Home \ Blog \ Planning an Out-of-Town Trial

Blog

Planning an Out-of-Town Trial

December 31, 2011

By Cynthia Mascio, ACP/CAS

Two of the most essential skills for litigation paralegals to possess are the abilities to gather critical information and to prepare it for effective use at trial. Planning for a trial that will take place in a distant location can seem like a daunting task, especially when you are in the middle of trial preparation. But take heart – the location of the trial will have little impact on your trial preparation activities as long as you plan well in advance. No matter where the trial takes place, you will still have to deal with witness files, exhibits and exhibits lists, pre-trial filings and motions, witness preparation including subpoenas and scheduling, and other trial-related matters. And you will need to implement most of these tasks even at local trials.

FIND OUT AS MUCH AS YOU CAN ABOUT THE CITY WHERE THE TRIAL WILL TAKE PLACE. Almost every city has a website that includes guides for visitors that will provide information regarding shopping, restaurants, points of interest, etc. Get maps of the area, especially around the courthouse. If it will be a jury trial, it might be helpful to look at a map to help assess where the jury pool will be from. In addition, you may want to subscribe to the local newspaper for a period of time so you can learn more about the issues of concern and opinions of citizens in the area.

Try to visit the area well before the trial. This may not be possible, but if you can, it will help you immeasurably. In addition to locating services that you will need for trial, which will be discussed below, find out the locations of a pool, gym, and/or workout rooms, as well as the locations of safe nearby areas for running. The hotel will likely have this information as well as information about other places of interest for the team.

THE LOGISTICAL ARRANGEMENTS OF AN OFF-SITE TRIAL WILL BE DIFFERENT. The very first thing you should do is get organized - create lists of everything you can think of that will need to be done. For example, a trial logistics memorandum, trial site office needs list, logistics "to do" list, shopping list for the trial site, memorandum to trial team regarding trial site set up and first days, index of materials to deliver to trial site, and trial site breakdown checklist. If this is your first trial, or your first trial with the firm, talk to your supervisor about getting together with paralegals in your office who have recently gone to trial. Then meet with them and get as much information as you can about what to expect, what you need to do, how the firm does things, etc.

It is always a good idea to have a team meeting with everyone on the trial team, including the attorneys, to review everything that will need to be done and the deadlines that need to be met. Someone on the team, more than likely you, needs to oversee the costs and alert the attorneys wherever appropriate. Trials can be very expensive, and efforts should be made to save the client money whenever possible.

More than likely the firm you work for did not hire you to do manual labor or as a truck driver so please do not plan to move boxes and equipment by yourself! Depending on the size of your firm and the budget for the trial, it may be appropriate to hire temporary helpers or hire movers, or ship everything via UPS, etc. Consult with the trial attorney(s) and/or the general services in your firm to help you decide on the best approach for transporting the materials for your particular trial.

THE HOTEL. Make hotel reservations well in advance of the first day of trial. You can always cancel them if you find you will not need them, but you do not want to find out at the last minute that you can't reserve rooms in the right location. The ideal hotel is one that is located within walking distance of the courthouse. In addition to the hotel rooms you will need for the trial team, you will likely need space for a workroom area, a room or two for out-of-town witnesses, and possibly a conference room. Make arrangements for mail delivery and delivery of packages or boxes to team members and/or to the workroom(s).

THE WORKROOM SITE. Often, the workroom(s) will be located in the hotel where the team is staying. This may be the easiest location for the team, but there are special issues to consider regarding using hotel rooms as workrooms:

Check on the availability of office furniture, extra lighting, and portable shelving. You will need permission from the hotel to move their regular furniture out of the workroom(s). You will also need permission to move in items like shelving units, bookcases, and other office equipment or furniture.
Check on the number of outlets in the room(s) — if there are not enough, work with the hotel to figure out the best way to accommodate the requirements. Also, it is likely the workroom(s) will be an extra power drain because of the computers and other equipment, so address this early with the hotel.
You will need to work with the hotel to schedule a time to move the boxes and equipment in to the workroom(s). They will not want you to interrupt their regular business flow. Ask specifically about elevators, including freight elevators, property passes, and other building access issues.

The person(s) who will be providing Technical Services for you (and often the telecommunications company as well) will need to work with the property manager or someone at the facility well before the first day of trial. They will have questions about cabling, they will need access to the building, they will need to make arrangements to move in the equipment, etc. Make arrangements for access to the facility well in advance to avoid arriving early to set up only to find that the property manager is unavailable and you are unable to access the facility.

Plan to move into the workroom(s) a few days before the first day of trial. You may need to arrange for special furniture to be delivered, you will need to arrange the boxes and trial materials, and you will need to set up the equipment. Be sure that any pre-programmed telephone numbers in a fax machine or in computers you have shipped to the site are correct. They may need to have area codes added, etc.

In the alternative, you may wish to consider renting or leasing space in a non-hotel building for use as a trial site. These trial sites may be part of a business park complex, a vacant space in an office or other building, etc. You will need to consider:

How much space (square footage) will you need and how should it be configured
Will there be furniture in the facility or will you need to rent/lease furniture?
What is the best arrangement for the time you will be in the off-site trial? Month-to-month rental? Lease? Sublease office space from another business?
What facilities and services will be available within the space? A receptionist? A kitchen? Copy machines and other office equipment?
What about telephones and voicemail — will you need to have separate lines installed? Are they already available?

