Morgan Smith (Cogent Legal Graphics) has come up an ultra-cool way of putting together e-briefs. If you’re not familiar with the concept of e-briefs, you’ll do well to do a little research on the topic. Many courts are now requiring submission of briefs via electronic files, such as PDF. I was actually working on a review of some e-brief providers for Law Technology News, when I saw this.
Smith has a method of saving a brief in an iBooks files format, which can be viewed on an iPad. The really cool thing about this is that although a “normal” PDF-based e-brief allows you to include extra files and add hyperlinks to exhibits and cites, this allows you to actually “embed” the files into the presentation, including documents and photos, plus video and even 3-D models.
I’ll be honest – it takes quite a bit to get me excited about something “new” in legal technology these days, but this one does it. Smith shares an article on his blog, e-Briefs on the iPad: An Exciting New Tool to Give Attorneys an Edge, and if you are reading this on your iPad, you may download the demo file here.
The downside is that in order to view it with all of the bells and whistles, you’ll need to use an iPad. Now, if the case is worth 7 or 8 figures, it could even be worth providing one for the Court, if necessary. This could also be extremely helpful in Mediations, Settlement Conferences and Markman Hearings. As an alternative, you can also view most of it in the PDF format, but you won’t be able to view video, or “grab” and examine a 3-D object.
In any event, e-briefs should be on your to-do list. I look forward to sharing this with my clients. It's definitely something I can add to my arsenal.
Contact me if you're interested in more info on the "iBrief" and how it can help your case.
Contact me if you're interested in more info on the "iBrief" and how it can help your case.
