Susan Weinschenck explains the many ways in which a document’s design (font type, font size, color contrast, organization) can enhance – or impair – a person’s ability to comprehend textual materials.
By drawing on the insights of Weinschenck and other online document design experts, litigators can enhance the effectiveness of documents, exhibits, and explanatory materials used during remote depositions. It just takes additional planning and an appreciation for the fact that digital is different.
Attorneys who pay attention to the fundamentals of online document design will find that exhibits and documents used in their remote depositions will be more readily understood by the witness and all other participants. Here are five practices litigators can adopt to maximize the effectiveness of digital documents and exhibits used in remote depositions.
- Increase font sizes. Craig D. Ball, a trial advocacy expert and professor at the University of Texas School of Law, reminds attorneys that text that can’t be read is just as undesirable as speech that can’t be heard. When screen sizes go down, font sizes should go up. A document that’s readable in print, on a conference room table, may not be easily comprehended on a laptop or desktop computer, especially in the context of a deposition.
- Increase line spacing. Having generous space between lines of text will make it easier for the litigator and the deposition witness to locate and read the relevant text passages in online documents. According to the Centre for Excellence in Universal Design, the judicious use of white space around text is one of the best ways to ensure that documents can be easily read online.
- Use contrasting colors. Color contrast makes documents easier to read online. Color combinations with contrasts among them will make it easier for deposition witnesses to read and zero in on critical portions of deposition documents and exhibits. Images can also be digitally “enhanced” and enlarged to make them more easily understood on small screens.
These and other document design considerations are well-known in the website development community. Lawyers who take the time to review basic online document design fundamentals — as well as accessibility considerations — with the firm’s website designer will develop an appreciation for how remote deposition exhibits can be designed for maximum effectiveness and efficiency.
- Reduce file size. In the legal profession, PDF (portable document format) files are the coin of the realm because they accurately preserve the formatting of text and images across different computer operating systems and hardware devices. However, PDF files can be quite large (especially those that began life as an image and were later converted to PDF) and difficult to reliably transmit online.
Smaller file sizes are the answer. It’s possible to reduce the size of a PDF file down to a manageable size. Adobe offers tools to shrink the size of PDF documents as so most other office software developers.
- Organize digital documents for easy presentation. Litigators should consider in advance how they are going to handle digital exhibits. While this seems an obvious and a fundamental aspect of deposition preparation, litigators should be prepared to spend double or triple the amount of time when organizing exhibits for a remote deposition. This preparation time will necessarily include developing fluency with the technology platform that will be used to present exhibits during the remote deposition. Moreover, the use of digital-only presentation enhancements such as screen-drawing tools (which can be compelling) will require additional preparation and practice.
Finally, it should be noted that none of the foregoing document design measures can (or should) replace the robust exhibit management capabilities built into modern remote deposition platforms. Technology tools such as Esquire Deposition Solutions’ own eLitigate® allow litigators to easily organize and review deposition exhibits, work in teams to collaborate on deposition objectives, apply digital stamps to each page, and take measures to preserve the integrity of all exhibits used in the deposition. These are “must-have” deposition technologies that allow litigators to excel in remote depositions.
But document design principles should not be overlooked. Litigators that adopt the practices discussed above, and take the time to develop expertise in other digital presentation skills, will have a significant advantage during their next remote depositions.
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