You will also want to find out about building security, building passes, and parking capacity and requirements. Make sure you understand how much this will cost the client.

If you work for a national law firm, it may be feasible to work out of an office that is not your home office. If this is the case, you should notify the Office Director or Office Administrator as soon as you can about your trial, including dates (estimated date of arrival, first day of trial, estimated length of trial), number of team members, number of boxes, etc. You will need to reserve conference rooms, offices, and workrooms well in advance of the trial date. It may be that not all of the offices have the same staffing levels, services, or equipment. Be sensitive to the office you're taking temporary residence in and do not be unreasonable in your expectations. Ask if you need to make special arrangements for late-night typing help, try not to monopolize all the printers or copy machines, and watch your attitude if the office doesn't have everything you're used to. You're a guest!

Ask about phone numbers and temporary voicemail boxes for team members, if such would be appropriate. Make sure you know the rules about office hours; you may need to make special arrangements with the building to work very early or very late in the day. Make arrangements for keys, security passes, passwords, and parking facilities.

TRANSPORTATION. You will need to figure out exactly how everyone and everything will (a) get to and from the courthouse, and (b) travel around the city when not in court. It will all depend on the location of the hotel vis-a-vis the workroom site vis-a-vis the courthouse. If the plan is to use cars, get information about the parking situation. Where is the nearest parking lot, how much will it cost on a daily basis, will you need a special parking pass or permit, etc.?

If you will be using public transportation, get copies of schedules and maps of the routes. You will also want to be sure everyone remembers to take enough cash. If appropriate, you may want to purchase a monthly pass where they're available.

TECHNICAL SERVICES INVOLVEMENT. You will be relying heavily on the technology department of your firm or the outside vendor you may have retained to take care of your e-discovery needs. You may need a Tech Services liaison to stay on-site, either temporarily or through the course of the trial. The Tech Services liaison may be able to provide support via internet or PDA’s. Make sure everyone is clear about how this will work, for example, whether or not he/she will be available 24/7, who will be his/her backup when he/she is not available, etc. Be sure to get all contact information including e-mail address(es) and cell and home phone numbers.

Generally, Tech Services will set up the equipment before the trial starts, and will dismantle it when the trial is concluded. They will need a floor plan well in advance of the move to the trial site. They also generally travel to the trial site in advance of the rest of the team to get the equipment set up. I t is extremely helpful for someone on the team to go with them to oversee the proper placement of the equipment. You will need to make the appropriate arrangements with the clerk of the court as well as the facility where the trial team will work after hours regarding setup and access to cables and telecommunications. It may also be necessary to make special arrangements for delivery of the equipment through a dock or freight elevator.

Tech Services will need to complete many tasks before the off-site computers can be packed for shipment. Give them enough time to do their jobs! For example they will need to:

Install all necessary applications on multiple computers
Install PC Anywhere on critical computers
Have all users log on to their computers after the changes have been made but before the machines are shipped; and
Inventory all equipment that is going to the trial site

Technology has advanced enough that it is generally safe to assume you can rely on the internet or on a remote connection to your firm’s network to get to your documents, your databases, and your email 99% of the time. However, because there's always an outside chance of having an internet or network connection problem, copy all the case documents and databases from the network to the hard drive on your laptop or to an external thumb drive. If you copy everything to more than one machine (more than likely), be sure to agree which machine has the "master" version. Make sure everyone understands what they need to do to copy documents to another machine, and try to emphasize how important it will be to synchronize documents and databases between the local and the network versions.

Courtroom Equipment: Courtroom technology installations can be court-provided, lawyer-provided, or a mix. Plan ahead for use of the equipment, including the space required. Each configuration of bench, witness stand, jury box, and counsel tables will present design challenges for placement of monitors, projection screens, wires and cables, and other equipment. At the same time, the equipment and wiring should not detract from the appearance of the courtroom.

You will want to work with the attorneys and consultants, if any, to decide on the technology setup. In some cases, there may be small individual screens in the jury box, in others, the lawyers may want to use a digital projector and large screen or some equivalent technology. These setups do the same thing — display exhibits for the jurors and others in the courtroom — but, in some cases, the large screen does a better job for a particular exhibit or a lawyer may prefer working with a large screen because s/he can walk over and point to aspects of the display.

Plan for equipment failure. Try to have backup equipment available. Allow adequate time for setup and testing, including making sure that all of the equipment works together. Have the person who will be "driving" the equipment at the time of the presentation practice in the courtroom in advance of the presentation.

Make sure you have cleared the use of this equipment with the courtroom clerk or bailiff, as well as the security guard in the courthouse lobby. You may need a court order to bring in certain equipment or materials, and you will need to get this permission (and appropriate order from the court) in advance of the trial date.

