I met a representative of High Impact about a decade ago at a lawyer conference. Following that initial meeting, I began to collaborate with them on significant cases that I was preparing to take to trial. Several of those cases went to trial and many others settled at a substantial premium on the eve of trial. Of the many cases in which I developed trial visuals using High Impact, there has been only a single case that raised concern - the judge felt that the animations were “too compelling.” That just made me more committed to the caliber of these visual solutions, as the success I’ve found in applying them has been overwhelmingly evident.

• First, like most people, I am a visual learner. Visuals help me better understand the case so that I can more effectively communicate our position.
• Second, because I typically prepare my experts to present the visuals at trial, the process of creating visuals ensures that I understand precisely what my expert’s opinions are in the case and find a way to illustrate those opinions accurately.
• Third, when I serve my visuals on opposing counsel in the lead-up to trial, they send a powerful message that we are willing to invest substantial resources into trying the case and are fully prepared to take the case to trial.
• Finally, in the courtroom, visuals allow my experts to illustrate their opinions with compelling graphics that capture the jury’s attention and remain memorable throughout the trial.

My process typically involves creating the visuals toward the end of the discovery phase of the case as I’m preparing the case for trial. I prefer to serve visuals upon the other side as demonstrative aids for trial, which I normally provide to the other side 60-90 days before trial. I want the other side to have time to review them and to raise any concerns they have (and for us to edit the visuals if necessary, to address any concerns) well in advance of trial. However, I don’t want the other side to have them prior to the depositions of our experts because I don’t want to give them to opportunity to pick apart any of the visuals early in the litigation process.

I’ve spent the last seventeen years practicing plaintiff’s trial law at the largest plaintiff’s firm in my home state of Maine. It was a great ride. Last year, I decided to leave my former firm to open Gideon Asen LLC. I made this decision because I was ready for new challenges and to build a firm from the ground up.

This new firm is unique for a plaintiff’s firm, in that both of our partners (Ben and Taylor) are graduates of the Yale Law School and former federal clerks, who have extensive experience handling complex, high-value plaintiff’s cases. Over the past decade, no lawyers in Northern New England have accomplished more and in such a diverse range of practice areas and geographic jurisdictions. Our goal is to bring our unique experience, and intelligent, aggressive approach to plaintiff’s trial work to bear on behalf of our new clients at Gideon Asen.

The idea for Elawvate came out of my own enjoyment of listening to podcasts while I’m walking my dog, skiing, or just doing work around the house. The podcast is a great medium for learning, identifying thought leaders, and drawing motivation and inspiration from others. Our guests will include successful trial lawyers, partners in industries that help trial lawyers achieve success, and others from whom we can draw inspiration, motivation and helpful self-reflection in the work that we do.

Although there are several podcasts targeted toward trial lawyers, I felt that there remained a niche for Elawvate since we will focus more on the psychological and human factors, the guiding principles of law, and a little less on war stories and chest-pounding. If you listen to most trial lawyer podcasts, you would come away with the impression that every guest wins every case with an eight-figure verdict. The reality, of course, is very different. The very best trial lawyers have learned how to overcome adversity, which is part of the journey of personal growth and improvement necessary to achieve greatness. We plan to talk about the entire journey, not just the good parts.

I will be co-hosting the podcast with Rahul Ravipudi, a partner in the Los Angeles, California law firm of Panish, Shea, Boyle & Ravipudi. Not only is Rahul an incredible trial lawyer having won many seven and eight-figure verdicts, but he’s also a curious, creative, and compassionate advocate, always working to find better ways to represent his clients and manage his own practice. With co-hosts from Maine and California, we have the continental U.S. covered!

We hope that the podcast will generate a community, facilitate an open discussion around the struggles and successes of trial lawyers, and create honesty in the conversation about how to manage the demands and stressors of both the law and business sides of our practice in order to achieve maximum success and happiness.

The use of high-quality visuals requires the lawyer and testifying experts to reach total agreement in their understanding and approach to the key evidence and about how that information is communicated to the jury. The result is that the case is communicated more effectively, leading to better results in the form of verdicts and settlements.

Learn more about Gideon Asen LLC, and the Elawvate podcast.

High Impact’s team of visual strategists, artists, and developers can build and customize your digital presentation for any case involving personal injury, medical malpractice, birth trauma - or any subject involving complex information.

Interested in working with us? Click here to get started. If you'd prefer, you can email us or call us at (800) 749 2184.