Consider whether any witnesses will appear via videoconference or by videotaped deposition. If so, you will need to plan in advance for the type and extent of equipment (monitors, TVs, VCRs, DVD players, speakers, etc.) and setup required.

Wireless Technology. If you will be using wireless technology, make sure you have the appropriate wireless cards and software on your computers. You should also make sure there are enough sites in close proximity so that you will not have a problem using the technology. Do not assume wireless technology will be allowed in the courtroom — check with the courtroom clerk or bailiff to be sure.

OTHER LOGISTICAL CONCERNS. Try to delegate the logistical arrangements wherever you can. You need to know that it is all being handled and how, but you do not need to be the person doing it all even though you may feel more like a concierge at time than a paralegal!

Travel arrangements: If your firm uses a particular travel agency, enlist that agency to make all airline reservations in advance wherever possible. Find out if there is a hotel shuttle or if someone will need to be available to transport travelers from the airport to the hotel or the reverse. At certain stages in the trial, this might turn into a fulltime assignment so plan ahead. Make sure someone is keeping track of travel arrangements and reimbursements for out-of-town witnesses.
Money: Get appropriate cash advances from the accounting department in your firm. A firm credit card may also be an option, and of course you can always use your own credit card or checkbook and be reimbursed by the Firm. Keep track of everything you spend, especially if you took out a cash advance.
Record Keeping: After trial, you may be required to prepare a detailed account of case costs for the client and perhaps for the Court. Details like tracking time and expenses are easily neglected during trial, and will be difficult to piece together afterwards. Although events during trial will seem inordinately vivid at the time, later you will not remember as many details as you may think. Record the expenses as they incur to avoid having to reconstruct events when you are in post-trial recovery.
Meals and food: Get or make a list of local restaurants in close proximity to the hotel, the workroom facility if the workroom is not in the hotel, and the courthouse. The hotel will probably have helpful information regarding restaurants. Find out if there is a cafeteria in the courthouse. Keep menus posted in the workroom and by the telephone. Find out about hours of food service within the hotel. You may want to order a small refrigerator for the workroom to keep drinks and healthy snacks on hand. It is often most efficient and cost-effective for the trial teams to meet as a group for meals, at least for dinner and often for lunch as well. One person can take the orders while other team members continue with their work. Eating together for dinner is also an opportunity to catch up on the events of the day. It may be less expensive to have food provided to the team by a caterer, at least for evening meals, than for everyone to go to a restaurant every night.
Mail: You may want to arrange for someone in your home office to send out an overnight package every day containing whatever mail or other materials need to be delivered to the trial site by the next morning. This arrangement is often very important during for the first days or weeks of trial.
Library: Find out where the local law library is, hours of operation, any usage charges, and whether or not you will be able to use a copy machine there. Be sure you have enough copies of the Federal Rules of Evidence, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, state rules of civil procedure, local rules, etc. available for the attorneys.
Local Graphics/Blow-Ups facilities: Get some names, addresses, phone numbers, and contacts identified as soon as you can. Even if all of your graphics and blow-ups are finished before you leave for the trial site, you may need a local vendor to work with because of unexpected events or testimony at trial.
Messengers: Find out if the messenger service that you typically use has an office in the city where your trial will take place. If it does not, you will need to locate local messenger services. Make up a list of names, addresses, phone numbers, and contacts as soon as you can to provide to the messenger service when needed. You will also want to obtain pricing information — sometimes using a messenger service can be extremely expensive, even when compared to the billing rate of a paralegal who may otherwise become the delivery person, which may be the most efficient, cost-effective method of delivery.

SURVIVAL TIPS. Trials can be overwhelming and rewarding at the same time. This is especially true when you are out of your comfort zone at an off-site trial. During the trial:

Get as much rest as possible.
Try to stay upbeat and remember that everyone on the trial team is under stress and very tired, so do not take anything too personally.
Do not feel like every second of your day has to be billable.
Do not forget to take time to exercise, even if it is just for a 10 minute walk.
Bring your iPod, iPad or other MP3 player so that you can listen to some of your favorite music when things get too hectic; and
Do not expect to have a life from about six weeks before trial until it's over.

And above all – take care of yourself. Your trial team is counting on you!

Do you want to use this article? You can so long as you include this entire blurb with it: "Barbara Haubrich-Hass, The California Litigator, publishes an e-zine that delivers simple discussions and strategies for the California civil litigation professional. Barbara’s discussions focus on common paralegal and law office tasks, such as pre-litigation document gathering, document preparation, filing rules, law and motion, discovery, arbitration, trial, deadline calculation, and post-trial procedures. More information is available at http://www.thecalifornialitigator.com

DISCLAIMER: Barbara Haubrich, ACP/CAS and Cynthia Macio, ACP/CAS, are not attorneys. Any information derived from The California Litigator, and any other statements contained herein, are for information purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice or a recommendation on a legal matter. The information from The California Litigator is not guaranteed to be correct, complete, or current. Barbara and Cynthia make no warranty, express or implied, about the accuracy or reliability of the information provided within this newsletter, or to any other website to which this newsletter may be linked.

_uacct="UA-336469-1"; _udn="icontact.com"; _utimeout="10800"; urchinTracker();